I just finished The King in Yellow by Robert Chambers and was looking for some visual media to enjoy that was related to the themes while I digested my feelings on the book in general (which are ambivalent by the way but we will get to that). I was surprised to see True Detectives on HBO (now MAX) listed among media inspired by the book. After a quick glance (mostly seeing that the cast included Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson) I was happy to give it a shot…I ended up binge watching it then having a night filled with forensic dreams…not sure I recommend but YMMV.
Content Warnings:
The King in Yellow is a weird horror anthology of stories. Be mindful of mental health issues, suicide, murder and attempted murder, discussions around sex, and more. Also, there is at least one instance of anti-semetic content in the beginning of the first story that is related to the time period but still unnecessary.
True Detectives is a gritty detective/crime show that includes murder, sexual assault, underage prostitution, child abuse, child death, sexual assault against a child, human trafficking, pedophile rings, religious abuse including within the Christian church, police violence, violence in general, alcoholism, drug use, incest, inbreeding, fatphobia, and much more.
The King in Yellow
Before I get into the show, I brief overview and review of the book is in order.
I heard about The King in Yellow through my love for eldritch, cosmic, and “lovecraftian” horror. Often Hastur or The Yellow King is considered lovecraftian because Chambers is one of the writers that H.P. Lovecraft looked up to and was inspired by.
The King in Yellow is certainly part of the weird horror genre. The concept of the story collection is mostly based on the idea of a play that, when read, can drive people crazy. Other themes related to madness, grief, alchemy, time displacement, and interpersonal relationships that are skewed or tied together by strange occurrences or underlying horror are also present.
I loved the idea of this book. Unfortunately, as is the case with a lot of classic weird horror, the idea and the follow through aren’t the same and the stories given tend to be more flowery prose than substance and very little horror at all.
The first 5 stories indeed are the only ones that seem connected to The King in Yellow at all. Some of them had fun themes – alchemy that turns people into eerily beautiful marble, time travel, the murderous plot of a mad man. But they all lack any real tension or horror sadly. Still, cool ideas that can be inspiring to later generations with less fear of diving into the deep end of horror.
True Detectives
Y’all…I would listen to Matthew McConaughey read a walmart receipt. He just has a great voice and presence. So learning he was in a gritty detective show that is inspired by some weird horror…I was sold. Learning that Woody Harrelson was also on board, that they both weren’t just actors but also executive producers…well, I felt like I was in for a treat.
This show was very promising. It doesn’t come off as copaganda (which many detective shows are want to do). Instead, the cops are depicted as bad guys who are put up with because they can get their hands on other bad guys. Faulty logic in reality, but it works as a theme in the show.
I loved the references to The King in Yellow (The Yellow King in the show), dabbles into folk horror, and the way the early episodes went back and forth from 1995 to early 2000s to “present day” (2014?) was done very well. The mystery itself and its villains were promising – church leaders, politicians, even some of the police. Here for it.
Not a fan at all of how the MC’s and writers tied The Yellow King into Voodoo. The two are unrelated and tying them together in the story was lazy. Wouldn’t it have been better to go to the actual King in Yellow inspiration or other cosmic horror themes rather than blame a religious group that is vilified enough in horror and thrillers?
I wish the blaming Voodoo was the only cliche in this show. However, near the end…well Spoilers ahead.
If the show had stuck with the church leaders and politicians as the main villain, sprinkled in a glimpse of cosmic horror to make the main characters and the viewers question “was it real?” and focused on that, this would have been an EXCELLENT show. I would put it in my top 10 and be raving about it even as parts of it were triggering as fuck.
Unfortunately, the show went down hill. Rather than focus on the church leaders and politicians in power, the show narrows down on 1 of the group of men that have been kidnapping, raping, brutalizing, and sacrificing women and children. The 1 they focus on is the in-bred, mentally handicapped, ill-educated, fat, handyman relative of the church head and governor (I’m pretty sure they are either half brothers or cousins but with the in-breeding, its uncertain exactly). The hyper focus on this one makes it seem like he’s the ultimate baddy…not the guy who runs the churches and has set up schools for this group to harvest children from for their plans. Not the governor who sent a special police force in to try and get this case from the main characters (in order to cover it up). Nope. The mentally handicapped guy who mows the lawn and is kept in a dilapidated house with his equally in-bred and handicapped half-sister and of course we get plenty of shots of them being incestuous together to really hammer in the villainy.
I’m not saying this character isn’t gross af. But to act like bringing him down will somehow destroy this group is laughable. Its obviously the writers falling back on cliches rather than doing something really interesting. I was annoyed with it for the most part.
Overall, it had promise. I would love to see more horror noir inspired by old weird horror or new horror. But not if they’re gonna lazily fall back on cliches.
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