AMERICAN CINEMATOGRAPHER ASCMAG.COM T he Amazon Prime series Them is a bold, stylistic hybrid of supernatural horror and drama inspired by historical truths. The first season, set in 1953, follows a Black family that moves from North Carolina to Los Angeles - a relocation triggered by a racially motivated attack against the family's matriarch, Livia " Lucky " Emory (Deborah Ayorinde). Lucky, along with husband Henry (Ashley Thomas) - a traumatized World War II veteran - and their two children (Shahadi Wright Joseph and Melody Hurd) settle in East Compton, where the residents of the white neighborhood conspire to intimidate the Emorys into leaving. Disturbing events transpire, and though some are attributable to the locals, others seem to be the work of demons that haunt the family. JULY 2021 / 49 PHOTOS COURTESY OF AMAZON STUDIOS.