Season one of MGM+s’ propulsive horror series “From” wasted no time going straight for the jugular and maintaining intensity throughout. It culminated in a ruthless shattering of hope for its wayward characters just as a bus of new characters arrived. “From” Season Two hits the ground running, picking up where the inaugural season left off to compound the mysteries, drama, and relentless horror.

After receiving a warning just as a storm rolled in out of nowhere to decimate the group’s plans to establish contact with the outside world, Jim Matthews (Eion Bailey) rushes home to save his wife Tabitha (Catalina Sandino Moreno), unaware that she’d already fallen into the gaping sinkhole beneath their house. As Tabitha and Victor (Scott McCord) fearfully navigate the monster-infested tunnels below, Jim seeks to dig her out with some help from others, just as the house caves in on them.

Meanwhile, Donna (Elizabeth Saunders) and Deputy Kenny (Ricky He) struggle to corral the skeptical new arrivals before nightfall, highlighting the leadership void left behind by Boyd (Harold Perrineau), who ventured further into the woods with known killer Sara (Avery Konrad). And that’s just the beginning of the winding madness and terror in Season Two, where morale is at an all-time low, and hope is precarious at best.

Series creator John Griffin (Crater), executive producer and showrunner executive producer Jeff Pinkner (“Fringe,” “Alias,” “Lost”), and executive producer and director Jack Bender (“Lost,” “Game of Thrones,” “Mr. Mercedes”) rarely give their characters a moment’s reprieve from the constant onslaught of danger, somehow escalating the propulsive energy established in season one. That they accomplish this through a robust ensemble cast is even more impressive. The new arrivals, played by Nathan D. Simmons, Kaelen Ohm, Angela Moore, AJ Simmons, and Deborah Grover, don’t reset the group dynamics back to square one, refreshingly, but complicate them tenfold.

Amidst the monstrous threats biding their time in the dark, season two broadens the supernatural mysteries; there’s more out there than nightly visitations by the flesh-eating creatures. Boyd remains at the forefront of this with surprising encounters that raise new questions while presenting a fascinating supernatural parallel to his Parkinson’s reveal last season. Time is of the essence, now more than ever, and Boyd’s pragmatic nature now comes with a sense of urgency that leaves him more willing to bend his morals for answers. Boyd’s storyline and Perrineau’s standout performance have taken center stage so far. The fallout from his choice to take Sara into the woods presents fertile storytelling ground that shakes up the once-solid interpersonal relationships among survivors.

“From” Season Two finds creative new ways to elicit chills and thrills as it introduces new obstacles to an already complicated bid for survival. As intense and relentless as the horror can be, it’s grounded by its focus on the three-dimensional characters. How these survivors attempt to navigate shocking new problems and scenarios proves just as intriguing as what nefarious new scary visage torments them, which includes everything from mysterious prisoners, creepy ghost children, harrowing deaths, and more. Through white-knuckle scares and action-horror, “From” Season Two heightens its explorations of humanity at civilization’s potential collapse. Darkness isn’t just encroaching the isolated town now, but the survivors’ hearts as well.

The first five episodes of season two send the clear message not to expect “From” to reveal its full hand any time soon. Still, its full-throttle pacing, incredibly high stakes, enigmatic horrors, and an immensely talented cast exploring the murky grey areas of morality make for one of the most thrilling horror series that shouldn’t be missed.

The ten-episode second season of “From” will premiere globally on MGM+ on April 23, 2023.