Hemlock Grove

The graphics are epic and the characters are perfect, but the story line doesn't fit together very well. When I watched it I felt like they were trying too hard to make it look good and be plausible which is great but, the plot slipped through the cracks. It's a nice try but it could have been better. Also they had to many mysteries going on at the same time. It was hard to remember who knew what and how it all came together. They rushed things that needed time and dragged things out that needed rushed. It's a perplexing show and I don't regret watching it, I just wish things had turned out differently. It's a bit gory but interesting too, if you put up with it long enough to find out.

Teenagers in the small Pennsylvania town of Hemlock Grove are being murdered by a strange beast. The townsfolk believe it is a werewolf. To them, this makes the prime suspects the local gypsies, and Peter Rumancek in particular. He steadfastly denies that he is the murderer but he harbours a dark secret...he is a werewolf.

Mediocre. Had some potential to be a edgy supernatural thriller, Stranger Things or True Blood-like (the fact that Alexander Skarsgard's brother, Bill, has a leading role in Hemlock Grove helps the True Blood comparison). The murders provide for intrigue but this is substantially diluted by the fact that very little happens in the way of solving the mystery for the first 10 episodes. During that time the series is really just a teen soap-opera, with very limited character engagement.

Things do kick up several notches in the final three episodes of Season 1, making the Season worthwhile in the end. With a bit more closure on that season it would have been a decent mini-series.

After Season 1 there was nothing new to do, except invent other nasties to terrorise the town, and that's what happens. Add in more soap-opera like sub-plots and it's pretty boring stuff.

I lasted until Episode 4 of Season 2 before giving up.

Sleek and surreal, this new installment from Netflix (produced and directed by fright-man Eli Roth) breathes of noir-style films of yesteryear - if only it were in black and white. About halfway through the first episode I admit I was drifting, having serious doubts of the substantial play of the series. A fan of Netflix's hit 'House of Cards' I was eager to see what was up their sleeves and didn't want to give up too early. The show will pique your interest. It will dabble in sex and bloody-good fun. But this feels like an HBO version of Nickelodeon's Degrassi, with two parts Twilight and a dash of True Blood. Pretty people in over-saturated roles being seen through an over-exposed lens (it's kind of like watching it through a foggy beer glass). But hey, if you can't find a character in this show you wouldn't want to have sex with, then you don't have a pulse. In all seriousness, it will be interesting to see if the characters develop past their inherent sex appeal and find traction in a show that has a lot of potential. It's like riding in the slow lane on a Sunday afternoon in your daddy's Ferrari - when all in takes is an exit and an open road to come alive. Give it the gas and quit toying with us Netflix! A large part of why 'House of Cards' was so great is it hit the ground running and within 10-minutes of the pilot - I'm three episodes in and still waiting for it to make the turn. (Update to come)

I can't help but find it funny that everyone that has written a review has been comparing it to other shows. If you go into this show expecting it to be like House of Cards, you are not going to like it. Same with comparing it to other Sci-fi TV series'. It's comparing Apples and Oranges.

You have to give credit where credit is due, Hemlock Grove is unique, it isn't a generic or cliché TV show likes we've all seen one hundred times. The writing may not be the best and at times it can be quite confusing.

Give the show a chance, it's not as much of a "horror" as IMDb and other sites peg it to be. It's really not that scary. It's an interesting show to say the least.

** May contain mild spoilers **

'Hemlock Grove' is a rare and strange beast among the many current fantasy/horror shows on TV. This new series is refreshingly original; although vampirism and werewolves haven't exactly been underrepresented in movies and TV-shows over the last couple of years, 'Hemlock Grove' manages to find a very interesting new approach and uses old European myths and legends - and even a bit of Sci-Fi - to inject some fresh blood into a genre that started to feel a bit stale. The mix is strangely compelling – and highly addictive.

The cast is very strong, especially the two leads Bill Skarsgård and Landon Liboiron – and of course, the always great Famke Janssen. The production values are also worth mentioning: the music, the cinematography and the set-designs in this show are absolutely beautiful, the gory make-up effects look realistic and CGI is thankfully kept to a minimum. I'm a bit surprised this show hasn't found a bigger audience yet, given how well it is produced (and this wasn't exactly a cheap affair either: season 2 had a budget of 52 million dollars for 10 episodes), but maybe it's just a bit too original for that. As far as I'm concerned, 'Hemlock Grove' certainly deserves to be seen; offering unique 'Horror' with a fantastic, slightly surreal atmosphere and amazing images, this highly original series is a prime candidate for binge-watching. 8 stars out of 10.

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