The Darkness

I was originally going to skip this one based on a couple of reviews I'd read but decided to give it a shot, and I'm glad I did.

The scenery is stunning and atmospheric, and is essentially a character in its own standing. It has strengthened my resolve to visit Iceland one day!

The story I found to be captivating - it hooked me in and kept me watching. It is a suspenseful and emotional storyline, and the cast did a great job with their performances, especially the Icelandic actors performing in English. Kudos to them.

I look forward to a second season and seeing more of what this team has to offer.

...which appeared out of the blue here in Denmark on SkyShowtime.

I was pleasently surprised by the plot and twists, episode after episode. I won't spoil anything, but I bet ya that you can't figure out whodunnit. Love the cold setting that Island is too. Very vibey, moody and beautiful.

I've always liked Lena Olin, who I really "discovered" when watching "Romeo is Bleeding", also starring Gary Oldman. She gives a heartfelt, stellar performance in this series, as a mom and tough detective. It's really top notch.

Also very good performance from Jack Bannon, which I haven't seen before in a major role. Note to self: Check out his other work.

And as the cherry on the topping is that the series is directed by Lasse Hallström, which also directed the excellent "What's Eating Gilbert Grape" from 1993 starring Johnny Depp and other great movies. And it shows. The directing is tight, beautiful and to the point.

Definitely recommend this series.

Here's hoping for season 2.

I'm Icelandic and worked crew on The Darkness. This was a big one for us, with many local people involved - all the way through to post. Even though it's in English, it still feels Icelandic to me. The silence, the light, the landscape - the feeling.

Most people don't know, but the first scripts had Huldakona - real hidden people - and I loved that. The director tried hard to include things that are deeply Icelandic, even if some parts were cut later (I don't know why). There was more of our culture in this story than what ended up on screen.

I just hope people stop attacking it. If there's no season two, we all lose. It was something good for Iceland. Don't kill it from pride.

Really tried to keep going with this, mainly because I loved Jack Bannon in Pennyworth, and he holds up, but only just against the furious, unhinged and screeching Lena Olin - what has happened to her? She used to be good, maybe she was badly directed, but her character is completely over the top and unbelievable, and every time she's on screen her face writhing with inexplicable expressions, you wonder what part she thinks she's playing. A Vampire?

And I agree, shouldn't have been filmed in English.

You'd think that a combination of Ragnar Jonasson, Lasse Halstrom, Lena Olin and Douglas Henshal would result in something very special, but this series is just an irritating mess. I abandoned it before the end of the second episode and reading many of the reviews here I'm glad it's not me. Avoid. I agree with just about every criticism in the reviews.