{"id":2608693,"date":"2026-05-31T06:44:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-31T10:44:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/scary-stories-to-tell-seniors\/"},"modified":"2026-05-31T06:47:19","modified_gmt":"2026-05-31T10:47:19","slug":"scary-stories-to-tell-seniors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/scary-stories-to-tell-seniors\/","title":{"rendered":"Scary stories to tell seniors"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">10<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fscary-stories-to-tell-seniors%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2608693&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The review argues that Netflix\u2019s *The boroughs* starts with an inherent disadvantage as its older ensemble can\u2019t \u201cwait around\u201d for long seasons. Still, it moves fast-glossing over plot holes-while leaning heavily on the cast\u2019s charisma, including Alfred Molina, Alfre Woodard, Geena Davis, adn others.<\/p>\n<p>At the center is Sam Cooper, a retired man who moves into a retirement village and quickly finds that one of his neighbors is transformed into prey for a spiderlike monster that drains brains. The town is also controlled by a slick scammer, and the show repeatedly leans on the idea that no one believes the protagonists-an approach the reviewer compares to *Stranger things*, but applied to aging adults.<\/p>\n<p>Tone-wise, the series is described as more action-comedy than horror, drawing on \u201980s-style weird adventure and deadpan humor. Despite its TV-MA rating,the reviewer suggests it\u2019s aimed at seniors who never fully \u201cgrew up,\u201d using themes that resonate with that audience-fear of memory-care facilities,the symbolism of the advancing plot,and broader concerns about loneliness and isolation.<\/p>\n<p>The critic ultimately finds the show fun and effective in capturing loneliness, while also wishing it had a \u201cmore Spielbergian\u201d creative touch.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<article class=\"fn-body\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/netflix\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"1727\">Netflix\u2019s<\/a> <em>The Boroughs<\/em>, produced by <em>Stranger Things<\/em> creators Matt and Ross Duffer, begins life at a comparative disadvantage. Whereas its predecessor could take forever between seasons, losing nothing but its child stars\u2019 cherubic looks, the new show has no such luxury. With each passing day, its oldster cast \u2014 including Alfred Molina, Alfre Woodard, and Geena Davis \u2014 is closer to the grave. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Of course, there are other arguments for extending <em>The <\/em><span style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;\"><em>Boroughs<\/em>\u2019<\/span> run pronto. A story of <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/retirement\/\">retirement-village mayhem<\/a>, the series zips along like a souped-up mobility scooter, gleefully ignoring the holes in its plot. That aging ensemble bursts with talent \u2014 so much so that its writers don\u2019t mind killing off the occasional gramps or gran. At the center of its narrative is a spiderish monster, all sticks and sockets, appearing briefly before skittering back to its hole. But don\u2019t, old man, tell the world what you\u2019ve seen. All you\u2019ll get for your trouble is a worried look. <\/p>\n<section class=\"explore-more-section\" id=\"wex-recommended-widget\">\n<div class=\"magazine-container single\">\n<h1 class=\"magazine-title mt-2\">Recommended Stories<\/h1>\n<p>             <i class=\"fa-solid fa-play icon\"><\/i>         <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-grid\">\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4588429\/trump-america-is-back-rally-musician-boycott\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Trump proposes \u2018AMERICA IS BACK\u2019 rally to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/video-captured-bloody-attack-on-pro-lifer-yet-alvin-bragg-let-attacker-go-free-anyway-imagine-if-the-roles-were-reversed\/\" title=\"Video Captured Bloody Attack on Pro-Lifer, Yet Alvin Bragg Let Attacker Go Free Anyway - Imagine if the Roles Were Reversed\">replace fair<\/a> after musicians boycott<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/entertainment\/4586960\/joe-concha-slams-jimmy-kimmel-spencer-pratt-joke\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Joe Concha slams Jimmy Kimmel for criticisms against Spencer Pratt<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/4586672\/performers-drop-out-great-american-state-fair-america-250-celebration\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Majority of performers slated for Great American State Fair America 250 celebration drop out<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>The Boroughs<\/em> stars Molina as Sam Cooper, a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/after-spending-400k-at-nevada-brothels-mysterious-dem-donor-drops-millions-to-legalize-prostitution-at-home\/\" title=\"After Spending 0k at Nevada Brothels, Mysterious Dem Donor Drops Millions To Legalize Prostitution at Home\">retired engineer<\/a> who moves to the village after the death of his wife. Oppressed by his new friends\u2019 good cheer, Sam sets out to ignore them until a brush with the paranormal forces his hand. One moment, next-door neighbor Jack (Bill Pullman) is a harmless nag, relentless in his desire to share camaraderie and <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/beer\/\">beer<\/a>, and the next, he has become unwitting <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/food\/\">food<\/a>. As a horrified Sam inadvertently observes, a creature has been sating itself on his buddy\u2019s brain. <\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft size-large is-resized\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Denis O\u2019Hare, Alfred Molina, and Alfre Woodard in \u201cThe Boroughs.\u201d (Netflix)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This causes problems. To begin with, the community is run by Blaine Shaw (Seth Numrich), surely the slickest scammer of old folks since John Mahoney\u2019s nursing-home embezzler in 1989\u2019s <em>Say Anything<\/em>. Also a concern: Brain-eating fiends are not exactly the sort of thing one reports. Like <em>Stranger Things<\/em>, <em>The Boroughs<\/em> makes great use of the fact that no one believes a word its protagonists say. As with the child, so with the geriatric adult. If \u201csure, honey\u201d felt dismissive at age 10, wait until you hear it again at 80. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Is it any wonder, given the circumstances, that Sam decides to take matters into his own hands? Joining him are Art and Judy Daniels (Clarke Peters and Woodard), a pair of fun-loving septuagenarians with a knack for dropping everything and smoking a joint. Retired doctor Wally Baker (Denis O\u2019Hare) is more reliable in a pinch, but can he be trusted to put the group\u2019s interests above his own? Still comely at the beginning of her eighth decade, Davis plays Renee, a former music executive with a penchant for younger men. Perhaps her latest beau, security guard Paz Navarro (Carlos Miranda), will be of some assistance \u2014 that is, if he can outsmart his grasping superior, Hank (Eric Edelstein). <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>The Boroughs<\/em> is not a frightening show, monster snack-time portrayals notwithstanding. Indeed, the production\u2019s tone owes much to the action-comedy classics of the 1980s: <em>Back to the Future<\/em>, <em>The Goonies<\/em>, and <em>Cocoon<\/em>, the last of which is all but embedded in the new show\u2019s DNA. Brought stirringly to the point of action, Sam and Wally deadpan such lines as \u201cWhose golf cart are we going to take?\u201d and rarely pause to reflect on the improbability of their quest. Half-funny jokes abound. Bizarrely, the series has (and earns) a TV-MA rating. Why fill with swears a show that might otherwise have been appointment viewing for the whole family? The answer is that <em>The Boroughs<\/em> isn\u2019t for kids at all, but for seniors who never grew up. Call that a mistake if you wish, but expect more of the same in the coming fertility-crisis media landscape. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As the show\u2019s plot advances, more and more of its concerns come to echo those of its presumptive boomer audience. Wandering beyond the community\u2019s gates, Art discovers a tree of life, the fruit of which briefly and poignantly restores his youth. Much is made of our heroes\u2019 fear of the Manor, an on-site memory-care facility to which misbehaving residents are sometimes sent. Even the production\u2019s (too obvious) symbolism is geared toward its target audience. That creature <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/premium\/4565891\/academia-media-against-older-americans-samuel-moyn-gerontocracy\/\">cruelly draining and discarding the aged<\/a>? It might as well be holding a sign that reads \u201cFor-Profit American <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/healthcare\/\">Healthcare<\/a> Industry.\u201d <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/premium\/4544937\/rooster-wont-crow\/\">REVIEW: STEVE CARELL\u2019S \u2018ROOSTER\u2019 VISION OF THE UNIVERSITY IS A LIE<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>The Boroughs<\/em> is too much fun to sink entirely beneath this weight. Nevertheless, one wonders what a more Spielbergian touch in the writers\u2019 room might have produced, particularly given the general excellence of the cast. As our cantankerous lead, Molina harumphs lovably from scene to scene, conveying both his character\u2019s indomitable will and the wretchedness of his grief. O\u2019Hare is very good as the compromised, self-effacing Wally, the figure on whom the show\u2019s concluding plot largely turns. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Yet, the series\u2019s finest achievement may well be the clarity of its thoughts on loneliness, an epidemic affecting senior citizens as keenly as any other group. Notably missing from <em>The Boroughs<\/em> are all but one or two of the residents\u2019 grown <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/children\/\">children<\/a>, a cohort that might have intervened had they not long ago outsourced the care of mom and dad. Intolerable. If they\u2019re alive and can hear you, go call your parents. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Graham Hillard is the TV critic for the <\/em>Washington Examiner<em> magazine.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Netflix\u2019s The Boroughs starts at a disadvantage despite its cast aging<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":956,"featured_media":2608694,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/LA.TV_.TheBoroughs.060326.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[80535,80533,80534],"class_list":["post-2608693","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-horror-tales","tag-scary-stories","tag-senior-life"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/LA.TV_.TheBoroughs.060326.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2608693","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/956"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2608693"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2608693\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2608697,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2608693\/revisions\/2608697"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2608694"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2608693"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2608693"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2608693"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}