The Burning Girls

The final episode of this cliched series is a bizarre helter-skelter of twists, reveals, revelations, perfunctoy attempts to tie up loose ends, mind stretching resolutions for subplots and red herring characters; and some bug-eyed OTT acting all around.

It's as if the writers woke up one morning, realised there was only one episode left, and panicked. Suddenly there's a mad rush to reveal that she, he, they - anybody! - aren't what they seem, that events we thought happened didn't happen the way we thought they did, that THAT storyline actually had nothing to do with THIS storyline after all.

And wasn't it called THE BURNING GIRLS?? Mmmmm...

After meandering through 5 episodes of trope soup, Episode 6 is a manic joy.

If you are in the mood for a thriller mystery, then I think this is above average, but not spectacular. Admittedly, I am a bit biased because I enjoy, and purposely watch most all of Samantha Morton's work where she gets to stand out. The first episode was a little soft getting into it and I was concerned she was going to have a bit of a vapid character role, but in episode 2 and beyond it gets a bit more engaging and we see a little more expected contribution. I had figured out about 60 percent of the mystery pretty quick, but there is enough concealment to keep some surprises at the end that fits together well and makes a good mini-series binge.

I really did love The Burning Girls! Loved the cast, loved the characters, loved premise, loved the location and loved the supernatural elements. By about the second or third episode I was starting to worry that there might be too many plots and subplots on the go for 6 episodes, but all of the stories intertwined and came to an extremely satisfying conclusion. I watch a fair amount of mystery dramas, and I am always incensed when I reach the final episode only to discover the main murder was actually an accident. This obviates the need for a proper motive and is extremely lazy writing. You will not get this with The Burning Girls, there are motives galore (even if some of them stretched my credulity a little bit). The Burning Girls follows a tried and true crime/mystery drama formula, while throwing in a spoonful of Wicker Man, Happy Valley, The Exorcist and a pinch of Scandi noir. It worked for me and I have given it full marks, as I cannot image a more enjoyable example of the genre.

I don't know what to say, acting was great, I liked the twist at the end, very well written. I recommend everybody to watch this mini TV series, so entertaining. It is not very scary in my opinion but full of little stories which dragged you in and grab your attention. Jack was the hero of the movie, an inspiring character, a loving trustful mother with tremendous support for everybody. I am so happy that I picked this TV series, really worth watching. Be ready to hear lots of stories from the past, scandals, betrayals, religious beliefs, sacrifice, myth. I just could not imagine the pain has gone through.

Samantha Morton is brilliant as always, but the messy sub-plots and indecisive supernatural story line create too many loose ends and unanswered questions.

The motivation of most of the various murderous and sadistic characters are not explained, nor are most of their actions.

The supernatural visions of burning girls, ghosts, the dead rabbit / bird theme, lights going out and doors banging shut, and the cursed village plot in general, is clearly designed to build suspense and keep viewers watching, but then is left dangling with zero explanation, other than a brief moral subplot.

This is a decent rainy Sunday slow burner with a bit of a twist, but overall has a frustrating finish and is ragged around the edges.