The Loch

Compelled to write a review to the enjoyable crime drama set near Inverness. Despite similarities to Shetland and Broadchurch, this drama feels fresh. It reminds us of the differences between rural communities and the effect a crime can have on such a small community compared to a city.

The plot has you second guessing at every clue uncovered and the desire to uncover the truth is overwhelming. Suspenseful moments intertwined in a mix of both fast and slow moving plot points, if you are into British crime dramas, this needs to be added to your must watch list.

I will disagree with some of the other reviews on here, and say I quite enjoyed the first part, which had set a tone for a Scottish Broadchurch, sadly the episodes that have followed have felt a little hollow.

The positives, the location, camera work and atmosphere are totally on point, it's a very attractive show, looks wonderfully vibrant, you will marvel at the scenery, they couldn't fail with that location. The lead, Siobhan Finneran is great, a strong actress with charisma and presence.

On the downside, I find Finneran so good, that she's making some of the rest feel like non entities, some of the characters are so forgettable, they're not making enough impression. Hopefully that will change, Alastair Mackenzie is a fine actor, he's just been underused so far. At times I find it a bit slow, tedious almost, they could have condensed it down to four parts, and removed some of the padding. It doesn't have the hook to retain your interest that Broadchurch managed to gain.

Overall it's watchable enough, and has some tense moments, it just feels like a bit of a wasted opportunity. 6/10

The two female leads are actresses I have happily followed in their other shows like Breaking Bad and Happy Valley.

This show was unfortunately predictable not only with who was ultimately responsible for the killing, but even in the clichés they would use in tiny scenes.

If there is another season of this show I will not watch it.

The scenery and the cinematography of it - no complaints there!

The actors - reasonably good. They're often interesting to watch, even if at times what the writers had them do was terribly stupid.

The story - starts off well enough. A dark Scandinavian crime-type show, rooted perhaps in Italian gialli films. Some gory crimes with sordid backstories. Red herrings galore.

It starts unraveling at the end, though. The solution to the crimes is terribly contrived. Odds that any viewer will be annoyed: probably pretty high.

At least it's a short series? If it were to have a second season with writers that have more respect for the material, the cast, and the audience, I'd probably watch.

I totally get some of the complaints about this being a bit far-fetched and cliched but having missioned the entire series in one day I absolutely loved it! Was completely gripping and every time we thought we'd figured it out something new happened and we were back to square one! Yes it's quite formulaic but the script is excellent, the acting is fab and the scenery is stunning. If you want an easy going edge-of-your-seat thriller box set give this a go!