“I have no tolerance for the unexplained.” — Detective Ralph Anderson

Stephen King went down a detective-well several years go, releasing what has become known as the Bill Hodges Trilogy. And what a spectacularly entertaining well it proved to be! From the novel Mr. Mercedes onward, he has released (as of 2024) 6 novels/short stories that have featured the oddball character of Holly Gibney. Of those six novels, two television adaptations have translated four of his novels so far. The television series, Mr. Mercedes, was a relatively faithful adaptation of his Bill Hodges centric trilogy, giving us a wonderful depiction of Holly from Justine Lupe, so it was with excitement I learned another show was being made: The Outsider.

King never shies away from the grotesqueness our world proffers, tackling all manner of taboo subject matter or action. He wasted no time in this story, starting with the horrendous murder of a little boy, and delivering a new, most-repellent monster to his roster.  I loved the book, adored that Holly was reintroduced, standing on her own two feet, carving a stellar reputation for herself as a private detective. What I was shocked about was that it was going to be made by a different network and star a new Holly.

I needn’t have been worried.

Pooling the talents of HBO, writer Richard Fry, Jason Bateman (who was killing it at the time in Ozark), Ben Mendelson and as our new Holly, Cynthia Erivo, the series pulls no punches in presenting this dark and night sweat-inducing King tome.

11-year-old Frankie Peterson’s brutally mutilated corpse is discovered. Very quickly the police, led by Detective Ralph Anderson (Mendelson), are able to identify the perpetrator: a local coach by the name of Terry Maitland (Bateman), through copious DNA evidence and eyewitnesses. It’s an open and shut case… isn’t it? Of course not! Seems there is more evidence, conflicting evidence that places Terry far away from the murder scene at the time of the murder. Trouble is Detective Anderson has already publicly arrested him, and the wheels of justice and the court of public opinion have already reached their verdict. Terry is killed on the way to his arraignment by the victim’s brother. Now Anderson has no accused and no explanation as to how this conflicting evidence can be real. It would have been easy to just lean into his original accusation, now that Maitland is dead, but Anderson is a decent man, solid cop and fears for the next victim if he has it wrong.  A colleague refers him to a private investigator that has some experience with such unique cases named Holly Gibney (Erivo). She’s also rather unique, quirky as all get-out, rigid and somewhat anti-social, has OCD oozing from her pores and is amazingly good at what she does. Wary but motivated to solve the murder, Anderson gives Holly a wide latitude, despite his increasing discomfort in what she starts digging up. Holly discovers a trail of similar cases, all indirectly connected to Maitland, all with conflicting evidence and a long body count of dead participants. Her conclusion? An ancient shape-shifting creature called El Cuco is xeroxing innocent people, committing unconscionable crimes, then leaving them to take the fall. Anderson is not pleased with Holly’s line of investigation but when El Cuco starts making threats through the daughter of Maitland and his own wife for him to drop the case, he fights his own doubts and goes down the path of the unexplained.

This was a terrific series, patiently executed over 10 episodes with impeccable performances by all.  It successfully ratchets up the tension from the first episode, loading the viewer with confronting topics, morally debatable actions (not just from the bad guys) and many, many breadcrumbs. At the end of each instalment, I found myself eager for what happens next—the mark of a good show.

Production design was as effective as the writing, steeping this fantastical tale in an everyday, relatable world. It elevated the horror (as King often does), bringing it right into suburbia, your homes and everyday sights.

Mendelson and Bateman instantly instil quality affecting performances throughout with their understated, relatable characters. I was initially disappointed that Justine Lupe wasn’t asked to do this series, but after one scene Cynthia Erivo firmly establishes herself as a slightly different Holly Gibney. This Holly is long established in her role as PI, awkward yet assured and completely compelling. The antagonists, played by Bateman, Marc Menchaca and Patty Considine are equally memorable, delivering layered, complex villainy. With two of them tasked to play different permutations of the monster and his victims.

Sound design and the score effectively add an effective sense of foreboding and danger, but the careful silences also raise the hairs on your arms. There’s a crisp, dour presentation in the cinematography, careful with its use of colour, impressive in its overall effect on the production.

All in all, I loved this. Can you tell? Unlike Ralph Anderson, I do have a tolerance for the unexplained. Especially when it's packaged in quality work like The Outsider. Of all the Stephen King adaptations that have graced or cursed our screens over the years, this stands to me as one of the best.

Home Video Distributor: Warner Bros.
Available on Blu-ray - July 28, 20202
Screen Formats: 2.00:1
Subtitles: English SDH, French, Danish, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish
Video: MPEG-4 AVC; 1080p
Audio: English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1; French: Dolby Digital 5.1
Discs: Blu-ray Disc; three-disc set
Region Encoding: Locked to Region A

Video

Crisp as a chip! As mentioned in the review, this series has a dour palette, meaning a lot of muted colours and patches of dark. The death knell of a poor transfer, which this absolutely is not. It’s great! I saw no signs of crush or artefacts. There was consistent colour timing, crisp, clean delineation of plains. Skin tones were natural. The seldom, deliberate splashes of colour stood out brilliantly. The only thing this 1080p scan is missing is its not 4K and HDR-ed! Quality transfer for a quality show.

Audio

We get a solid DTS-HD 5.1 surround mix here. Heavily based, so your subwoofer(s) will get a workout. Great layering in crowd scenes, deft handling of silences and elevations, manipulating you to a few leap out of your seat moments throughout. Dialogue is clean and centred. Environmental effects are superbly balanced throughout the surround channels. This is a weighty, solid piece of work that won’t disappoint. The greedy might only pine for overhead channels in a 7.1 mix. Nothing to complain about here at all.

Supplements:

A solid (if brief) collection of mini segments or mini documentaries that cover most aspects of the production. It’s more EPK, selling the production and the performers more than an in-depth dive, but there are some welcome tidbits included in all the sales fluff. This was a US disc, so came packaged with the usual slip case that mirrors the artwork from the sleeve.

Commentary:

• None

Special Features:

• EL CUCO THE BABA YAGA THE OUTSIDER – All New Featurette
• Invitation to Set
• Stephen King and The Outsider
• Jason Bateman and The Outsider
• Adapting The Outsider
• Analyzing Holly Gibney
• The Outsider: Inside Episodes 1-10

	Movie
	Video
	Audio
	Extras
Composite Blu-ray Grade

MPAA Rating: TV-MA.
Runtime: 60 mins/episode
Director: Richard Price
Writer: Richard Price
Cast: Ben Mendelsohn; Bill Camp; Jason Bateman
Genre: TV | Drama
Tagline: Fear has Many Faces
Memorable Movie Quote:
Distributor: HBO
Official Site:
Release Date: January 12, 20202
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date: July 28, 2020
Synopsis: When an insidious supernatural force edges its way into a seemingly straightforward investigation into the gruesome murder of a young boy, it leads a seasoned cop and an unorthodox investigator to question everything they believe in.