While Shining Vale did manage to earn a thoroughly respectable 73% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, this can’t compare to the staggering 97% Rotten Tomatoes rating that CBS’s Ghosts boasts. Critics love Ghosts just like viewers, and this wasn’t a major shock since the show benefited from the UK version of the series testing out its premise for years. In contrast, Shining Vale’s main criticism was its uneven tone. Shining Vale tried to provide a witty feminist spin on The Shining, but this ambitious goal was thwarted by an inability to balance its imperfect combination of scares, social commentary, and broad comedy.
Ghosts is more invested in parodying horror tropes than playing them straight, whereas Shining Vale has an uneasy relationship with the scarier side of the horror-comedy divide.
In contrast, CBS’s Ghosts didn’t complicate its appeal by trying to play its horror elements straight. Admittedly, Ghosts’ annoying season finale cliffhanger endings are tense, but even the most sensitive viewers would find it hard to argue that the series is authentically scary. Ghosts is more invested in parodying horror tropes than playing them straight, whereas Shining Vale has an uneasy relationship with the scarier side of the horror-comedy divide. At times, Shining Vale’s horror elements were handled relatively seriously, while at other times, they were a joke. The series lacked the tonal cohesion of its competitor.
Ghosts had a confident sense of tone compared to Shining Vale ‘s unclear style.
