Widow’s Bay | Apple TV’s Satire on Horror Tropes in Film & Sexist Tropes in Society

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Apple TV is so cool that they barely market their incredible programming — so here I am to vouch for this seemingly hidden gem, Widow’s Bay. Apple TV invited me to to their Press Day back in February where they gave us all exclusive clips of their upcoming slate, and seeing one of my favorite directors Hiro Murai on the panel made me swear to watch! And I did with no regrets!

Widow’s Bay is the ultimate blend of horror and comedy that took me by pleasant surprise — and I usually hate when those two genres touch. However, I learned from Jordan Peele that the two genres are cousins; both introduce a tense presence, but comedy releases an escape with laughter, where horror holds you hostage. But essentially, you can explore the same situation. I thought that was really smart.

So, Widow’s Bay is nearing its finale next week with its 10th episode, but I wanted to explore its use of satire to examine horror tropes and society’s sexist tropes to make a horrific and funny old wives tale.

Patricia works with the Mayor of Widow’s Bay, and when we first go to know her, she was meek, quiet, overlooked, and reserved. But most of all, she was disbelieved. While knowledgeable townspeople spent time trying to convince the Mayor that the curses of Widow’s Bay were real, Patricia stood out because her trauma of being hunted by The Boogeyman when she was 14 years old does unbelieved by the town believers. How incredibly isolating. So, when The Boogeyman returns for Patricia as a 40 year old woman, she becomes her own heroine; the men become idiots fumbling all of her killer plans.

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This is the “Sea Hag”. She is an old woman who kills men by sitting on their face.

Widows Bay is also making fun of misogynistic horror tropes. First of all, the title, “Widows Bay” while the men are the ones who grieve their wives — they’re widowers. And, all of the tales of the hauntings on this island are about women. Women are old, ugly, horny, vengeful! And don’t forget the hot tempting teens who a mysterious murderer must kill! And when it comes to horror, it’s usually a reflection of society’s woes, so Widow’s Bay completely flips that on his head by making fun of society and horror.

As the penultimate episode aired this week, we learned an old woman, Ruth, may be the answer to ending the curse of the island. Ruth is the forgetful, unhelpful secretary who often goes home early during her work shift for the nap. She’s constantly overlooked because of her age, but now holds the fate of everyone in her hands. And the leading characters debate whether or not to kill her in order to save themselves… because the fact that she never bore children was a plus.

So, essentially Widow’s Bay flips the sexist societal trope of womanhood: whether or not women bear children, we’re often treated like burdens and curses. And the question of a man’s strength comes down to no longer fearing these women and having the heart to murder a harmless one in order to save many. Whew.

Are you watching the series? Let me know your thoughts!

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Latasha