The Darkness

We watched other Icelandic crime series before so we had high expectations, especially seeing Douglas Henshall's name amongst the actors, but we were soon disappointed. The conversations were absurd at points, serious plotholes, unexplored themes. The acting was terrible, especially Lena Olin. It was theatrical and ridiculous. The only actor who was almost good was Jack Bannon. We really wanted to believe that it could get better as we watch but no; it got worse and worse, to the point where we could not watch the last 20 minutes. Everything was cringe. It is sad that this story was butchered, it could have been good if it was done differently.

I normally don't leave reviews but felt compelled to write one after watching this series.

The topic itself is an important one. However the execution of the series is only for effect without any background.

The plot starts interesting but quickly gets worse. The last episode is just plain ridiculous to the point where I could hardly bare the stupidity of the plot.. There are gross inconsistencies in the story, the dialog is minimal and the contents just get worse. I watched it with friends and we all felt cheated of a good story in the end. Do not watch it. This is a complete waste of time.

...which appeared out of the blue here in Denmark on SkyShowtime.

I was pleasently surprised by the plot and twists, episode after episode. I won't spoil anything, but I bet ya that you can't figure out whodunnit. Love the cold setting that Island is too. Very vibey, moody and beautiful.

I've always liked Lena Olin, who I really "discovered" when watching "Romeo is Bleeding", also starring Gary Oldman. She gives a heartfelt, stellar performance in this series, as a mom and tough detective. It's really top notch.

Also very good performance from Jack Bannon, which I haven't seen before in a major role. Note to self: Check out his other work.

And as the cherry on the topping is that the series is directed by Lasse Hallström, which also directed the excellent "What's Eating Gilbert Grape" from 1993 starring Johnny Depp and other great movies. And it shows. The directing is tight, beautiful and to the point.

Definitely recommend this series.

Here's hoping for season 2.

Everyone who reviewed this series so far has a valid point and, taken their individual pint of view, is accurate in his or her review. Not much to add here other than, for me, it was a huge disappointment. Only the addition of Jack Bannon, kept me from watching the series to it's torturous end.

What really got to me was the incredibly bad depiction of the Icelandic police force. If taken at face value, every policeman and policewoman is either an utter moron or too lazy to work. Everything in this series related to police work, police procedures and internal police management is so wrong, one questions the sanity of the person who wrote the script.

This could have been an excellent psychological twister-thriller, if the writer(s) wouldn't have assumed that the general viewing audience is comprised of morons as well.

3 Stars for the otherwise good, not great, performances of the lead actors and, of course, Jack Bannon.

Some absolutely great parts here - the photography, the field locations, Reykjavik looks beautiful. There are also some weak red-herrings in the plot. Also, some real acting talent is available but Doug Henshall from "Shetland" is completely wasted in a nothing and pointless role. But it's all squandered on a poor and poorly stitched-together narrative that felt rushed to a conclusion. Too many plot lines went nowhere, too many ideas thrown in (misogyny, indigenous and migrant bigotry), character motivations were poorly articulated and the lead actress had a cryptically explained personality and background too say the least.

Really disappointing.