To the Lake

I do love an end of the world/rampant virus/people going nuts type of drama, it has to be said. So this was right up my street.

I watched it dubbed, so I probably didn't get the best of it, but it was enjoyable all the same.

A bit of a culture shock in places. We Brits just don't tend to have that much nudity in our dramas! And, did it need so many boobs? Probably not, but hey, they were all cracking boobs!

I did get a bit tired of it halfway through, but after a few weeks off came back to it and I'm glad I did. The set up for the second season looks great. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for Netflix to add it.

There's no spoilers here, but I will warn that there's a fair bit of sexual violence, albeit more threatened, than fully executed. I presume it goes back to the cultural thing.

And for anyone just wanting gore and action, I'd suggest you give it a try but know that this is more about the characters (even if they don't make that much sense - again, I'll assume the cultural difference).

Overall a solid series.

I'm so glad I don't live in the snow! I'll take constant drizzle any day! I'd have frozen to death on day one.

I was being sceptical before watching the first episode, but when I turned it on, I was vastly surprised! It doesn't only have a great storyline, it also has a fabulous cast and setting(s). You can feel that the characters develop emotions for one another. There's hatred, love, sympathy, but most importantly, there's hope and trust. You can literally learn from this show and know that if we ever have to face an epidemic like that, you'll have to be able to not only adapt to the changes around you, but also have the ability to trust the ones that can and should be trusted.

Anyways, I am giving this series a 9/10, I would give it a 10 if a few more families were involved, it would have been more "diverse". Really recommend this show to anyone that loves post-apocalyptic movies etc.

It is a series where at certain points you have to turn your critical brain off and just accept some of the stupid decisions made by the characters. But you believe in there decisions because the acting is really great. So you buy into that fact that most of the characters are seriously flawed people and wont act rationally like you think you would in there situation.

I love Science fiction, but this is apocalypse horror fiction. Not really science fiction.. especially since we are experiencing a pandemic currently (hopefully that line doesnt age well...)... For all we know a proper epidemic could happen in our life time... where a good chunk of people on the planet die... Its not really space ships or aliens coming to visit... it's a reality that could happen.

They don't make the infected zombies or any reused crud like that. Its just people that get very sick and die very quickly. It's believable and is done really well.

My only complaint is the silly softcore scenes and hilariously bad music when they occur with the young kids... They seemed really out of place. If they took out that music and set the mood differently.. changed a bit of the dialogue to not be so corny... then those scenes would've fit within the seriousness of the rest of the series much better. Sure people want to bang when they think the end it near.. But you don't need to make a point of it so often in 8 episodes.. It's like they were trying to outmatch game of thrones.. but with awful music.

Anyway. Besides that complaint I really enjoyed everything else about this series. Especially the complex mix of characters and there opposing personality types, it keeps the series interesting between telling the over arching story of the world being taken over by a epidemic (and possibly a foreign force taking advantage of that)

I had been looking for something new to watch, and randomly stumbled on a blog post gushing about this show. I decided to give it a shot, and could not stop watching over the course of 2 days.

If someone asked me to describe this show, I would say that it is a mix of "28 Days/Weeks Later" (2002, 2007) and "Contagion" (2011), with a uniquely Russian flair mixed in. I have never been exposed to a Russian producton before, and this show certainly set the bar high.

"To the Lake" follows an unlikely group of survivors as they attempt to battle their way out of Moscow, fleeing from a deadly virus that kills everything in its path within 3-4 days. The virus itself is shrouded in mystery, but the concept reminded me a lot of the aformentioned movie "Contagion". There are no zombies or supernatural entities found here; just a bleak depicition of mother nature's most efficient killing tool as it runs unchecked throughout Russia and beyond. I really appreciated this approach, and in my opinion, the show has a more realistic feel when compared to other pandemic shows that came before it (one AMC show in particular comes to mind...).

The editng and camera work were often reminiscent of the "28 Days" series, with hard cuts and shaky camera shots to help emphasize the horror and confusion of the situation. The cinematography was also excellent, and included some breathtaking shots of Russia's wilderness.

I only have a few minor gripes with the show. While the acting is excellent, there are moments where characters make some rather bewildering choices. My second issue is with the music; there are times where it feels out of place, or perhaps doesn't have the emotional impact that was intended. There are also times where the music is excellent, and reminded me (again) of the "28 Days" movies. Overall, it's a bit of a mixed bag.

With that being said, I definitely recommend this show. It's intense and bleak, but also has a uniquely human element to it that can be hard to capture in shows like this. If you like post apocalyptic movies/shows, definitely check this one out. For English speakers, I highly recommend watching this show in Russian with subtitles.

I admit to binge watching this, after the first episode I was hooked and wanted to see what happend to them , yes there are some cheesy moments and some bad decisions but people faced with life and death decisions under great stress do not always act rationally personally I enjoyed it and look forward to a season two