Horror with Heart: From Shows the Power of Community in Crisis
- theghoulsnextdoor
- Apr 23
- 11 min read
From brilliantly explores Rebecca Solnit's disaster utopia concept, showing how communities respond to catastrophes with solidarity rather than chaos. The Ghouls explore how the trapped townspeople build meaningful connections despite relentless threats. From creates a true disaster utopia, showing people cooperating across backgrounds and sharing resources in Colony House's socialist community. We also explore the psychological toll of perpetual danger, comparing adaptive vs. maladaptive coping mechanisms through characters like Jade, Sara, and Elgin, revealing why isolation leads to corruption while community offers survival. Plus: connections to current social movements and recent protest victories!
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From (2022-present)
Unravel the mystery of a city in the middle of the U.S.A. that imprisons everyone who enters. As the residents struggle to maintain a sense of normality and seek a way out, they must also survive the threats of the surrounding forest.
Building Society in Hell: The Complicated Utopia in From
by gabe castro
RED: Quotes, someone else's words.
Synopsis
From is a horror tv show about a mysterious, nameless town that traps anyone who enters and the community that works to stay united under the oppression of isolation and violence. The show follows the collective characters trapped in the town after taking a wrong turn on a strange road blocked by a fallen tree and circled by crows. During the day, the townsfolk work hard to maintain any semblance of normalcy and society. During the night, monstrous characters roam the neighborhood looking eerily like humans, they viciously kill anyone found outside. Luckily for those in the town, they have talismans to protect them within the houses and the creatures cannot enter unless invited in.
We’re first introduced to the town when the Matthews family finds themselves trapped here after surviving an accident with their children. The story follows them as well as others in the town, working hard to both survive and break free of the cursed town. Boyd Stevens is the town’s makeshift sheriff, patrolling the town to ensure its safe and making dangerous trips into the woods to understand the bounds of their capture. Donna runs the more free-spirited community that lives in a communal house on a hill. Victor, an older man with childlike behaviors has been trapped in the town since he was a child and seems to hold a few answers in his repressed and innocent mind. More characters experience strange dreams, deadly encounters, and supernatural events that have them all spiraling and desperate for answers. As they get closer to finding answers, more questions arise and the things that had previously held them together begin to fall apart.
From is an excellent representation of the disaster utopias that emerge amid great strife and instability. And it demonstrates how difficult it is to remain hopeful in dark times.
It’s an exciting show that scratches the itch of those who loved the thrill and uncertainty of Lost but also runs the risk of suffering the same fate of disappointing viewers with a lack of answers. As the show continues to pose more and more questions, we’re left worried that the need for sensationalism and thrill will outweigh the need for closure. I think of Severance and how Ben Stiller required that everything in that show have an answer, even if it isn’t something the audience is privy to and I hope that From follows suit.
Disaster Utopia
During our The Mist episode, Kat covered Rebecca Solnit’s concept of disaster utopias in A Paradise Built in Hell and how King’s idea that people quickly abandon moral behavior when societal structures collapse is generally false. In reality, communities often form stronger bonds and exhibit extraordinary cooperation during disasters. Where The Mist is an antithesis to the idea of disaster utopias, From is a brilliant representation of it.
Disaster Utopias, as explored in Solnit’s book, describe how communities often respond to catastrophes with solidarity, altruism, and meaningful connections rather than the chaos and selfishness many expect. From offers an interesting exploration of this concept in the shadow of terror and instability. Despite the relentless fear of the creatures from the woods and the endless questions that lead to further fear and destabilization, the town’s compassion for each other persists. They work hard to maintain normalcy and uphold the value of care even amid terror.
After the discovery of the talismans, the townsfolk could live during the day in some normalcy instead of crumbling under the weight of fear of the nighttime. Sheriff Boyd helps the townsfolk establish systems for food distribution, housing, and protection - providing structures of normalcy to maintain their sanity. Thanks to natural leaders like Boyd and Donna, people can rely on someone for support and structure. Systems of hierarchy don’t quite exist in the town, despite the emergence of these leaders. People from different backgrounds cooperate for survival, some even living completely socialist lifestyles in the Colony House sharing resources and supplies. When they’re no longer fearing for their lives, they begin to form strong social bonds with each other that possibly couldn’t have existed in the “real world.”
The Fight is Hard
Despite the promising efforts of Boyd and Donna to lead the town toward stability and care, and the townspeople's search for answers, the town itself seems to fight back, working to corrupt these sources of good—Boyd and Donna themselves. The creatures actively attack Boyd’s strength and goodness. And in the constant attacks and destabilization of those around her, begins to chip away at Donna’s sanity and delicate nature of care.
The persistent external threats (the creatures as well as new horrors that emerge) create a different dynamic than most natural disasters - specifically in the persistence of the instability, leading to desperation and corruption. As tensions build and the terrors increase, factions emerge with groups forming around different beliefs of escape. As the small moments of hope lead to further disappointment, people begin to retreat into isolation rather than community. In Season Three, it becomes even more irritating as people experience moments of answers and explanation, dreams and nightmares, but don’t share this information with others. This means they can’t band together to fight the obvious evils that threaten them.
In most disaster utopias Solnit describes, the primary threat has already occurred, and people band together in recovery. In From, the threat is ongoing and nightmarish, creating constant trauma rather than the possibility of growth. When someone is actively in a traumatic event, they cannot heal or adapt appropriately, they are instead in a constant state of fight, flight, fawn, or freeze.
While the show explores the potential for community formation in crisis, it also shows the psychological toll of perpetual danger. Unlike Solnit's generally optimistic view of human nature in disasters, From presents a more complex picture where community bonds are simultaneously strengthened and strained by prolonged isolation and fear.
What makes From a captivating horror experience is its ability to dangle the possibility of community salvation and hope for viewers, only to then snatch it away with every new terror the town conjures in retaliation. It's like watching a disaster utopia trying desperately to form while trapped in a nightmarish pressure cooker that keeps turning up the heat. So far, From doesn’t exactly showcase a paradise in Hell but instead, makes a compelling case for maintaining humanity when hell itself seems determined to break you. And somehow, against all odds, you keep trying.
Finding Hope in Horror: Community Lessons in From
by Kat Kushin
RED: Quotes, someone else's words.
Hope and the Power of Community
When something feels so unfathomably evil and awful it is easy to feel like we don’t have next steps or victories, or hope. From really showcases how people can come together in horrible circumstances and also shows how hard it is to fight evils that feel so big and unfathomable. As gabe discusses, the first season very much acts as a disaster utopia, showcasing a strong community, where everyone supports and loves each other even though everything around them is on fire. Even though everything around them is horrifying, they have each other, and have moments of peace and love that every zombie movie would suggest wouldn’t be possible.
As the show continues though, in Seasons 2 and 3, we see our most powerful figures of the community struggle - humanly. Even the pillars of hope need time to feel and cope and have their hard times, and multiple times throughout the show we see these characters be human, flawed and real as people, in a way our society does not usually allow. We see people like Boyd, Fatima, Kenny, Tian-Chen, Kristi and Donna have human moments, processing unfathomably awful things, and we also see the people around them kind of struggle with them not being okay.
What I think is really amazing about this show is it humanizes each character a lot. Each person is flawed, and filled with so much potential for good. I think people often superhero the people around them, thinking they couldn’t possibly do what that person does because they must be different, or better, or stronger. So I really appreciate that the show actively humanizes our characters, and shows how they navigate these horrific things in frustratingly realistic ways.
With that said, while we don’t have horrifying monsters that only come out at night, being a human amongst other humans can sometimes feel like an episode of From. We have a lot of psychologically stressful things happening right now. Real threats to our safety, sense of self, and sense of community happening everyday. So I thought it might be nice to talk about some victories that have happened recently.
The economic blackout on February 28, 2025, specifically aimed at Target, led to a reported 16% decrease in customer visits. The boycotts are ongoing, and positioned against Amazon, Walmart, General Mills, Nestle, McDonalds, Target, as well as General Economic Boycott’s as well. Historically boycotts work as a battle of attrition, so one day is not enough to change the tides, instead months of boycotting is historically successful. It’s not to say there was no impact though, as it’s activated many people who had not yet been boycotting these locations. Tesla's stock has experienced a staggering decline of 50% since December 2024. “On March 10, TSLA plunged 15% in a single day – its worst one-day drop since 2020” Tesla Stock Plummets 50%, Here’s How To Manage The Volatility | FORBES
Many Billionaires have been impacted by their association with Trump. Elon Musk has seen his net worth plummet by approximately 148 billion, dropping from a peak of 486 billion in December 2024. This dramatic loss is largely a result of the declining value of Tesla's stock and the backlash stemming from the protests. Other billionaires who attended Trump's inauguration have also faced significant financial setbacks, with their collective wealth decreasing by over 209 billion since the inauguration. Notable examples include Jeff Bezos, whose net worth has decreased 29 billion, and Mark Zuckerberg, who, despite banning Trump in 2021, has also been affected by the overall market downturn linked to political instability.
I also recommend giving Resistance to Trump is everywhere — inside the first 50 days of mass protest a read as it outlines a lot of successful protests that have been happening. All this to say, is what we’re facing is similar to what Fatima says in one of the early episodes, where she is showing the window, and how there are positive things to see even in the midst of literal horrors. We’ve talked about this before on the Ghouls but there is a network of actions taking place that we can’t see everyday because we’re in the weeds of all the awful. Just cause we aren’t being shown it, doesn’t mean it’s not happening.
The Adaptability of Humanity
I also wanted to touch on the ways that From does a great job showcasing the adaptivity and maladaptivity of humanity. As a whole, most human beings as a means of survival have to adapt to the world around them. When we think of From, Kenny really said it best, the people who can’t cope and adapt to the horrors, will not persist. The horrors will not give you time to adjust, and if anything, they thrive in the torment of you not adjusting. Shock doctrine exists as an example of this, trying to overwhelm us and break us. That’s not to say you should accept, which Kenny also says, they haven’t given up, they just aren’t in denial about what they are facing. Going off by yourself in a spiral of already tried ideas can get you, and the people around you killed. The strongest moments the people of from have had, were together. This is actually a part of psychology and adaptive vs maladaptive coping mechanisms. Being TOO adaptive can also be maladaptive, so finding a sweet spot in the middle, where you understand the reality of what is happening, and adjust how you move to provide practical safety.
Maladaptive coping mechanisms can be seen in how some characters respond to the constant fear and uncertainty of their situation. As gabe unpacks, we cannot heal from trauma as it’s actively happening, but we survive based on our connections to each other. Jade is a great example of this. Instead of confronting his fears or seeking help from others, Jade often resorts to avoidance behaviors, such as isolating themselves and denying their reality. Jade finds clarity in community, and has his best moments with others, not while he is by himself and wallowing. The father in the first few episodes whose name escapes me, that gets put in the box because he becomes a drunk and does not protect his family, is another example of a maladaptive coping mechanism. Both Jade and this character turn to substance abuse to cope with their reality and they inhibit their abilities to cope, react, process , and fight against their horrific reality. Abby is another example of not being able to cope going horribly wrong.
Sara and Elgin are also great examples of maladaptive coping, proceeding with good intentions with disastrous consequences. Isolating themselves from their communities and not trusting them with their experiences. Each character at various points in the show resorts to maladaptive behaviors that isolate them from their communities and therefore make them more vulnerable to corruption and harm. These maladaptive strategies might provide temporary relief but ultimately hinder their ability to effectively deal with the dangers they face. The show highlights the importance of recognizing these unhealthy coping methods just as much as the reality in front of you, as denial can lead to further complications and emotional distress, making it harder for the characters to survive and find solutions to their problems.
In contrast, whenever our character face their reality and embrace trust in their community we see that community thrive. Together they address and overcome problems and in most cases survive. There are obvious exceptions to this, in one of the most devastating episodes where the community goes to save the released animals. This could be a nod to reactive responses not being as effective as intentional and organized ones. But thinking to Boyd and everyone solving the music box and bugs in arms puzzle, or just everything that is colony house.
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