This Shudder Original Series is A Horrific ‘Succession’ Reimagining
The HBO series Succession amassed a sizable fanbase over the course of its four-season run. The program was the source of much water cooler chatter and had a propensity to trend on social media following its weekly broadcast. It’s almost surprising that the show works as well as it does because every member of the Roy clan is reprehensible and soulless, giving the audience every reason to root against the would-be protagonists. But thanks to textured and nuanced performances from a talented cast, it’s nearly impossible not to get pulled in by Succession.
In a show full of reprehensible characters, the worst of the worst is Roy family patriarch, Logan. Logan Roy (Brian Cox) is a narcissistic billionaire with far more money than tact and a propensity for epic tantrums. His arc centers around a deep-seated desire to name a successor before he leaves his post as CEO of the company he built. But Logan’s narcissism and lack of faith in his descendants find the mercurial patriarch refusing to step down, thus inciting an all-out war amongst his children, all of whom want a piece of their father’s empire.
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Over the course of the series, I found myself thinking that the basic setup might just make for a solid horror offering. My disdain for the Roy children made me want to watch them battle to the death. And as it turns out, I wasn’t alone in that line of thinking. It seems Aaron Martin, the creator of the Shudder series, Slasher had similar ideas and they culminated in the program’s fourth season, Slasher: Flesh & Blood. While the influence may have been subconscious or even unintentional, it’s difficult to deny the similarities between the Shudder original series Slasher: Flesh & Blood and the HBO drama Succession.
Slasher: Flesh & Blood follows millionaire Spencer Galloway (David Cronenberg) during his last weekend on earth. He is in the final stages of a battle with cancer and has chosen to end his life via euthanasia. He calls his family together for an unorthodox reunion that will pit his surviving kin against one another to determine who inherits his fortune. But the winner will have to endure a lot more than potato sack races or egg tosses. Spencer has orchestrated a sadistic and grueling battle of wits, endurance, and survival that will quickly weed out the weak links. After the competition gets underway, Spencer’s descendants discover that the last-place contestant in each round of the competition will be eliminated… From this earth. Trapped on a remote island without a means of escape or the ability to call for help, the relatives must battle for their very survival.
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Though Spencer is laid to rest within the first episode of this Shudder series, he is a constant fixture in the program. The patriarch is frequently featured via flashbacks to an earlier timeline. Through those rewind sequences, we quickly learn he is every bit as nasty as Logan Roy. Maybe even worse. While Logan Roy is a narcissistic sociopath with too much money and a disdain for his brood, Spencer is a narcissistic sociopath with too much money, a disdain for his brood, and a total lack of reverence for human life.
David Cronenberg turns in a great showing as Spencer Galloway. His character in this Shudder original is void of any empathy and takes pleasure in humiliating and tormenting those closest to him. Even though Logan clearly loves his empire more than his family, you still get the impression that he loves his offspring on some level. The same cannot be said of Spencer, who is so shrewd that he once refused to pay the ransom demands for a kidnapped loved one and on another occasion boobytrapped a scavenger hunt with bear traps.
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It’s not just Spencer’s arc that parallels Succession, however. Like the Roy children, the Galloway kids have also been ruined by their father. His daughter, Florence (Sabrina Grdevich) lacks even a modicum of empathy and puts herself ahead of her children at every opportunity. His son, Seamus (Christopher Jacot) is just as opportunistic and self-serving as his father. But he is so ashamed of his same-sex attractions that he took a wife in a misguided attempt to please his dad. Spencer’s youngest son, Jayden (Corteon Moore), is the most well-adjusted of the bunch. He lacks his father’s cynicism but his dad frequently ridicules him for his compassionate nature, which sees Jayden lacking self-worth and constantly seeking external acceptance.
All of the Galloway kids crave their father’s approval but like Logan R0y, Spencer isn’t easy to impress. His tough-love approach to parenting makes for a great setup for the series. And once all is finally revealed, we get a solid understanding of the depths of his depravity. But I will leave it there to avoid giving anything away.
All things considered, if you’re missing Succession and looking for a new obsession, you may find Slasher: Flesh & Blood on Shudder to be an entertaining affair that provides a glimpse of what the HBO drama may have been if it had taken a macabre turn somewhere along the way.
Categorized:Editorials
