Huset

Great storyline and even greater camera and editing work. The viewer gets a real sense of being locked up as a prison guard with a bunch of violent criminals. Who can you trust? Who will get jumped?

The claustrophobic feeling is so central, you even see it in the guard's private sphere. This is best represented by the guard Henrik who is living with his family in a damp caravan because his house is infested. Phenomenal symbolism!

I don't give much for the critics saying it's not a representation of real prison life. It's not a documentary - but a great fiction drama.

Season one's ending does however go a bit over the top. And things like the constant rain for dramatic effect does become a bit annoying.

There have been so many prison dramas over the years, but creative writers and producers continue to breathe life into the subgenre. 'Wentworth' brilliantly remade Australia's true original 'Prisoner Cell Block H', while Jenji Kohan's 'Orange Is The New Black' used storytelling to explore the lives of the women in Litchfield's Penitentiary. Then there was Spain's prison thriller 'Vis A Vis', unsparing in its brutality and gory details, and more recently Jimmy McGovern's excellent 'Time' mini series for the BBC which focuses on how lives of prison officers and their charges overlap. So many prison dramas!

Kim Fupz Aakeson's Danish DR 'Huset' ('Prisoner' although it translates as 'The House') really ratchets the tension up over its 6 episodes. Dark and claustrophobic, The lives of 4 prison officers are profiled and in the background the prison is under threat of closure as authorities struggle to deal with a whole range of 'internal' issues. Fine performances are supported with 'ground level' production values. You often feel you're right there, a real credit to the directors! Officers Henrik (played by David Dencik), rookie Sammi (Youssef Wayne Hvidtfeldt) and Prison Warden Gert (Charlotte Fich) all make 'Huset' highly exciting, but the Danes also wheel on their secret weapon Sofie Gråbøl who many will know as Detective Sarah Lund in earlier series 'Forbrydelsen' ('The Killing'). Gråbøl is electrifying as the decent guard Miriam having to make tough decisions because of people getting to her 'on the outside'. Without giving anything away, the similarity with Stephen Graham's Eric McNally in 'Time' wasn't lost on me.

'Huset' clearly raises issues related to prison life, but at heart it's a classic 'noir' crime drama but set within the confines of a prison. And its protagonists all learn to their cost it's impossible to leave your problems at the prison gates. At times it's depressingly violent, understandably perhaps, and maybe plays too much on the stereotypes of corruption etc. Prison life is a messy business that's for sure! Who's to say it's not true to life? You probably learn more about the Danes and Denmark from events taking place outside (the way Gert deals with her husband's failing health tells you a lot about the humane side of Danish culture, for example), but the pressure these individuals are under is pretty universal. And in that, this prison drama never grows boring. I think overall I preferred McGovern's 'Time', particularly in the way it shows how individuals' lives become compromised in their actions and situation, but 'Huset' follows similar themes and is definitely worth a look. You can see it on BBC iPlayer until February 2025. Highly recommended.

A powerful series that is brilliant in its twists and turns and the level of sustained tension right through. Actors are fantastic in that even the lack of expression on the faces of the main characters, portrays a lot of emotion. I read one review that said there's no understanding of what prison is about, but thats not the point for me. I see it as the writer and director using free license of a prison setting, to portray a powerful story of us as humans, and how even those with the best of morals or intentions, have vulnerabilities or weak spots that can be exploited or manipulated. It is honest, daring, and punchy. I loved it!

Dont underrate this serie. Love the symbolic meaning. So many thoughts benhinden this story and cast is doing a great job. Especially in last episode, where all the conflicts is potrayed and meet each other. Lige is too short to Watch bad Series so therefore can i fully recommend you to Watch this. They story, containers a lot of scary scenes that can seems, disturbing, but that shouldnt be the Reason not to give this Piece of a go. And Big ajour-out to thr actor who played sammi, he really give his character some deph, because he both contains the emotional and coolness side. I even wanna Watch this art one more time.

The great Sofie Grabol is one of an ensembl cast in 'Prisoner', a Danish drama that explores the nightmare of the prison system, mostly from the perspective of the guards. Grabol is good as expected, but the whole cast play their roles nicely, although it was probably guilding the lilly a bit to have all three of the major characters compromised (albeit in different ways) by their relationships to prisoners. In spite of this, the individual elements of the story have a grimly plausible feel, and reminds one of how unwilling we are as a society to take the custody and rehabilition of criminals with the seriousness it deserves.