Reyka

Be prepared to pay attention and stay focused. Then buckle up and keep up!

Extensive use of flashbacks and multiple scenes with no dialogue contribute to the ongoing development of the primary characters.

The Cane Field Killings: South African crime drama. Reyka who was herself abducted as a child in 1994 and held for 4 years is now (in 2021) a profiler who tracks down serial killers. Her latest case is complicated by a land deal between a white farmer and a local Zulu chief. Her boss wants a quick resolution blaming hitmen but Reyka is unconvinced. All seven victims are young women, they have been dismembered. Witchcraft, traditional power systems, corruption, all feed in to this narrative as does Reyka's troubled personal and her confrontations with her abductor who is seeking parole. Switches between the present and Reyka's time in captivity, Great performance by Kim Engelbert as Reyka and Iain Glen as Speelman, her abductor, Dark, violent, gruesome, very effective and engaging thriller series. Created by Rohan Dickson 8/10.

Refreshing to see something from South Africa. For myself that knows next to nothing of the Peoples and Customs it was an informative change from the usual UK fare. The story is a look at what might happen when a young girl is abducted by an extremely twisted couple who want a "Family" with benefits. The trauma that affects the characters involved is very real if not often misunderstood. Added to this is a number of other stories including the hunt for a gruesome serial killer, murders and chaos, Tribal politics and land reformation. Pay close attention to the characters who are very complex and can confuse you at times.

I just finished watching this show tonight, and first off I want to note that I LOVED the soundtrack. I need to find out what tracks are on the soundtrack but can't seem to find any info about it anywhere. Hopefully I'll figure it out eventually!

Secondly, the show itself was mesmerising - with an intriguing, harrowing series of storylines running parallel to each other. The landscapes of South Africa (a place I haven't visited yet) were stunning, but the main setting for the drama (the cane fields) was haunting, mysterious, and hid plenty of dark secrets.

The story of Reyka and Angus was a perfect example of that of a master manipulator attempting to pull his victim back into his web, even though years have passed since they last saw each other. He was trying until the very end, but him involving her daughter in the whole mess didn't go the way he'd thought it would.

I felt that all the actors did amazing jobs, the cinematography was breathtaking, each episode ended with a cliffhanger that kept me eager to watch more, and as I mentioned, the soundtrack was perfect. I'm still left with some questions, but that could be because I missed obvious things that would have given me answers. For instance, was the Lucy we met in the flesh actually Lucy, or was she a faux Lucy? How was Angus planning to take Reyka along for the ride?

If you are a fan of creepy murder mysteries/other mysteries, then I recommend this show for sure.

Uneven story, that tries to hard and fails. Many aspects of the story do not make sense, which makes the series unbelievable. It could have been much better if the writing where better.