30 Monedas

First, I'd like just to say that it speaks volumes about the credibility of most reviews on the internet that people are actually complaining about not understanding Spanish. There's always an agenda huh? Some of the best shows in the world right now are coming from other countries, while most American shows have started to become stale. Dark on Netflix is a perfect example of this, and it is the best show on the service. That's why the subtitles are there for you non-Spanish speakers. How do you in good faith leave a bad review because other languages in the world exist besides English? You people don't realize that you're only embarrassing yourselves? Why do this? You look moronic and the joke's on you.

30 Coins (30 Monedas) is a really interesting show. Reminds me of Penny Dreadful and Hellboy so far. Good concept with good performances, some pretty horrifying visuals, good pacing (so far), and weird stuff happening that I can't even describe. This show is cool and it's refreshing to see some of these actors in a horror show, as they're usually in dramatic love stories. Will keep watching and hoping it stays like this or gets even better.

Plot holes abound but damn if the storyline isn't compelling. Just ignore how contrived it can be and you'll have a good time.

Also, little nitpick here, it feels as if the show has chosen the wrong main character. Clearly the most interesting person in the series is the Priest Manuel. With a dark past and plenty of secrets he's a solid type for the spotlight. But somehow he's the side character?? It's really weird. Makes the show feels off. Like I'm just watching a bunch a secondary characters try and carry the plot along while the main character just sits there and does nothing.

Anyway, still entertaining.

Father Manuel Vergara (Eduard Fernández), an exorcist by profession, boxer and former prisoner, lives in Pedraza, a town in Segovia, to forget his past and start a new life. However, paranormal phenomena soon begin to occur in the place and he will have to count on the help of Paco, the mayor (Miguel Ángel Silvestre), and Elena, the town veterinarian (Megan Montaner), to solve the mystery of a coin. Vergara could have part of the thirty with which Judas was paid for his betrayal of Jesus Christ. The three protagonists will end up at the center of a global conspiracy that involves the Cainites and that threatens to destroy Christianity.

Devilishly fun and entertaining terror series with some elements of black humor and wonderful performances. This is a full-on surreal terror movie that blends thriller, a lot of amusement , suspense, tension, an intriguing script full of underlying seriousness , horror, as well as comedy and embarrassing situations. According to the same director Eloy de la Iglesia himself: ¨the series is a demonic nonsense with blood, sweat, tears... and monsters, and feverish satanic sects, and couples destroyed by the hell of jealousy and also a final smile. The essence of the story really is that God is an author. God might not create reality, he might observe himself or exist himself surrounded by nothingness. But he decides to carry out creation, he decides that man exists and let's say that, in that divine plan, each of us plays a role. So we are all characters in a creation and, as Lucifer says, we are all a little bit of God and we are all a little bit of the devil. God is all the characters. Therefore, doing good is the same as doing evil, which is the idea defended by the Cainites, the cursed sect that liberates the rite at the end¨.

For the first season, the main setting of the series was especially on location in the town of Pedraza (province of Segovia), where most of the places were recorded. In addition, it was also filmed in the Aldeadávila de la Rivera (dam) , Salamanca, Castilla y León, the Calatrava La Nueva castle, the General Library of Salamanca, the Institute of Spanish Historical Heritage, in Alcalá de Henares and the Palace of the Marqués de Santa Cruz (Viso del Marqués) in Ciudad Real and Tenerife, Canary Islands. Likewise, it was recorded in the foreign cities of Jerusalem, Rome, New York and Paris; although Spanish scenarios were recreated for Aleppo. The second season was filmed in 27 weeks in Spain, Italy, the United States, France and the United Kingdom.

Adding a thrilling, suspenseful and evocative musical score by Roque Baños. And colorful, brilliant and dark at times, cinematography by Pablo Rosso, Jaume Balaguero's usual. The series was well written (along with his regular writer Jorge Guerricaechevarría) and shot by Alex de la Iglesia. Well known as the Spanish king of black comedy. He's a cool director who has got much successes as ¨Accion Mutante¨,¨Dying of laughter¨ or ¨Muertos De Risa¨ , ¨Baby's room¨ , ¨Oxford murders¨ , ¨Balada Triste De Una Trompeta¨ and ¨Perdita Durango¨, the latter is probably the weirdest Javier Bardem film ever made . And, of course , ¨Day of the beast¨ and ¨La Comunidad¨ obtained the unanimous praise of both the critics and the public and they result to be a lot of fun, especially for those who enjoy surrealist humor, won several Goya prizes and and turned to be a turning point in his meteoric career; from then on he became his own producer, beginning with '800 bullets' (2002) through the Pánico Films company . Winner of several Goyas (Spanish Oscars), however his movies have not yet reached box office in USA, but he has strong followers , as his films have a kind of comic edge to them. Nonsense, ridicule , laughters , absurdity , disturbing scenes and many other issues ; you can find everything in this series. Rating: 7.5/10.

Love the setting and the three main characters. The performances from the three main characters are excellent especially Megan Montaner's as Elena. The plot kept my interest and the setting was unique. I am not one of the people that are bothered by subtitles and I enjoyed the unique-strange atmosphere 30 coins provides. It won't be for everyone but I hope to see more.

This is really a review of season 2. The first season was all the good things you've heard... I don't know what happened in between.

It's like the writer saw the difference between Evil Dead and Evil Dead 2 and thought, "That's what I want to do!" So while the first season was serious horror based cleverly in Catholicism, the second season is horror comedy with a completely incompatible cosmology that brings in everything from Scientology to Lovecraft to Bosch. That's a shame on a couple of levels, partly because it undermines the first season, and partly because I would have loved to see these ideas presented seriously.

The characters' personalities have changed, too. Paco is now a bumbling goofball, Elena is relentlessly irritable and contemptuous, and Vergara... well, I can't tell you about him without getting into spoilers, but he's not the same man. The only character who seems consistent is Laguna, who's also the only actor who seems to be taking the story seriously. He almost manages to save it.

The basic lack of seriousness pervades the writing. Stuff happens without any attempt at plausibility... I'm not talking about the supernatural, I mean mundane things. People know things that happened in scenes where they weren't present, plot devices appear at impossible times. At one point a man who was strip-searched and dressed by guards moments ago suddenly has a cell phone in his pocket.

Ultimately, for me, having seen season 1 makes it impossible to really invest in season 2. It's not silly enough to feel like a completely different world, but it's not serious enough to take, er, seriously. I keep expecting the world from the previous season and being disappointed, which compounds the disappointment of seeing a great premise wasted. Maybe watch season 2 first? That might be a way to enjoy both.