13 Geboden

Once again a very good Belgian crime series! As always a fantastic casting. Every actor is great and the story is intriging, dark and tense. Better than most american crime series!

This thirteen part Belgian crime thriller sees the police searching for an attacker who has been targeting people based on the Ten Commandments; each attack is accompanied by the appropriate commandment. While the attacks are brutal they are not fatal... that of course would break the commandment against killing. The attacker, dubbed 'Mozes' gains some sympathy amongst those who believe society has moved too far from Christian Ideals. The investigation is led by Peter Devriendt and his new partner Vicky Degraeve; each of whom have their own problems. Peter's daughter seems to be somewhat off the rails and Vicky's mother is in hospital with no chance of recovery following a car accident some time before. As the investigation progresses there are inevitably some false leads and Vicky finds herself in real danger.

Early on it looks as if this may be a Belgian 'Seven' but beyond the religious inspiration there are key differences; most notably that Mozes isn't a killer; something that makes a refreshing change amongst all the serial killer stories... that isn't to say he isn't brutal; his victims aren't going to fully recover. Towards the end things do get a bit melodramatic and there is a twist that some may feel goes too far. While some characters feel that Mozes's actions are justified the series makes it fairly clear that the creators don't expect viewers to sympathise with him too. The cast does a fine job with Dirk van Dijck and Marie Vinck impressing as Peter and Vicky; there is also in impressive supporting cast. Overall I'd certainly recommend this to anybody wanting a fairly dark crime drama.

These comments are based on watching the series in Dutch with English subtitles.

The story has its merit. Unfortunately the writers lose control after a while. Instead of being more gripping, the story just gets less believable. A pity, because the actors are doing a great job and the direction is spot on.

This is stellar noir crime. What starts as the usual serial killer flick becomes soon an intense and very gripping masterpiece. The story evolves in small steps and what looks like loose ends are ultimately cleverly connected. There are many twists and turns but not for the pure sake of it but it just reminds you to never believe what u see on the 1st glance. There is way more in 13C. besides to figure out who is the killer. It really makes u think and questions pop up the likes of ... what if he's right ? You will see the abyss in people's mind & behavior and this will leave u sometimes speechless. All actors do a great job and I also liked the setting and light - it supports the twilight zone atmosphere. If you're up for something real and are done with high polished and sleek massmarket tv crime I can highly recommend this superb crime/drama! The only reason I left 1 star off was the very last scene which I found personally a bit bland compared to the overall greatness of the show.

Yes Yes Yes scani noir from Belgium. Better than "7" cos Brad Pitt isnt in it. Has the obvious flaws that all TV/Film police dramas have but you can get over them. Well worth the time to watch. Just loved Vicky and her 'Trumpy'. Anther winner from our Continental friends even the cold seems to seep through the TV!!!