Comedy
Dead Boy Detectives
Dead Boy Detectives targets teens in style and story. But it comes with very adult, problematic content.
For years, the Republic of the Burgue and the Pact warred over the mystical land of Tirnanoc for control of its riches and dominion over its “people”—the magical and, to our eyes, mythical Fae. The war ended when the people of the Burgue suddenly withdrew their forces, abandoning the Fae in the ashes of their homeland and at the mercy of the tyrannical Pact.
Now, seven years later, refugees from Tirnanoc flood the streets of the Burgue, taking up residence in the aptly named Carnival Row. Fauns, centaurs, faeries and the like are looked down on by their human hosts and work as indentured servants with few to no civil rights. And to make matters worse, someone has begun attacking the Fae under the cover of dark.
Rycroft “Philo” Philostrate, an inspector for the Burguish Constabulary, has been tasked with discovering the person behind these attacks. Unlike many of his fellow policemen, Philo actually fought alongside the Fae during the war in Tirnanoc, and he’s sympathetic to their cause. This often causes more strife than solutions, especially as tensions rise between the Burguish citizens who want to see the Fae deported and those who feel duty-bound to aid them.
Vignette Stonemoss is a faerie refugee who fell in love with Philo during the war and thought he had died. So, when she arrives on Carnival Row to discover that he survived, she’s torn between the love she still feels for him and the betrayal of his abandonment. The real question is whether or not she can let go of her grief long enough to help him stop the monster killing off her people.
The citizens of Carnival Row are blamed for a myriad of vices, including “wantonness,” “lixer addiction,” (“lixer” is slang for alcohol) and even worship of “strange gods.” But the creators of Carnival Row do little to assuage viewers’ exposure to these vices.
Faerie women called “haruspexes” (witches) perform dark, magical acts ranging from fortune-telling to necromancy—and there’s usually a blood sacrifice involved. And as if that wasn’t enough, Carnival Row takes generous liberties in displaying every gory detail of every horrific death. Not an entrail goes unturned as Philo tracks down the monster responsible for the deaths taking place.
Echoes of Christianity are seen in the Fae’s “mimaseries” (essentially the female, faerie equivalent of monasteries) and in the Burguishmen’s “Martyr.” Although the Martyr’s story is never explained, a statue depicting his death is displayed in many prominent places, not unlike the Christian crucifix. But make no mistake, this is not a world that celebrates piousness. The Fae worship multiple gods, and despite many citizens’ claims to be “holy,” they are far from it.
Between the vulgar descriptions of sex and the actual scenes featuring it, it’s not hard to understand why “wantonness” was listed as a vice. Vignette’s best friend (and former lover) is a faerie prostitute named Tourmaline. Although intercourse between Fae and humans is strictly forbidden—to the point that “half-blood” children are usually aborted—Tourmaline and the other brothel women entertain human men, usually without clothing. Men are also seen fully naked (although the poor lighting makes it difficult to make anything out), and a same-sex kiss is seen on screen.
“Some dark god” may wake beneath the Burgue, but the real monstrosity of Carnival Row is the excessive use of language, sex, and gore to tell a tale that would have been just as interesting without it.
While searching for the culprit behind the attacks on the Fae, Philo discovers that his old flame, Vignette, has arrived in the city. Vignette, who thought Philo was dead, is furious to discover he lied to her, but makes the decision to move on with her life as if he had died.
A man and woman have sex (her breasts and his bottom are both exposed). Later, the same woman is seen fully nude from the side in one shot and in the blurry background of another shot. Another man has sex with a faerie woman mid-air as she uses her wings to fly (same anatomical exposures). Human men often make crude and derogatory references to intercourse with faerie women. Several faerie prostitutes wear revealing clothing and proposition customers on the street. A faerie woman mentions having a “trist” with a human out of curiosity about their race.
A man jumps backwards off a building to his death. Statues depicting the history of the Fae reveal the gruesome deaths that took place during the war. Later, the same deaths are seen in reality with blood dripping from fresher corpses and skin flayed off of others. A group of faerie women are killed, with many suffering gunshot wounds to the head, as they flee Pact soldiers. Vignette uses a metal wire to strangle and partially garrote a werewolf-like dog. A ship floods and faerie men, women, and children all drown on screen. Their bodies are later seen floating in the water. A tentacled monster attacks a woman. A man hits another guy with a bottle and attacks him with an axe, the latter of which barely grazes the victim.
A woman recovering from an attack is seen with multiple bruises and cuts on her face and body. Men beat each other up. A man threatens another man with a butcher’s knife. A woman holds a knife to a man’s throat. A pig head is seen on display at a butcher’s stall. It is implied that a man soils himself. Men and women drink “lixer” (liquor) and smoke cigarettes. Multiple uses of the f-word, s-word, and other vulgarities (including a few made-up racist ones referring to the Fae).
Emily studied film and writing when she was in college. And when she isn’t being way too competitive while playing board games, she enjoys food, sleep, and geeking out with her husband indulging in their “nerdoms,” which is the collective fan cultures of everything they love, such as Star Wars, Star Trek, Stargate and Lord of the Rings.
Dead Boy Detectives targets teens in style and story. But it comes with very adult, problematic content.
An elf mage contemplates on connection and regret as she watches her human friends grow old and pass away.
