The Killing Kind

I watched it as it had great reviews, but for sure not real reviews as this series is very childish, with weak character development. Unbelievable and very tiring with constant going back and forth with the action.

Constant flashing of her remembering things that happen two minutes ago. Is a challenging to resist through 6 episode, a lot of unnecessary long scenes of her walking or being sad and remembering traumatic events not enough explained in reality. All I can say I was very dissapointed by this series. Not a fan of the main actress before, not a fan now. She is very annoying in all the series I saw her, playing the same character that seems a good girl but in reality it is not.

Gave this a try because of the very high score... quickly realised that the score was based on a handful of fake reviews, and because this is buried on a streaming service nobody has, there probably won't be any real ones any time soon. It seems like a case of a book (that I haven't read) translating very badly to the screen. There isn't much character development. I was constantly asking questions as so much felt unlikely out unbelievable. It's also very cheaply made, with overuse of a mainly green colour palette to try and make it look 'cinematic'. If you've watched this and thought it was guff too then please do review it honestly and help others get a more balanced score.

Let's start by saying that I had already read Jane Casey's book and devoured it in two days.

Hence the high expectations for the TV series of the same name, The Killing Kind, starring two talents of the calibre of Emma Appletone and Colin Morgan.

The series diverges from the book on a few points and has a completely different ending, an ending that at first left me a little bewildered but then, reasoning with a cool head, I realised that it is absolutely consistent with the manipulative charm of John Webster (Colin Morgan)

I finished the six episodes all in one go and often found myself gasping for breath, almost moments of apnoea so much was the tension.

The two protagonists brought to the screen a set of feelings that make you not want to take your eyes off the screen even for a moment.

The anxiety and insecurities conveyed by Ingrid (Emma) envelop you and you feel her fear The charismatic charm of John ( Colin ) attracts you like a bee to honey, you can't help but love, you can't help but desire, you can't help but trust him And that says a lot about Mr Morgan's acting qualities But can John Webster be trusted?

His charisma says: yes I love you, you can trust me Who knows if he'll be the right choice?

I watched this based on a friends rave recommendation on how good it was - I was disappointed to say the least.

I literally had to force myself to finish all the episodes as by the second one I was bored.

The story centers on a barrister, named Ingrid Lewis, who defends John Webster against stalking charges, only for Webster to turn his attentions to her.

The story itself seemed drawn out with lots of repetitious flashbacks, poignant and pointless walks and silences that appeared to act as filler just to make it last 6 episodes. In the book, by Jane Casey, from which this series was adapted I could see that this would have been time used to give the reader the inner thoughts, monologues and mental turmoil experienced by the characters, however on the screen it really just resulted in boring overused filler that added nothing to the screenplay. The story is fairly basic and shallow with 'twists' introduced to try to fatten it up, however for those who like a good mystery it was obvious where this was all leading and the ending was no great surprise.

None of the characters were particularly likeable and failed to elicit even a modicum of empathy for the situations they found themselves in due to lack of character depth in failing to humanise them outside of the main mechanics of the story.

Ingrid Lewis, the main character, seemed to have no problem finding time in her busy schedule, as an up and coming career focused Barrister, to drop everything while she interfered in a Police Inquiry. John Webster being self employed it was easier to understand how he had the time available to come and go as he pleased. The other characters, whether victims or related family members didn't evoke any sympathy in the viewer and perhaps had some of the 'filler' time been devoted to fleshing out the characters a little this could have been avoided.

Emma Appleton was mediocre in the series. Perhaps it's just me but she seems somewhat limited in her acting skills, facial expressions etc. Or maybe she just tends to play repetitive characters.

Colin Morgan was excellent despite the poor script and screenplay he had to work with.

All other actors may have been very good but due to their easily forgettable characters they really didn't make much of a impact and were just there to provide some interest and complication in what was a fairly unimaginative story.

Overall if you have time to waste and don't want to engage your brain you may enjoy it. It's less of an edge of the seat story and more of a can I keep my eyes open to the end.

I rated it as 5/10 as it wasn't absolutely terrible but was no more than mediocre.

Ingrid Lewis, a barrister is horrified when her friend and colleague Belinda's is killed one night, carrying Ingrid's distinctive red umbrella. Ingrid receives a call from former client John Webster, who begins stalking her.

One of those dramas that could easily pass you by, luckily it came up as a recommendation on Britbox, I'm staggered as to why this hasn't been more prominent, it definitely didn't go out on ITV.

If you haven't seen it yet, I urge you to check it out, you won't be disappointed. It's full of twists and turns, suspense and intrigue, a real whodunnit in the old fashioned sense, you'll have to watch right through to learn all.

A thought provoking story, but easy to follow, I didn't feel confused at any time, I was never left muddled or bemused.

I didn't instantly get into it, it does take a little time to get going, but when it does, it delivers. Episode five in particular was excellent.

A fine cast, including Emma Appleton and Sara Powell, however it's Colin Morgan who stood out for me, he has done several times, cracking actor.

Watch it.

7/10.