STRANGEST THINGS : NETFLIX'S 'LOCKE & KEY', 'I AM NOT OKAY WITH THIS'

            This is the true way to comprehend the runaway success of the Netflix series "Stranger Things", now putting its 4th season into production..............

             ........by preparing yourself for the onslaught of "Stranger Things" wanna be's.........

             Let's start with Locke & Key (2020), derived from a graphic novel by horror novelist (and son of Stephen King) Joe Hill.

               Elements here include:  huge, foreboding, creepy mansion, damaged dysfunction family consisting of slightly addled mom, boy and girl teens (both morose and angst-ridden) and precious tyke son.......all of them forever traumatized by the murder of their beloved school principal dad, shot to death by an unhinged student........

                The Creepy Mansion comes equipped with a variety of magical keys, which do a whole variety of different magical stuff. Also hanging around is a demon who disguises itself as a some kind of crazy version of a Bond villainess. (imagine a supernatural Xena Onnatop)

                The three kids go about their business, making increasingly dumb foolhardy uses of the keys, while the rampaging babe-demon lusts after the keys, sometimes stopping to randomly murder innocent people.
 

                And that's about it, folks. The series makes no attempt to explain its mythology......or why none of the human characters in it behave even remotely like real people. It's just a non-stop collection of special-effects set pieces and by the time you reach the last episode, you may let out an exhausted sight of relief that it's over........

              .......at least until the second season the show's producers pray that Netflix grants them......

               Moooooving right along......to 'I Am Not Okay With This' (2020), which we liked much much better......

                 Reason # 1:  It runs a mercifully short 7 fast paced episodes......a wise choice, because it's so derivative (a blatant riff on Stephen King's "Carrie") that it could easily have worn out its welcome in a hurry.

                  Reason # 2:  Unlike "Locke & Key", whose bland, uninteresting cast of generic teens never make any impression, "I Am Not Okay" highlights a live-wire MVP, star-in-the-making.......a girl who defies you to take your eyes off her....

                She's 18 year old Sophia Lillis, the pixie redhead from the "It" movies and she grabs hold of the tiresome gimmick of this show and makes it a one-woman showcase for her talents, both dramatic and comedic.

                 As introverted, quirky outsider Sydney Novak, Lillis must navigate the minefields of high school life (you know 'em all, yada, yada) after discovering she can unleash telekinetic power whenever pushed into fear and/or anger.

                  And given that her high school days include copious amounts of fear and anger, you can sense that there's a blood-drenched party gown in her future......in the great tradition of Sissy Spacek and Chloe Grace Moretz.

                  We didn't mind the blatant copy-catting in play here, since Lillis is such a wonder to watch. And we'll be fascinated to see the trajectory of her career, since she's a one-of-a-kind ingenue, a sort of modern day young Shirley McClain.....

                  To sum up....."Locke & Key" jams in everything you'd expect in an ambitious fantasy series, except not a minute of it makes any sense.....and its makers don't seem to care, they're content to throw the wham-bams at you with ever explaining anything....1 & 1/2 stars (* 1/2)

                "I Am Not Okay With This" is the keeper.......even though it's essentially a stale regurgitation of "Carrie" and all the John Hughes teen movies combined.  For the simple reason that you don't want to miss any project that stars Sophis Lillis.......for her, 3 & 1/2 stars (***1/2)