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Critic Reviews
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The best scary stories find their frights in real-life fears, and the genre is rich with ones that explore the feminine grotesque—Black Swan and Rosemary’s Baby come to mind. Shining Vale brings humor to that equation, both laughing at and dramatizing the scary aspects of gender norms. The result is a show that’s smart enough to keep viewers guessing as it pokes fun at modern society, its characters, and even its audience.
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“Shining Vale” has a honed sense of humor, usually (and especially) when it’s least expected. ... What’s more surprising about “Shining Vale” is how it ably counterbalances the writing’s comedic throughline with genuinely creepy touches of horror that might feel familiar to fans of the earlier, most effective seasons of “American Horror Story.”
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The plot and dialogue are enjoyable, even in the former’s predictability. ... Shining Vale also comes with solid writing and directing.
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Even when the laughs don't land in Shining Vale, it's a pleasure to watch Cox as this fierce, funny embodiment of misunderstood and maligned female "hysteria."
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A remarkably solid tale, notwithstanding its considerable population of deranged characters and nonhuman conspirators.
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Creators Jeff Astrof (Trial & Error) and Sharon Horgan (Catastrophe) front-load Shining Vale‘s least original elements, at the expense of the witty raunch that is Horgan’s trademark. ... Suffice to say that if you can hang on until episode 3, you’ll find a stranger, more amusing haunted-house story lurking behind all the peeling wallpaper.
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Ultimately, Shining Vale wants to be a horror-comedy, but doesn’t go hard enough into either genre. ... Luckily, the characterizations by a talented cast are enough to draw you in and keep you entertained, even if Shining Vale's genre trappings leave a lot more to be desired.
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We get the occasional sharp line of dialogue, and Cox is eminently watchable throughout, but “Shining Vale” never quite realizes its comedic or dramatic potential.