Convergence of the bizarre and the familiar

SALVITA Decorte

Sleek special effects and edgy action sequences help illustrate the complicated mythology of HBO’s original series, “Halfworlds,” inspired by Indonesian folklore—which, interestingly enough, has creatures similar to many cultures’ monster figures.

The eight-episode, half-hour series presents a mystical conflict that involves the Demit, long-lived beings that look human. They have no qualms about preying on mortals in Jakarta, savagely attacking them while covering their tracks.

The Demit’s agenda becomes gradually clear to a street artist, Sarah (Salvita Decorte), whose pencil drawings hint at their enigmatic existence. She witnesses some of them in action, but to her fellow humans, she’s crying wolf—they find no traces of a supposed vampiric monster’s attack.

Sarah’s discoveries augur a bigger conflict, in which she will play a part; the life she knows changes irrevocably during the search for the long-anticipated supernatural power called The Gift.

“Halfworlds” isn’t for the squeamish, as monstrous creatures go to town with their otherworldly pillaging. The bloody chaos is complemented by smooth visual effects, creating atmospheric and ominous urban locales. The artificiality of the sets also adds character to the unsettling and oft-gory encounters.

Decorte as the befuddled protagonist is adequate, but 30 minutes isn’t always enough time for other potentially fantastic characters to blossom.

Its shortcuts alternately hit and miss—most notably the animated sequences, which summarize momentous events from centuries before. These cartoon parts are beautifully drawn, images that offer a relevant backstory.

A few minutes long, these also explain the grander firmament conceived for the series. While it does that well, however, some details are better shown in the live-action parts, which sometimes need the boost, storytelling-wise.

That said, the show is daring in its choice of visuals, offering its creepy spin on horror tropes and familiar apocalypse-monster concepts.

(“Halfworlds” airs every Sunday, 10 p.m., on HBO. It also streams on HBO Go.)