The Changeling

I've read the book so I think I know where this is going.

What I can't understand, 7 episodes in, is how they managed to get the pacing so badly wrong The first three episodes are pretty good. They actually go faster than the book (which has it's own problems with pace and genre hopping transitions) and set out the stall of magic realism/folk horror from the start, but they've stretched the middle part if the story beyond breaking point, adding in backstory which was not in the books and which killed the pace completely.

I will watch the denouement but my fear is that having wasted two episodes (6 & 7) telling us nothing we needed to know, the ending will be rushed, confused or worse still delayed until a second season.

The story starts out with an interesting premise. It plants seeds of intrigue. Yet, it meanders so much that I am having a hard time finding a reason to keep watching.

Rather than letting the acting and dialog tell the story, there is an overwhelming amount of narration makes the show BORING. For example try suffering through Episode 7, it is horrible.

In general, the story is ALL OVER THE PLACE. Just when you think you found the storyline and can engage - they jump to another storyline - filled with more monologue and narration.

This would have been better suited as a podcast rather than a TV show.

Brilliantly acted, well shot and confusing as hell.

If your looking for a paint by numbers horror action series this is not it. It is a slow paced non conventional walse into themes of motherhood, abuse and generational trauma to name a few. There are dark horror esque moments and a general other worldly tense theme though out. You are never sure what is real and what is a metaphorical devil or evil within

You will be asked to make your own mind up and draw your own conclusions with this series. There a clues and hints aswell as recurring sayings and images throughout for the eagle eyed viewer. You will not be spoon fed up at all which is why I imagine some of the reviews on here are sayings it's boring. It definitely isn't for everyone but give it ago

If you like American gods, twin peaks, twilight zone and so on you will probably like this.

It felt more complimentary; not to be spoon fed the whole bowl of porridge and instead puzzle along the pieces of each episode.

Lakeith Stanfield shines in his ability to portray a character that feels grounded and complex. While Adina Porter brings a graceful presence and Malcom Barret provides a warm sprinkling of comedic relief to the uncertain horror.

This series opens with the classic line "Once upon a time" over a ship battling stormy seas. Narration reels the viewer through a flowing multi-current of journeys. Embarking on two similar and (perhaps not obvious) related stories of boy-meets-girl. The progression of both couples relationships is well distinguished by utilising the shifting time periods through sound and visual affect.

The sweet and airy nature of the initial pacing twists itself into a spiral as (Clark Backo's character) Emmy, finds herself caught in a questionable darkness amid a crescendo of unsettling and tense scoring.

I found it neither slow or boring while character connections were established. The light start is littered with breadcrumbs of skillful shots from the director to develop the backstory and engage the viewer.

Kudos to the wardrobe, SFX and set teams as they seem to have been passionate in their work. They complimented the directors storytelling and added differentiating hints of nostalgia and colour theory.

So far it has left me wishing for more.

I love the cinematography displayed here. The acting is spot on but just like everyone else has said, the story is just all over the place. It's slow paced and goodness gracious, boring. It's what you get when you take a 'not so great' book and try to turn it into a series. I guess you can call this a thriller, because it's not scary at all.

Just finished watching episodes 1-3 and sadly I am really not excited to continue watching. But affer reading a couple of great reviews here, am kinda curious to see what they talking about. And I truly want to be wrong so am gonna try and watch 4 and see.

Look out for my updated review afterwards.

Update: Nuuh, not for me, episode 4 was just as boring and ridiculous as the first 3. It quickly went from supernatural to just plain old nonsense. Am done.