It might seem odd to describe something that has just won 14 Emmy awards as a hidden gem, but it’s not the strangest thing about Widow’s Bay.
Apple TV’s 10-part series stars Welsh actor Matthew Rhys as Tom Loftis – the perennially exasperated mayor of the titular island town. Situated 40 miles off the New England coast, Widow’s Bay is so isolated it has no internet access or mobile phone signal, but outdated telecommunications are the least of its problems, because the natives believe the place to be cursed.
That doesn’t stop Tom from embarking on a campaign to attract tourists and turn Widow’s Bay into “the next Martha’s Vineyard”, but on the eve of a visit from a high-profile travel writer, strange things start to happen that have the locals warning of another impending “haunt”.
As is so often the case on cursed islands, most of the weirdness in Widow’s Bay takes place at night, which means there are plenty of scenes that will really put your TV to the test.
In the opening minutes of episode one, Tom is shaken awake by a nocturnal earthquake, the only light in the room coming from the moon outside his window. A sub-standard screen will render this scene with almost zero nuance and hide all the details under a blanket of blackness, but you should be able to see the silhouettes of the alarm clock and lamp on Tom’s nightstand just before he jumps out of bed.
Towards the end of the episode, he’s having dinner with the visiting journalist in the town’s only restaurant when the power mysteriously goes out, leaving the place in darkness except for the candles on each table. Here you should get a nice level of contrast between the intense individual flames and the shadowy spaces between the diners, while the panic on Tom’s face should be evident in the close-ups.
Widow’s Bay is a show that relies on mystery, so I won’t reveal too much about later episodes, but the sixth part, which is set in 1702, is full of naturally lit scenes that will look particularly authentic if you own one of the best OLED TVs.
By day, Widow’s Bay is a beautiful place. The series has been shot with slightly subdued colours and a touch of grain, which gives it a vintage feel that matches the sense of a place partly lost in time.
The town itself looks like somewhere you’d genuinely want to visit – all oceanic blues, lush greenery and quaint sandy coves. As long as you ignore the history of human sacrifice, mass murder, and cannibalism, it's positively idyllic.
But New England will always have those slightly creepy connotations. In the real world, it’s the home of the Salem witch trials and the birthplace of writers Edgar Allan Poe, H.P. Lovecraft and Stephen King, plus it’s a favourite of horror directors looking for somewhere spooky for their next flick.
Robert Eggers set both The Witch and The Lighthouse in the area; Derry, the home of Stephen King’s It, is a fictional town in Maine; and parts of Martin Scorsese’s Shutter Island were shot at an abandoned psychiatric hospital in Massachusetts.
The area’s traditional Colonial-era buildings are big, old, and often made of wood, which means they’re full of creaky floorboards and things that go bump in the night – and with Dolby Atmos audio available, that makes Widow’s Bay a great advert for owning one of the best surround sound systems.
The show’s not particularly big on jump scares (although there are a couple of real humdingers), but when Tom spends the night in the island’s supposedly haunted hotel, what you hear is what really enhances the feeling of apprehension.
It’s the creaking of the stairs as he descends into the creepy basement; the ticking of the old clock in the communal lounge; and the footsteps in the hallway outside his room when there’s not supposed to be anyone else in the building.
Of course, all those Emmy wins mean that Widow’s Bay won’t remain a hidden gem for long, but if you like your horror mixed with a dollop of comedy (or vice versa), get on board before you miss the boat.
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