Soul City (TV)
“Soul City” is an anthology series for the streaming service, Topic. It’s about three different tales of the macabre that take place in New Orleans. They all capture a sense of old-school mystery and terror that is engaging and entertaining to watch. Let’s dig into them individually.
“Grace” tells the story of a young girl in 1968, Althea, who lost her mother at a young age, and is being raised by her grandmother, Grace (Rhonda Johnson Dents). At church on Sunday, we see how domineering Grace can be, and them at a service. When they get home, Althea’s escape is to draw, and listen to the music box her mother left for her. There’s something that happens when she does this, however, that will impact both of them when Althea grows up. The sense of time and place is aided from the transition from black-and-white to color, and it’s a clever premise for a short story that works perfectly in the execution.
In “Pillowshop,” Andrew (Dorian Missick) is having a hard time sleeping. He gets a card for a pillowshop from a cab driver (Omar J. Dorsey) one day, and when he goes, the store owner says he has just the thing for him. We get a peek inside his visions when he sleeps on this pillow, and it’s quite a world he goes in, although one his wife is not sure about when she lays her head on it, as well. These are all, essentially, anthology stories a la “The Twilight Zone,” and as such, we’re looking at ideas and execution, and once again, writer Renso Amariz and directors Coodie and Chike create a sense of atmosphere, time and place, and foreboding that is palpable, and teases us with what is to come at the end.
The setting of New Orleans for this series of stories is used to greatest effect in the third story, “Giveman.” It begins with a young man confronted by voodoo practitioners, and a malicious spirit, which tells him, “The sins of the father will be visited on the son.” Cut to 10 years later, and the son (PJ Morton) is a popular blues pianist at a bar, and the father (Oscar Gale) visits his son, giving him a sizable tip in the hundreds while visiting with the owner, whom he tips handsomely. As time goes on, however, his son’s talent seems to diminish. Payment is due. This is the most overtly supernatural story of the three, and it’s creepy and ominous all the way through. What a way to end the first season of this series.
