Katla

Although the plot is quite slow and drawn out far longer than required, I really enjoyed this show. I wish they'd done more with the root cause of everything (trying not to give spoilers) but I suppose not doing so gives them a ton of room to further develop and grow this idea in season 2 and beyond.

The storyline moved at a snails pace but was utterly captivating. The premise was unique and the conclusion was poetic. The cinematography and special effects are magnificent throughout the series. Overall, a well made and well acted sci-fi/drama.

This Icelandic drama is set in and around Vik, a small town in the shadow of Katla, a volcano that has been erupting for about a year, threatening the town. Most of the inhabitants have evacuated but a few remain, this includes those scientists investigating the volcano. One day something strange happens; a woman is found. She is naked but black from head to toe with ash. After the ash is cleaned off she gives her name and it matches that of a Swedish woman who was in Vik twenty years previously. It can't be her though as she is alive and well in Sweden... she does look like a younger version of that woman and appears to have her memories. She isn't the last person to be found in such a state; each of them appear to be a copy of somebody; some alive others dead. The people of Vik will have to come to terms with the arrivals and establish whether they are a danger or not.

I really enjoyed this series. It had a great setting; the black, ash covered landscape made an interesting change to the usual white snow or green landscapes of Icelandic dramas. We are quickly introduced to key characters before the first ash-coated person turns up. There is a great sense of mystery about just who and what they really are with suggestions of sci-fi and folkloric origins. The make-up for these people is very impressive. At only eight episodes in length the series neither drags nor feels rushed. The cast does a fine job bringing the various characters to life. When the series reaches its conclusion there are still questions to be answered; perhaps we will get another season but to be honest I enjoyed the ambiguous end and don't think more is needed, of course I'd watch if there is more. There is some violence, one case in particular is quite shocking. Overall an impressive drama that I'd certainly recommend.

These comments are based on watching the series in Icelandic with English subtitles; a dubbed version is also available.

If you liked "The Returned" ("Les Revenants"), "Glitch", "Us", or even "Pet Sematery", you'll have much to like in the Icelandic series "Katla". Eerie, dark, forbidding (often literally so, as the nearly deserted town of Vik, Iceland, has been showered with ash from the Katla volcano for a year), and gripping, the plot moves somewhat slowly but is always engaging.

The story and setting are so grounded in a harsh, otherworldly, and unforgiving environment that the impossible becomes strangely believable. That the characters are tough, realistic, unfanciful sorts adds to the credibility of the supernatural events that befall them.

As each episode ends with a cliffhanger, it's very hard to stop watching. Just one more episode!

I'm amused by the amount of people saying this show is "too slow" and "could be wrapped up in 3 episodes". Have you ever heard about the genre "Nordic noir"? It IS supposed to be slow, depressing and leaving unanswered questions.

Otherwise it's like watching a Marvel movie and asking why there are so many mutants and superheroes with ridiculous abilities. That's the point of the genre. Superhero movies have their rules, Hallmark production its own, and Nordic noir its own.

Now, for those who know what they are going to watch, this show hits all the right spots, and yet remains refreshingly engaging. Someone in the earlier comments compared it to Australian Glitch - the similarity is indeed there, but Glitch, in my opinion, was an entangled mess of loose ends, and I was never able to finish it, but Katla just went in one go.

There are indeed a few awkward plothole moments when just a couple of questions could, ugh, "speed up the pace", but it's not really about speedying anything up. Everyone is soaked up in their own past, and the surrounding reality is often hard to distinguish from sticky, dim anguish of memories. In this setting, with raging ash storms and blended borders between black sand beaches, northern sea and heavy sky, would you really be surprised to see someone looking a tad bit older than expected?

I really hope there will be no season 2, at least with the current characters. Their stories are wrapped up - time for the new ones.