Ares

The first dutch netflix original disappointed me. I watched it in two days. Starts nice, family in the Bijlmer, boyfriend with the surname of Six (very famous family in dutch history), using Rijksmuseum / Nachtwacht as a decor. But along the way storyline develops not very understandable. Their should be an idea of why the Netherlands grew so powerful in the Golden Century and stayed that way. But the present with the student body Ares doesn't reveal a real storyline. The acting is not to bad (Hans Kesting is a great actor) but the whispering and to many too dark scenes are making it hard to follow sometimes...

It's definitely not perfect but some of the scenes make it worthwhile. the ending especially left me speechless.

I've read a few reviews that have said the series makes no sense, even after watching the whole show. I have to disagree, though the show doesn't hold your hand and reveal every question, it also has just enough, I found, to be enjoyable and suspenseful. Of course not everything is supposed to be taken literally, it's a supernatural/thriller about classism, regret and fear. These key elements are what you should be thinking over while watching, in my opinion. How do the rich elite get to where they are with little or no empathy? At only 8 episodes, the show is an easy watch and really starts ramping it up at episode 4 or so. I will agree some scenes are slow, but if that's still too long for you, maybe skip it. If not, I recommend, especially for the acting and interesting character developments.

I also dont know why this is getting some horrible reviews. Dutch like northern Germans are quiet people who don't over embellish. I found I was brought into the story and knew all the characters. This is not a slasher film but builds to important climaxes. Dubbing was done exceptionally well!

Finally a Dutch show that tries something different. Immediately got soaked in to the story because they throw a lot of unanswered plotlines, which was intreaging. Sadly the plotlines didn't get a wholesome explanation. This could be a good thing (David lynch), but here it felt a bit too forced. I have to say i loved the atmosphere, soundtrack and beautiful cameraeork. Also roza her performance was very convincing. Hope Dutch series will keep improving and take inspiration of this one!