THE PREMISE:

"After tragically losing his wife to suicide, child psychiatrist Eli Adler encounters a troubled young boy who seems to have a haunting connection to Eli's past."

OUR REVIEW:

Before stars Billy Crystal as Eli, a man grieving the loss of his wife, clearly lost after her death and trying to figure out who he is now. Immediately this series premiere has the feel of a Stephen King adaptation: kinda hauntingly spooky, kinda horror, centered around a possibly possessed child. 

Eli meets this child in a bizarre way after he just randomly finds him in his home, the child then flees and almost gets run over by cars. Eli can’t help but wonder who this child is and how and why he found Eli. The child returns and leads him back to his home, where we meet his protective foster mother, Denise (Rosie Perez). She explains the child, 8 year old Noah (Jacobi Jupe) has recently stopped talking. But why? Eli happens to be a successful child psychiatrist and now he is on a path to figure out Noah. 

During a session with Noah he has a triggering moment and seems to become possessed, speaking in a strange language—almost chanting. Eli recorded the session so he is able to figure out the language and what Noah is saying. Noah says he is scared and needs help. But why? Scared of what? This is where the connection to Eli comes into play from a seed planted in the opening of the episode—also clueing us into a possible connection with his dead wife. 

I was skeptical of Crystal in a dramatic, serious role but it seems like it could work with Before. I wouldn’t say this first episode completely sucked me in, but I might eventually want to figure out what happens with Eli and Noah and what the connection is to Eli’s wife. This feels like a great series just in time for spooky season.