This was a superb series - yet another great piece of intelligent horror-film making by Mike Flanagan. Proof, if more were needed, that when it comes to horror, British film-makers can lead the world.
Im going to be giving my views from a few rough notes I scribbled odwn as I was watching it as the gradual unfolding and explication of the story form episode to episode was one of its (many) strengths. Unlike so many other series, one was constantly being surprised from episode to episodeand what one thuoght at one stage of the route that you believed you were on, turned out to be completely untrue and misleading. Numbers refer to the episodes during/after which I had the thoughts indicated.
1: Right from the start, there is a very vivid, strong sense of a very isolated and unchanging community, being both beautiful and, subtly, sinister. We saw few faces in close-up in this episode as if we were not ready to properly begin to get to know indivduals.. Already in this first episode there is a sense of creeping dread -very non-specific at the moment, even without the cats (watch the series to see what I mean). But there seem to be a number of elements allusded to that are significant - a previous oil spill, the impact on the community and a settlement and a recreation hall, these last two being, at this stage, possibly connected - but nothing is clearly spelt out. Bev is clearly a central character…
2. Now more of a focus on individuals and particularly family relationships (the depiction of which is a major strength of the series). The dynamics are very perceotively on=bserved and the writing of the dialogue is superbly good - really thoughtful and thought-provoking in terms of content but also wholly plausible and of the sort of conversations that one believes these sort of people would have. The father/son scene on the boat (possible episode 3 - my notes are unclear aboit this - was particularly fine and powerful
4. Everything seems to be getting better now…but intriguing details e.g. Erin(?) able to clear mother’s room rapid;y after having left it for a very long time. Details remain vivid e.g. Bev’s expressions in church. Intriguingly ambiguous. Does she know more than we are being told? Again the quality of the dialogue is remarkable, particularly with Erin and Riley’s profound, convincing ad vitally engaging discussion of death and what it means (which turns out to be very significant at the very end). A long, deep, demanding discussion with no concessions to the viewer and with superbly controlled unmoving camera - and the caera work is truning out to be wonderful - both when as in this scene there is virtually no movement to distract or when there are very long tracking/moving shots often without very much dialogue.
5. Riley’s ‘change’ remarkably sustained (you need to watch to see what I mean).
6. Again the wonderful dialogue. The Sheriff’s very pwoerful speech about his life and experiences and his dilemma when being asked to investigate the church after the mainland experiences he has had - and 9/11 was used but in a wholly appropriate and dramatically necessary way that was not in the least manipulative or cliched.
7. And a superb, satisfiyng end too. The more straighforward horror/supernatural element (which has really only been made explicit in the last few episodes), was, I thought, pretty convincing. And the apocalyptic ending was emotionally very powerful and ‘right’, not merely lurid death and destruction. Moving, understandable and even allowing us sympathy for the apparently wholly unsympathetic. The final speeches about God and death were amazing and at the end I vividly recalled the last moments of the Incredible Shrinking Man and the main characetrs understanding of himself and the nature of death. The ending was very pwoerfully sustained to match the crucial natural event that marks the end (no sppilers) and this was much helped by the hymn being sung by all at the end. And the music used was another major strength of this amazing series.
I cannot wait for his next productio