Is Wayward scary? Here’s all you need to know before watching the Netflix series

Netflix is no stranger to the uncanny, disturbing, and downright strange --- as is Wayward. The streamer built its empire on shows that make you check your locks before bed, such as Midnight Mass and The Haunting of Hill House.

Wayward seems ready to follow suit, with mind games, cults, and enigmatic small-town secrets. Yet, the most pressing issue for potential viewers is whether or not it is truly scary or simply atmospheric decorative elements.

Well, no, this show is more creepy than scary. Consider eerie imagery, a feeling that something is "off," and dread instead of jumpscares that make you cry out. Critics say this is both a pro and a con for the show.

The plot of Wayward gives small-town cult vibes

Wayward is basically a creature-feature-meets-cult-drama.

The show (created and led by Mae Martin) is about Alex Dempsey, a trans police officer who returns to Tall Pines, his pregnant wife Laura's hometown.

The town seems decent enough, but the local boarding school is more of a shady social experiment than Dead Poets Society!

Evelyn Wade (played by Toni Collette) oversees that school. Evelyn, who rides around town on a tricycle and sets up mind games that would raise an eyebrow even for seasoned cult survivors, is both a headmistress and cult leader. Students like Leila (Alyvia Alyn Lind) and Abbie (Sydney Topliffe) get caught in a maze of manipulation and something more ominous.

The show is based on real-life inspiration, although it is not a true story. Mae Martin took inspiration from a best friend sent to a troubled teen institution and their experience in the early 2000s. They even invited that friend to consult in the writers' room. Tall Pines doesn't seem so fictitious when you include research on cults like Synanon, known for their strange "games."

Wayward is more suspenseful than scary

You should change your expectations if you're hoping for jump scares and awful monsters. Wayward is nerve-racking but rarely scary. Its atmosphere is its selling point: a soundtrack that makes you question whether paradise or hell is above the threshold, doors as frequent motifs, and lush Vermont forests paired with cold institutional spaces. The tension swells, until it doesn't.

The first seven episodes create a sense of anticipation by dropping hints about Tall Pines' secrets and Evelyn's power. With melodrama and psychedelic scenes that are more like of Lifetime After Dark than horror, the climax drifts into campy territory. Because of this, the ending tries to be both deep and terrifying, but it falls somewhere in the middle. It's still worth watching, though.

The performances of Gadon, Martin, and the young leads make it worth your time. Though Evelyn doesn't have the icy gravitas of Nicole Kidman in Nine Perfect Strangers, Collette is still rather unnerving. The show never fully dedicates itself to exposing the depths of that abuse, it is an entry point for those who want to get involved in the real-life horrors of the unstable teen industry.

If gore and restless nights are your idea of horror, Wayward likely won't satisfy you. However, it's well worth the wait if you enjoy dark mysteries, manipulation of a cult, and a show more like Get Out meets Fargo than The Exorcist. Its connection to reality might be its scariest aspect. You might also wish you had written your own ending and stopped watching before the finale!

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Watch Wayward on Netflix.

NEXT: Exploring hypermasculinity was ‘juicy,’ says Wayward's Mae Martin

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