Yellowjacket wasps are carnivorous social wasps that can sting more than once, are aggressively protective of their colony, and turn to cannibalism when food becomes far too scarce. All of which applies to Showtime‘s binge-worthy new show “Yellowjackets.” In this case, the title refers to the ill-fated high school girl soccer team that crash lands in the wilderness on the way to nationals. Twenty-five years later, the survivors of that crash realize the savagery they turned to is far from over.
And if you’re not currently watching it, you should be.
The pilot episode, directed by Karyn Kusama (The Invitation, Jennifer’s Body), sets the grim horror tone. A terrified young girl runs barefoot through snowy woods. She stops to hear strange calls as the camera pans across bizarre totems dangling in the trees. Then she begins to run again, straight into a spiked pit. Her bloody footprints lead the camera to her impaled body, twitching as life bleeds out of it. It cuts to the present to introduce central players and lay the groundwork for the overarching mysteries. The episode’s end offers a bookend to the opening in the form of eerie, ritualistic cannibalism complete with wet, squelching sounds as flesh gets devoured.
Series creators Ashley Lyle and Bart Nickerson (“Narcos,” “The Originals) know how to reel you in and keep you firmly on their hook as they dole out the enigmatic story piecemeal. “Yellowjackets” toggles back and forth between 1996 and the present to slowly reveal the fight for survival post plane crash and the present-day ramifications of what transpired out in the wild. Each new piece of the story adds to the growing pile of unanswered questions. It’s a mesmerizing blend of psychological survival thriller, drama, mystery, and horror. And it’s never afraid to show the grisly cost of survival, either.
The present-day cast is led by Melanie Lynskey, Tawny Cypress, Juliette Lewis, and Christina Ricci as the adult versions of the crash’s teen survivors. Knowing they came out of the wild and the horrors endured is only a tiny sliver of their narrative. What transpired there took a psychological toll that lingers, and they’re not the only ones out there seeking the truth. What’s evident almost immediately, however, is that Christina Ricci’s Misty was unhinged long before boarding that plane in high school.
Melanie Lynskey as Shauna in YELLOWJACKETS, “Heart-Shaped Black Box”. Photo credit: Kailey Schwerman/SHOWTIME.
The past works to fill in the blanks, from pre-crash interpersonal relationships to the slow descent into savagery after the crash. Limbs get hacked off, impalements become frequent, and bloodletting paints a visceral picture of terror. It makes Lord of the Flies look tame.
Many mysteries remain at the halfway point of the ten-episode season, and the horror is building at a steady clip. As each episode edges closer to the winter months, therefore closer to the cannibalistic clan we glimpse at the outset, tensions and animosity mount. That extends to the present, with the messiness of the survivors’ adulthood becoming chaotic and forcing them to reveal their ruthlessness in various ways. It’s more about the gruesome journey and its ripple effects; we already have a firm idea of the destination in the past. And that journey never ceases to leave your jaw on the floor or throw new twists into the mix.
Harsh winters in horror often lead to cannibalism. Food is scarce, and the elements are lethal. That usually results in tales centered around the Wendigo, i.e., Ravenous, “Fear Itself” episode “Skin and Bones,” or even the Until Dawn video game, to name a few. “Yellowjackets” doesn’t bother with a supernatural entity. Sometimes nothing else is as volatile, merciless, cruel, and bloodthirsty as a teenage girl.
The cast, the addictive ’90s soundtrack, the mystery, the layered horror, and the bursts of gore all combine to make this event television you should be watching if you’re not already.
“Yellowjackets” airs Sundays on Showtime.
