The Head

Whodunit type mystery/drama. Certainly an international effort - Spanish/Japanese production set at a research station in the South Pole in English, Swedish and Danish languages and filmed in the Canary Islands. Some great performances from some of the cast, keeps you guessing until the end.

A reworking of the classic mystery theme of an isolated trapped group of multinational people, most of whom have a shared past, begin to be killed off one by one. Add the 6 month polar night, the deadly temperatures, polar T-3 syndrome ( a real behavioral affliction of polar explorers), interpersonal issues, loss of communication, planetary ecological implications, and attempting to reconstruct events from the traumatized memory(?) of a person who might be a victim or a perpetrator makes for an interesting mystery. Yes there are physical events that require a suspension of disbelief and some questionable decisions made by various people. You might at first think that it is just another formulaic plot that you have seen before but it is well worth watching to the satisfying conclusion.

One of the best mystery series I've seen this year so far. As I started watching, I thought it was just going to be the usual antarctic sci-fi horror rip off the The Thing. Only when I kept watching it, I realised this is a different beast all together. The way they kept revealing secrets slowly, peeling off the true mystery; it was just absolute brilliant. It made me keep guessing & second guessing myself.

I do urge the people here to keep watching till the end to find the real mystery, this show had so many layers to it. If you're one of those people who just watches the first episode & think I've seen it all before, trust me you're so wrong. This is one of those shows you just have to watch it till the end to get the twist. I'm not gonna give away the twist but I'll say this, it's only by the sixth episode you start to see the whole picture.

Verdict - Brilliant.

A good effort, well directed and acted, enjoyable for the first four episodes then the plot just falls apart. This ends up with you feeling a little cheated, there is genuine mystery for the initial episodes but clearly the writer couldn't think of a mysterious enough ending so went for the obvious and used method.

I just completed S1-E3 and have to get this out of my head.

I'll probably watch the whole series because it's an interesting enough drama/mystery. The acting is fine. The directing seems at least mediocre. The writing is reasonably good drama, but did anyone on this project consult an expert or two.

There are immense issues with the way the arctic winter environment and the tools, clothes, skills, etc. Necessary to function are portrayed. Literally every character seems like a theater kid's conception of their functional stereotype. People, particularly skilled intelligent outdoors-people and scientists do not behave this way...AT ALL. The outdoor wardrobe choices are ridiculous.

Having worked outdoors at -20 to -30+ degree F, I may be a bit judgmental. At 10-20 below or beyond you do not go out without face protection and goggles. If you're spending significant time, you're also wearing arctic boots, mittens, and down pants. Your hood is definitely up and pulled tight around your face. And that's the tip of the iceberg. The writers blew it on loads of cold related details.

That said, it's an interesting enough mystery drama to continue watching. I'll try to revise this review after watching the rest of the series.

For now I'd say this series is entertainment junk food. Not exactly filling or wildly delicious, but tasty enough to nibble while having a beer on the sofa.