dear_prudence

I'm certain I would have liked this series if I wasn't on lockdown in my own home with my family for a month, but I feel like the relevance of context might mean something to other viewers who are looking for something to watch. Dark is complex and engaging; I had to go back to certain episodes to study faces and names so I could keep track of storylines. It's a great puzzle. I find that I don't have a lot of patience anymore for banal narratives--I need to feel *engaged* in order to commit to a series. Readers: this series is one that won't let you down.

Other tips: watch it in German and read the subtitles. Overdubbed English ruins it. The soundtrack is a bit oppressive, but it also fits. Don't watch it all at once. Give yourself time to think it over. I'd say limit it to three episodes at one time. It's a lot to take in!

Alternate titles for this review: Bad Blood, Stop the Bleeding, Internal Bleeding, Unsanitary Napkin, Blood Clot, Varicose Veins, or Blood Stain

Michael: "How fast can you get here, Luther?" Luther: "Pretty Fast."

Those are the last lines these characters said before I stopped watching this emptied juice box of a show (maybe ten minutes in). I love the vamp genre, origin stories, and exploring new theories about why bloodsuckers need to suck. . .blood. V-Wars just sucks. Ian S was truly dynamic in the Vampire Diaries; why would he bleed out on this??

Cheap puns aside, it was painful to watch. Michael's speech as a "doctor" lecturing other doctors about global warming with cliches was just plain embarrassing. Please, Hollywood: Talk to at least ONE scientist before you ask an actor to lecture as a scientist. Ugh. I couldn't get myself to watch Michael and Luther's "pretty fast" trip to the arctic. Let me know if I missed anything, eh?

While the plot forces the audience to resist identification with its protagonists, I found the leads' performances quite mesmerizing. The soundtrack is part of the magic of this film--the atmosphere, the suspense, the tension--it does not rely on violins! I'm usually not the audience for violent/sociopath tales, but I found I wanted to watch this one more than once--partially because of the open ending. Olivia Cooke is outstanding. It felt like an innovative cinematic experience. I can't give it more stars because I cannot defend the subject matter, but I'm still intrigued. The sound of the ergometer still haunts me.