— Netflix’s psychological thriller "Chambers" has all the makings of a solid horror movie — but one that asks viewers for 10 hours of their time.
A tale of personal tragedy and class and cultural divides set in a stunning and underexplored part of the American landscape, "Chambers" is also extremely slow-moving.
For reasons unclear (for the first several hours at least), quiet teen Sasha Yazzie (Sivan Alyra Rose) lives with her uncle Big Frank (Marcus LaVoi), a bearded blue-collar guy who barely makes a living running an aquarium store named Wet Pets.
She leaves his overprotective embrace to spend a few hours with her boyfriend, T.J. (Griffin Powell-Arcand), hoping to lose her virginity to him in his family’s mattress store. Then the big moment gives way to her near-fatal heart attack.
Fast-forward a few months, and Sasha has a huge scar on her chest and must down dozens of pills to sustain her transplanted heart. T.J. now treats her like delicate china and even her best friend, Yvonne (Kyanna Simone Simpson), has lost the ability to joke around with her.
Things get even stranger when Nancy (Uma Thurman) and Ben (Tony Goldwyn) Lefevre, the parents of the dead girl whose heart beats inside Sasha, invite her and her uncle to dinner at their posh house in a much nicer part of the Arizona desert. There, they explain that they’d like to sponsor a scholarship for her in the name of deceased Becky Lefevre (Lilliya Reid) that would allow her to attend a much more affluent high school with a pipeline to the best colleges.
"Chambers" makes the most of its desert setting and of the gulf of misunderstanding between Sasha and her uncle, who loosely identify with the Dine or Navajo traditions, and wealthy "white" neighbors like the Lefevres. It juxtaposes the hardscrabble world of barely functioning strip malls, not only with the LeFevres’ austere mansion but with the glorious, even magical, landscapes and vistas they all share.
It’s fun to see gothic horror conventions play out in this exotic locale. Spending the night under the Lefevres’ roof during a sandstorm has all the hallmarks of a "dark and stormy night," right down to the strange images of Becky that Sasha sees staring back from her mirror — and that begin to haunt her dreams.
Uma Thurman makes the most of her fragile, even brittle, character, a woman so ravaged by her daughter’s death that she won’t even discuss how it happened.
It’s hard to say whether Sasha is mysterious or merely vacant. And whether her blank-slate state is there for some other entity to fill.
You have 10 hours to find out.
TONIGHT’S OTHER HIGHLIGHTS
— For the second night, ABC turns its prime-time programming over to the 2019 NFL Draft (7 p.m., ABC, 8 p.m., ESPN2).
— Mike dares the girls to spend a cabin weekend unplugged on "Last Man Standing" (8 p.m., Fox, r, TV-PG).
— Sid needs encouragement on "The Cool Kids" (8:30 p.m., Fox, r, TV-14).
— On two helpings of "The Blacklist" (NBC, TV-14), a podcast revives an old case (8 p.m.); Katarina runs out of options (9 p.m.).
— A shaken infant case is revisited on "Proven Innocent" (9 p.m., Fox, TV-14).
— Erin asks Frank for a favor on "Blue Bloods" (10 p.m., CBS, TV-14).
— The new series "Portals to Hell" (10 p.m., Travel) looks at an Alaskan hotel linked to "demonic" activity.
CULT CHOICE
— A deaf-mute woman (Jane Wyman) uses sign language to accuse a neighbor of rape in the 1948 melodrama "Johnny Belinda" (10 p.m., TCM). Wyman won an Oscar for her performance.
SERIES NOTES
Undercover as ecotourists on "MacGyver" (8 p.m., CBS, TV-PG) … Sam plans a masquerade ball on "Dynasty" (8 p.m., CW, TV-14).
Noelani is held captive on "Hawaii Five-0" (9 p.m., CBS, TV-14) … On two helpings of "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" (CW, r, TV-14), Lance Bass (9 p.m.), Jeff Davis (9:30 p.m.) … "Dateline" (10 p.m., NBC, TV-PG).
LATE NIGHT
Zach Galifianakis, Rep. Eric Swalwell and Ellie Goulding are booked on "The Late Show With Stephen Colbert" (11:35 p.m., CBS, r) … Jimmy Fallon welcomes K.J. Apa and Sting on "The Tonight Show" (11:35 p.m., NBC) … Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson, Paul Rudd, Chris Hemsworth and 2 Chainz appear on "Jimmy Kimmel Live" (11:35 p.m., ABC, r).
Kit Harington, Chelsea Clinton and Marina visit "Late Night With Seth Meyers" (12:35 a.m., NBC, r) … Gordon Ramsay, Piper Perabo and Elle King appear on "The Late Late Show With James Corden" (12:35 a.m., CBS, r).
