One of the early images in Barry Jenkins' sprawling, lyrical, beautiful, and haunting 10-episode limited series "The Underground Railroad" is our protagonist, Cora (Thuso Mdebu), falling away from the camera and into the ether in slow motion, her arms grasping at nothing. It immediately reminded me of The Sunken Place in Jordan Peele's 2017 social horror, movie "Get Out," and "The Underground Railroad" quickly establishes itself as something with just as much, if not more, terrifying caliber. Here, we're rooted in history and all its evils, and the result is something staggeringly impactful. In Chapter One, titled "Georgia," we're plunged into Hell. Never shying away from the dehumanizing nature of Black history in America, Jenkins creates indelible images in the series' first episode that linger throughout each remaining entry. Some of them chill you to the core, including a POV shot that has still not escaped me. Some of them are profoundly beautiful despite their inherent tragedy, including "moving portraits" that are interspersed throughout the series, highlighting the eyes, faces, and humanity of the series' cast, staring directly into the camera and demanding we pay attention, reflect, and understand. Tap link in bio to read more of EDGE's review on @EDGEmedianetwork ??️ (?️: Greg Vellante / @infiniteframesperlife, ?: Amazon Studios)

One of the early images in Barry Jenkins' sprawling, lyrical, beautiful, and haunting 10-episode limited series "The Underground Railroad" is our protagonist, Cora (Thuso Mdebu), falling away from the camera and into the ether in slow motion, her arms grasping at nothing. It immediately reminded me of The Sunken Place in Jordan Peele's 2017 social horror, movie "Get Out," and "The Underground Railroad" quickly establishes itself as something with just as much, if not more, terrifying caliber. Here, we're rooted in history and all its evils, and the result is something staggeringly impactful. In Chapter One, titled "Georgia," we're plunged into Hell. Never shying away from the dehumanizing nature of Black history in America, Jenkins creates indelible images in the series' first episode that linger throughout each remaining entry. Some of them chill you to the core, including a POV shot that has still not escaped me. Some of them are profoundly beautiful despite their inherent tragedy, including "moving portraits" that are interspersed throughout the series, highlighting the eyes, faces, and humanity of the series' cast, staring directly into the camera and demanding we pay attention, reflect, and understand. Tap link in bio to read more of EDGE's review on @EDGEmedianetwork ??️ (?️: Greg Vellante / @infiniteframesperlife, ?: Amazon Studios)