Horror Episode Review: Bates Motel, Episode 3

Episode 3: What’s Wrong with Norman

Overall: C+

Acting: C+

Writing: C

Story: C+

Technical aspects: C

Effects: C

IMDB

Directed by:

Paul Edwards

Starring:

Freddie Highmore

Vera Farmiga

Max Thieriot

Nicola Peltz

Olivia Cooke

Mike Vogel

Particular trigger warnings: creepy incest vibes, images of/implied slavery, mentioned rape

Passes the Bechdel test? No.

            The plot continues to thicken. As was fairly obvious from the last episode, Dylan (Max Thieriot) is now working guarding the pot fields. Emma (Olivia Cooke) confesses to Norman (Freddie Highmore) that she hadn’t initially believed that the sketchbook described anything real, but had just wanted to spend time with him; however, now she realizes it is true and feels like they have to do something about it. Norman tells her to give the book back and forget about it. Norman then has a blackout in class, and is hospitalized. Bradley (Nicola Peltz) visits him, and Norma (Vera Farmiga) checks him out early. The police have searched the house, and Norman confesses that he kept Keith Summers’ belt after they disposed of his body, and the belt is now missing. Norma meets with Deputy Shelby (Mike Vogel), and he tells her that he took the belt and is willing to protect her. Later, Norman hallucinates his mother blaming him for the danger they could be in from the police, and she tells him to go to the Deputy’s house to retrieve the belt. While there, he finds a locked room in the basement, and a terrified Chinese girl locked in; apparently one of the girls depicted in the sketchbook.

            This is one of those times I feel somewhat conflicted, this time about pacing. I’ve complained a lot about shows that feel like they’re plodding along without progress toward a goal (see pretty much every review of an episode of The River.) This time it feels like it’s racing along too fast, especially where Norman is concerned. The hint of crazy during his attack on his brother (defending Norma’s honor) was good. And the reveal in this episode that he didn’t remember doing so is also good. But adding in the scene where he’s envisioning his teacher in bondage, that he’s full-on hallucinating conversations with his mother… seems like it’s jumping pretty far forward. The allure, in my opinion, of a “prequel” of sorts to the Psycho story that we know, is in seeing how he got that way. And the controlling, manipulative actions of Norma’s in the first episode especially, though continuing into the second, really make sense as the kind of thing that’ll fuck a kid up, considering the codependent/near-incestuous relationship they have. But now we’re being shown a Norman who is clearly already all the way crazy, not one who is slowly slipping.

            There could also be complaints regarding how convenient it is that all of our characters find ways to be tied to each other. The Deputy with the enslaved women, Dylan with the drug ring, etc. But hey, it’s a show with a relatively short guaranteed run, so I’m willing to forgive that. (Though I think it’d make more sense if they also did more to capture the small-town feel in other ways.)

            Once again, I found it jarring when we’re given scenes that really look like they could be set decades in the past (the old-style TV, a lot of the wardrobe, the rest of the sets in the Bates’ home) and then someone whips out their iPhone. I don’t know if it’s some kind of deliberate anachronistic choice, if I’m supposed to be inferring great meaning from it, or what.

            The acting was pretty all over the place. Freddie Highmore is great, I think, and there were a couple scenes where he looked very much like Anthony Perkins. And I still really like Vera Farmiga as Norma. Most of the rest was pretty serviceable. But Nicola Peltz had some badly delivered lines… she’s seemed shaky to me on and off since episode one, but this one was not her best.

            Otherwise, everything seems pretty unremarkable, in a not entirely bad way. Nothing about the sound direction or filming or effects sticks out in a bad way, but nothing being done makes me think “oh, that’s amazing” either.

            The bad things (some lousy acting, weird pacing) bugged me a little more this episode, but not in a way that makes the show unwatchable or anything. I’ll keep tuning in.

Horror Episode Review: Bates Motel, Episode 2

Episode 2: Nice Town You Picked, Norma

Overall: B-

Acting: C+

Writing: C+

Story: B-

Technical aspects: C

Effects: B

IMDB

Directed by:

Tucker Gates

Starring:

Freddie Highmore

Vera Farmiga

Max Thieriot

Nicola Peltz

Olivia Cooke

Mike Vogel

Particular trigger warnings: creepy incest vibes

Passes the Bechdel test? Yes, barely.

Episode 2 is an episode mostly devoted to thickening the plot, it seems. Norman’s (Freddie Highmore) older half-brother, Dylan (Max Thieriot) shows up to stay, despite his obvious hatred for Norma (Vera Farmiga). One of Norman’s friends, Bradley (Nicola Peltz) witnesses her father crash his car, after he’d been burned alive. The authorities are more deeply investigating Keith Summers’ disappearance. Deputy Zack Shelby (Mike Vogel) starts to reveal to Norma that there are some… odd and less-than-legal practices common in the town, beneath its “small-town charm.” And when Norman starts a project with another friend, Emma (Olivia Cooke), she finds the sketchbook he’d found in the house, and investigates the drawings of tortured women, and she comes to believe that the drawings describe real events. Later, Norman and Emma stumble upon a field of weed in the woods, after which they’re pursued by armed men. And apparently the “eye for an eye” justice that Deputy Shelby described has led to another man being burned.

I liked this episode more than I liked the first one. There’s at least some sense of an ongoing plot forming. We get to see how Norman himself is already a little unhinged, especially regarding how other people may treat his mother, yet how naïve he seems in other regards, like with Emma when she kisses him. Norma still switches back and forth between “good mother” mode and “oh-so-creepy” quite well. (I definitely laughed at the “It’s not like it’s weird!” line.)

I’m not sure yet how I feel about the characters we’ve been introduced to. The addition of a brother seems odd, though his absence from prior canon can probably be easily explained by how unwelcome he seems in the family. I’m wondering if we’re going to be stuck with an obnoxious love triangle plot in the future with Bradley, Norman, and Emma, but I suppose we’ll see. (It’s fairly obvious that nothing will really work out in the long run, but that doesn’t mean they won’t try to drag it out.) I'm also skeptical about their skill in handling Emma's cystic fibrosis; this episode already seemed inconsistent regarding it. One scene she's gasping for breath walking up the hill, but then she's able to run away from the men chasing them without too much visible trouble.

            The hints so far about whatever underbelly the town’s economy is based on are interesting enough, though it's apparently pot, which was maybe revealed a little too quickly. (Dropping hints about the town's dark side is well and good, but they could have gotten a little more tension out of it.) I do wonder just how “small” this “small town” is supposed to be. It seemed like it was supposed to be pretty small, both to fit Norma’s idea of a new life with Norman, and from comments made about how everyone knows everyone… yet much of it feels larger to me.

            The technical aspects are all still pretty good. The effects have been good, too, even if it’s not an effects-heavy show.

            I probably liked this episode a little better than the first one, so we’ll see if the trend continues.

Horror Episode Review: Bates Motel, Episode 1

Episode 1: First You Dream, Then You Die

Overall: C+

Acting: B

Writing: C

Story: C

Technical aspects: B

Effects: C

IMDB

Directed by:

Tucker Gates

Starring:

Vera Farmiga

Freddie Highmore

Particular trigger warnings: rape, family being manipulative, creepy incest vibes

Passes the Bechdel test? no

After the death of her husband, Norma Bates (Vera Farmiga) decides to move from Arizona to Oregon with her son, Norman (Freddie Highmore), to purchase a motel. They arrive in Oregon and begin to fix the place up, but the previous owner of the property, Keith Summers (W. Earl Brown), begins harassing them. Spoilers follow: Norma tries to keep Norman from going out, especially once it’s clear that some of the popular girls of the town are befriending him, but he sneaks out to party with them anyway. While he’s gone, Summers breaks into the house and rapes Norma, though Norman arrives in time to rescue her. She kills Summers, and convinces Norman to help her hide his body.

All right, I have my reservations about this show, which is an absolutely TERRIBLE pun that I didn’t intend at all, but now I can't bear to remove it. I’m sorry. It’s a contemporary prequel to Psycho, which is... meh. I’d prefer it be set in the correct time period to fit with the original story, and it’s odd because parts of it feel like they are. It’s not until the girls whip out their cell phones that it really feels like a modern piece. It comes across almost as if it was originally intended to be set decades ago, and then they just decided that was too hard to maintain. So hey, iPhones for everyone! BUT, since that’s personal preference, I’ll try not to let it cloud too much of my opinion.

It doesn’t quite feel like the same sort of horror as Psycho, though I can see it setting it up… maybe. I will say that Norma is written pretty well, alternating between almost girlish, giggly, creepily girlfriend-ish behavior toward Norman, and her controlling and manipulative side. It’s seriously creepy (and I think Vera Farmiga pulls it off very well.) The manipulation and guilting is very “real” feeling, to the point of almost being upsetting (especially the scene at the dinner table where she tells him that of course he can join track; she’ll just do everything herself, like she always does.) Plus, of course, the immensely creepy, obsessive, pseudo-incest vibes.

I’m not very impressed with their decision to include a pretty graphic (for something airing on a basic cable channel) rape scene. (Not that it really would have been any better if it’d been less graphic.) Yes, it’s a subject I’m touchy about, but it’s the kind of thing that it just shitty to throw in as “motivation” for something else. (In this case for Norman to stay closer to his mother and to help her hide the body.) It’s not a topic that should be used purely as a plot device, and it’s used that way far too often across just about every kind of media. That shit is not cool.

The episode also felt a bit rushed, which is maybe unavoidable. The series didn’t get a true pilot, but this was still the episode intended to establish the characters and setting. It does that, but it has to do so and have a self-contained story in 45 minutes or so. As a consequence, the development isn’t especially subtle.

The tech is fine, though not especially revolutionary. I did like the overhead shot of the officer in the bathroom. The set design is very good, especially with the house. It very much looks like the original house from the Psycho film, even if it’s been transplanted in time.

There isn’t much in the way of effects, so that’s hard to judge. There’s some blood and it didn’t look bad.

So yeah. It was… okay. It’s probably worth it to me to stick through a couple more episodes, at least. I am curious to see where it goes, and there’s enough done right that I want to see how it progresses. But I won’t say that I’m amazingly impressed or that I’d be heartbroken to miss an episode and catch it later. I do hope some of the issues improve when they have a little more room to devote to development rather than just establishment.

Horror Movie Quick Review: The Rite (2011)

Overall: B

IMDB

Directed by:

Mikael Håfström

Starring:

Anthony Hopkins

Colin O’Donoghue

I liked this one pretty well, but at the same time it didn’t feel like it did anything new.

The basic plot is that Michael (Colin O’Donoghue) begins training in seminary. Having a crisis of faith, he goes to Italy as a last attempt to renew his belief in God, and begins studying with Father Lucas Trevant (Anthony Hopkins), supposedly an exorcist. Michael doesn’t believe that demonic possession is real, and he still questions his faith. But then Father Trevant is possessed, and Michael is forced to take on the role of exorcist.

It’s a movie that is pretty good at what it does, and is well acted. But it also feels like it followed the recipe for making a movie about demonic possession and exorcism to the letter. There’s the main character having a moral crisis over his beliefs and whether or not he really has a vocation, there’s the demon that causes the possessed person to speak in tongues and talk about how the main character’s dead family is rotting/burning in hell, the demon is exorcised, and the main character finds his faith. Hooray!

If you like that type of movie, this one will probably not disappoint you. But if you’re looking for something new and different, this doesn’t really deliver.

Horror Movie Review: Seconds Apart (2011)

Overall: B+

Acting: A-

Writing: C

Story: B

Technical aspects: B

Effects: B

IMDB

Directed by:

Antonio Negret

Starring:

Edmund Entin

Gary Entin

Orlando Jones

Samantha Droke

Particular trigger warnings: coerced suicide, self-harm

Passes the Bechdel test: I don’t believe so

            Seconds Apart is about a pair of identical twins, Jonah (Edmund Entin) and Seth (Gary Entin), who have a psychic connection with each other that allows them to control people’s minds. The brothers, to put it lightly, do not use this power for good. When they were children they killed their babysitter; as teens, they’re doing a “project” where they force people to kill others or themselves, so the brothers can film them as they die. The people they control rarely seem to have any sense that they’re being controlled, and rarely fight the illusions… instead they seem to believe what they are doing is entirely normal. This “project” is apparently an attempt by Jonah and Seth to experience some emotion that they believe they are incapable of feeling. Their sadistic project is somewhat at odds with what appears to be an idyllic home life in a beautiful house with almost Stepford-esque parents.

            Investigating the deaths at the twins’ school is Detective Lampkin (Orlando Jones), a man haunted by memories of the death of his wife in a house fire. The twins frequently prey on these memories, trying to torment the detective.

            Meanwhile, a new girl named Eve (Samantha Droke) transfers to the school, and befriends Jonah. This begins to drive a wedge between the brothers, as Jonah becomes more interested in her, and wishes to drop the “project” with Seth.

I don’t want to spoil the pseudo-“twist” to the ending; it’s not the most shocking out there, and doesn’t change a lot about the plot itself, but I enjoyed it and what it showed about the characters.

            I really enjoyed this movie, though there are some really valid criticisms. One is that it’s a bit disjointed. That was distracting for my boyfriend when we watched it, though I didn’t notice it much at the time. But just trying to summarize it above, I’m reminded of it when I realize how much I didn’t mention.

I’m not sure how the detective jumps so easily to suspecting the twins. He gets some anecdotal evidence from other students, and they play some conceited mindgames with him, but it still seems like a pretty big jump for him to make.

 Some of the “tension” was obviously manufactured, for example with their murder of their babysitter being hinted at several times throughout the film as if it should be a shock when it’s revealed… but because they’ve already been shown killing people, that’s the obvious conclusion, devoid of any real suspense or surprise.

There’s a lot made of the “it” that the brothers hope to feel, but it’s left somewhat to interpretation what “it” is. (Uh… unless I missed it somehow?) It could be fear, as that’s what they believe they should experience at witnessing death, but if they want to feel fear, I’m unsure why they don’t do anything to put themselves in danger. I don’t want to immediately blame poor writing for that – it could be a deliberate choice to leave it to audience interpretation. But honestly, it mostly just leaves me confused more than thoughtful.

The introduction of Eve as the plot device to force the brothers apart is a bit cliché as well… the “woman causes divide between two close male friends/family members” isn’t exactly an original trope, and she didn’t have much characterization outside of that.

But the movie was very well-acted, including the rather surprising choice of Orlando Jones as the detective, and the chemistry between the brothers in particular was wonderful. The “twist” at the end is pretty creepy and well handled, in my opinion. I liked that the individual characters (with the unfortunate exception of Eve) were all quite complex – Detective Lampkin’s personal traumas didn’t feel too overstated, and gave him enough dimension to be interesting, and the twins’ relationship with each other vs. their relationships with the rest of the world contrast really well.

The world of the movie itself felt quite surreal, somehow removed from the real world. It felt fantasy-ish, something like the stylized settings in Willard or even in Edward Scissorhands, possibly because of the Victorian semi-Gothic aesthetics of the film. I enjoyed that, though it might not be to everyone’s liking.

There is less “horror” to the film in some ways. There are some scares in terms of the murders, but much of the horror comes from knowing what the brothers are capable of, not necessarily just what’s happening on screen. There’s a lot more focus on the drama between the characters and suspense. Again, I enjoyed that, but that may be disappointing if you aren’t expecting interpersonal drama and twisted psychology. Objectively this probably wouldn’t get a B+, but that’s what I give it for my personal enjoyment.

Horror Movie Review: Hyenas (2011)

Overall: C-

Acting: C

Writing: D

Story: C-

Technical aspects: C

Effects: D

IMDB

Directed by:

Eric Weston

Starring:

Costas Mandylor

Meshach Taylor

Joshua Alba

Christina Murphy

Derrick Kosinski

Andrew James Allen

Christa Campbell

Particular trigger warnings: Mexican racial slurs

Passes the Bechdel test? Yes, but barely.

If you are hoping for a horror film that brings mostly unintentional comedy, this could be the choice for you. Because this was bad, but mostly silly-bad, with much of the camp probably deliberate.

Hyenas has several plot threads going, none of them especially compelling. First we have the story of Gannon (Costas Mandylor), a man whose wife and infant child were killed by a breed of “were-hyenas” brought to North America by slave traders. He’s initially unbelieving when it comes to the existence of these werehyenas, but a man named “Crazy Briggs” (Meshach Taylor), a hunter of these creatures, convinces him. Crazy Briggs takes Gannon on as something of an apprentice hunter.

Then suddenly that part of the movie just kind of… ends for a while, and we’re taken to an apparent gang war in the local small town between the obnoxious white kids and the Hispanic kids. Bobby (Derrick Kosinski) leads the white kids against Marco (Joshua Alba), the leader of the Hispanic kids. Complicating things, Bobby is hazing/recruiting Jasper (Andrew James Allen), whose older sister Gina (Christina Murphy) is dating Marco. Drama!

Meanwhile, it’s revealed that the leader of the matriarchal hyena clan is dying, and so the disparate packs are meeting in the mines outside the town to pick a new leader. Wilda (Christa Campbell) seems poised to take over.

Back with Gannon, they rescue a girl from some of the hyenas, leading to an incredibly contrived plot twist that I doubt anyone was fooled by if they were paying any attention.

Eventually the plots converge somewhat by coincidence, as Gannon and Crazy Briggs head to the caves to kill Wilda and the rest, while Bobby and Marco go there to fight out their issues, and Gina follows them in order to stop them.

[Spoilers] There’s a silly action-y ending, that again I doubt will come as much of a surprise to anyone: Bobby and Marco are suddenly friends, most of the good guys escape (minus a dramatic self-sacrifice,) and most of the bad guys get blown up. [End spoilers.]

This movie is just so damn silly. It’s often entertainingly so, but much of the badness also comes just from sloppy writing and inconsistencies. I joked that when it cut to a scene about the white kids/Mexican kids’ rivalry that they’d never be referred to again and that they would have nothing to do with the rest of the film… and I wasn’t really that far off. Most of the movie seems to be about the struggle Gina has with her brother being drafted into the white kids’ gang, and yet that’s ultimately inconsequential to the rest of the film and the hyena plot. It causes some additional tension between Bobby and Marco, but it was established that they hated each other whether Jasper and Gina were in the picture or not. Eventually, despite taking up a whole lot of screen time in the first half, Jasper’s character is pretty much dropped from the movie and has nothing to do with the resolution. I kept expecting the douchey white kid gang to have something to do with the hyenas, but there was no connection between the pack and either gang; the storylines only cross by coincidence when the characters wind up in the same place, rendering the “dramatic” gang plotline absolutely unnecessary.

There are a lot of times where it seems like there were a few scenes missing or something, where there are unexplained character changes or passages of time. For instance, it seems that Gannon and Crazy Briggs are the only two people to know about the were-hyenas, but then at one point Gannon is getting a report from another hunter that was never mentioned or introduced. At another point there’s a brief bit of narration by Briggs that tells us how he started training Gannon (rather than showing us any of said training) but it’s unclear how much time has passed. We later find out that it was three years since Gannon’s family was killed, but nothing in the narration made it clear that we’d skipped so far ahead until he mentions it. Toward the very end, [spoilers,] Bobby and Marco are ready to kill each other, and yet thirty seconds later they decide they’re BFFs. Granted they were faced with a cave full of werehyenas, but it goes beyond temporary truce and into the unrealistic “now we’ve overcome our differences!” resolution. [End spoilers.]

The effects are laughable mixes of bad costuming and bad CG hyenas. The “transformations” prompted snorts and giggles. Of course, your experience may be helped or hindered by the fact that Wilda has to take off her clothes every time she’s going to transform (a trait not apparently shared by any of the not-as-hot-as-Christa Campbell-werehyenas.) The nudity is still relatively lacking (nipple-less boobs!) but hey, it’s there should that be a draw for you. (Though would people find her as hot if she, like real female hyenas, had basically a pseudo penis? Just wondering. Maybe she does; we don’t see it.)

If you’re a Buffy the Vampire Slayer fan, you may recognize most of the mythology about the hyenas as being very similar to what was mentioned in the episode “The Pack” from the first season, where Xander and some other kids were possessed by hyena spirits. And honestly, I think I’d rather watch that episode a few more times than this movie. Still, the film is entertaining and campy and easy to laugh at.

Horror Movie Quick Review: Fertile Ground (2010)

Overall: C+

IMDB

Directed by:

Adam Gierasch

Starring:

Gale Harold

Leisha Hailey

Fertile Ground is the story of married couple Nate (Gale Harold) and Emily Weaver (Leisha Hailey). After Emily has a tragic miscarriage, they move to Nate’s ancestral home in the country, presumably in order to move on.

As time goes on, Emily begins to believe the house is haunted, and she finds disturbing materials such as the diary of a former Weaver bride who was eventually murdered by her husband. Human remains are found in their yard, and a local historian tells Emily how many strangely similar deaths have occurred in that house.

 Nate begins to act strangely and threateningly toward her. She realizes that an ancestor of Nate’s murdered his wife there, and that ever since, the people in the house have been essentially possessed by his spirit, accounting for the near identical deaths of so many women at the hands of men in the house.

There was a lot that I enjoyed, particularly the artistic direction. There was some really great use of light and shadow, some beautifully framed shots, etc. The story itself was pretty good, if relatively typical of ghost stories (the “ghosts possessing and reliving significant events/changing the people present” isn’t exactly original… see, duh, The Shining or Amityville Horror and countless others.) I thought it was pretty well acted, and liked the characters well enough. Parts of the story dragged a bit, mostly because it was too predictable to justify the sometimes drawn-out suspense. There were a couple parts I found genuinely creepy, but some parts fell flat. For better or worse, the movie doesn’t contain much gore, which I generally like, since over-reliance on gore has become lazy shorthand for “this is a horror movie!” Few people seemed to like this one, largely because of its slow pace and somewhat predictable story. I do think they’re valid criticisms, but if you can get beyond the pacing, I think it’s still a decent ghost story.

Horror Episode Review: The River, Episode 8

Episode 8: Row Row Row Your Boat

Overall: C+

Acting: C+

Writing: C

Story: C

Technical aspects: C+

Effects: B

IMDB

Directed by:

Gary Fleder

Starring:

Joe Anderson

Leslie Hope

Eloise Mumford

Paul Blackthorne

Daniel Zacapa

Pauline Gaitan

Thomas Kretschmann

Shaun Parkes

Bruce Greenwood

Scott Michael Foster

So. Yeah.

            Having found Emmet Cole (Bruce Greenwood), the crew of the Magus is finally heading for home, intending to leave the Boíuna (the bizarre portion of the river they’ve been on) far behind them. Clark (Paul Blackthorne) gets involved with doing some final interviews for the crew, and speaks about how he’ll edit the video together for his TV show once they get home. Emmet, while surprised that the Boíuna and the related supernatural entities saved his life, seems to feel his quest was a mistake. He believes that the paranormal events that occurred really were warnings that he should have heeded. Lena (Eloise Mumford) desperately wants to know how she’s connected to everything, with her suspicious birthmark, but Emmet tells her to forget it, that he was wrong in thinking that the two of them had some special destiny related to the place.

            While Lincoln (Joe Anderson) and Emmet converse on deck, someone fires a shot at Emmet, but misses and fatally wounds Lincoln. The crew is unsuccessful at finding out the culprit since many have motives; Clark is in love with Tess, Jonas (Scott Michael Foster) was abandoned by Emmet, Kurt (Thomas Kretschmann) was overheard planning to kill Emmet (though he insists he’d never have missed the shot), Lena’s father died because of Emmet’s quest…

            [Spoilers ahead!]

            Against Emmet’s wishes and the wishes of her own father, Jahel (Pauline Gaitan) involves Tess in a ritual to call Lincoln’s spirit back to his body. The ritual involves calling on the Boíuna, which is not only the stretch of river, but is also an entity that is “God of Demons,” to return Lincoln’s spirit. Initially it seems to work, and Lincoln awakes, and says it was Kurt who shot him. Kurt is locked away by the crew. But then when alone in the kitchen with Jonas, Lincoln reveals that he actually saw Jonas shoot him. Then Lincoln kills him with seemingly supernatural strength. An obviously not-himself Lincoln also confronts Kurt, speaking German, telling him that Kurt isn’t needed to protect The Source; Lincoln (or the thing in his body) is enough.

            Meanwhile, Emmet realizes that this can’t really be Lincoln; he’s too affectionate towards Emmet, when they haven’t been on good terms since Lincoln’s childhood. Emmet gets Lena to make Lincoln drink something, which sickens him and proves demonic possession.

            It turns out the Boíuna is also possessing his body, though Lincoln’s spirit is there as well. The demon taunts them, especially Emmet and his lack of knowledge about Lincoln, and assaults Lena, thwarting their attempts at an exorcism. Eventually they speak to Kurt, as he had his own reasons for being in the region. He tells them he won’t attack Emmet, and then explains that a demonic possession can only be fought from within; Lincoln has to will the Boíuna out of his body. Speaking to Lincoln, they give him enough strength to take his body back.

            Afterwards, Emilio (Daniel Zacapa) speaks to Jahel, telling her why he’s tried to keep her from using her gifts. Her mother, who she believed to be dead, was driven mad by the voices of spirits demanding her help. He hasn’t wanted the same fate for Jahel.

            Soon they approach the end of the Boíuna, intending to rejoin the main Amazon, and a small village. But things aren’t where they’re supposed to be! And they lose the link to the satellite map! Sending up a sky camera, it’s revealed that the forest and river are literally changing in front of them, and it will not allow them to leave.

            [End of serious plot spoilers. But spoilers will continue in my reaction below.]

            So. This is how this season ends. The episode isn’t really all that bad. The demonic possession thing is at least fitting with the rest of the series. And quite honestly, the effects of Lincoln twisting around while possessed have been some of the better ones in my opinion. Characterizing the Boíuna as both an entity and a location simultaneously is cool; it strikes me as at least feeling rather authentic to the region, even if the specific entity in question isn’t a real figure. (And I do not know if it is or not.)

            However, for a show that has a questionable future, this was an immensely unsatisfying ending. Literally just about nothing has been wrapped up or given explanation. Leaving some things to interpretation or as mysteries is one thing, especially if there’s a definite future for the series to continue with, or if something being unexplained has some sort of point. But this is pretty much NOTHING, verging into the territory Lost infamously fell into with “we just didn’t plan this shit out!” Other than some random things like Clark doing final interviews, this didn’t in any way feel like a season finale. Not that I was expecting (or wanting!) it to end with them all surviving and making it home, but that this feels just like an episode from the middle of a story somewhere, with no real sense of closure whatsoever.

            A few of the things we’re left wondering about: What is with Lena’s birthmark, and the prophecy tied to it that Emmet believed in? What exactly is The Source? Why was Emmet’s life spared if the Boiuna won’t allow them to leave? Is there more explanation about the “angel-like” Zulo tribe? Why is Kurt there, and what is his connection to the area from before the series? What was with the research facility Mina had infiltrated, and how/why did they turn into zombies? Who locked the demon in the Magus, the one they found in the very first episode? If they never make it off the river, how are we viewing “found footage” from their tapes? And this is not an exhaustive list.

            In having none of these things explained, it feels like many of them had no purpose whatsoever. “The Source” was kind of downplayed here, with the Boíuna itself being the entity responsible for at least some of the paranormal things, contrasted to episode 6 when it was played up as what Emmet had devoted his life to finding. The symbol on the necklace Emmet gave to Lincoln, which is also Lena’s birthmark, which was also seen on the body of Zulo tribesman in the research facility… that and the supposed prophecy have never been relevant to the plot! So why were they in there at all? Why have a forced camera footage feel, which was often a detriment, feeling contrived and awkward, without having any plausible way for the “found footage” to actually be found?

            Now, the series isn’t officially cancelled. But it isn’t renewed officially yet, either. Viewership has been pretty low and declining, which I can’t really fault audiences for considering how disappointing most of the episodes have been. Apparently there are talks to move the show to Netflix’s streaming service for future episodes/seasons. And there’s no guarantee that even if someone makes more of the series that it’ll follow the same characters.

            If this episode came in the middle somewhere, this would probably be one of my favorites. The demonic possession was fitting for the series, and was well handled. I liked Joe Anderson’s acting between Lincoln as normal and in his possessed state – it was subtle enough until the attempted exorcisms that it didn’t seem ridiculous, but the difference was obvious. The rest of the acting was competent, though not perfect. Like I said, the effects were pretty good this time, and the story was engaging. If this had been “just another episode” it’d be a solid B. But as it is, it’s such an unsatisfying ending to the season (and maybe the series) that I have to knock it down just a bit. C+ still seems generous for how unfulfilling it was as a finale, but I did enjoy the episode, and don’t want to let feelings on the series as a whole color that too much.

            Because as a whole, the series disappointed me. The quality was very all over the place, straying from subtlety to over the top ridiculousness in almost every aspect, from acting to writing to effects to story. Some of the characters are intriguing; I’ve grown to like Kurt quite a bit, and Jahel is great when she gets to do something besides provide plot-relevant exposition. The understated drama and implication that Emmet focused too much on Lena because of her birthmark, and that being the cause for the emotional distance between him and Lincoln had potential, especially if Lena was going to have some type of special “destiny” that Lincoln didn’t. But the lack of consistency, not to mention dangling plot threads, is a huge problem for the series. While my individual episode grades have ranged from average (C), to slightly above average (B-), the series as a whole would probably wind up more with a C-. Not quite bad enough for a D, but still below average, because of all that inconsistency and wasted potential.

            Additionally, this feels like exactly the wrong length for this story to be. It could have been a decent movie, and could have lost a lot of the irrelevant filler that so many earlier episodes contained. Or it could have been a better long-form series, where episodes focusing on single legends, areas, or creatures would be more appropriate, and episodes could be devoted to character development without sacrificing so much of a limited amount of time. Of course, there’s the possibility that the series will continue and will wrap up all the loose ends I’m complaining about. But there’s also a possibility that it will do no such thing. And even if it does come back to wrap things up and maybe even gain some consistency… will enough people still care?

Horror Episode Review: The River, Episode 7

Episode 7: The Experiment

Overall: C

Acting: B

Writing: C

Story: C

Technical aspects: C

Effects: C

IMDB

Directed by:

Kenneth Fink

Starring:

Joe Anderson

Leslie Hope

Eloise Mumford

Paul Blackthorne

Daniel Zacapa

Pauline Gaitan

Thomas Kretschmann

Shaun Parkes

Bruce Greenwood

Scott Michael Foster

Katie Featherston

[Spoilers pretty much the whole damn time, this time.]

Zombies. We went with zombies? Really?

Picking up directly after the end of episode 6, the crew has arrived at the outpost where they hope to find Emmet (Bruce Greenwood). But it appears to be entirely deserted, and oddly like the abandonment happened very suddenly. Wandering around, they discover that this was a research facility, and Lincoln (Joe Anderson) speculates that they were trying to find a cure for cancer. Much of their experimentation appears to have been unethical, killing and studying the Zulo tribe members, who supposedly have nearly impossible good health. The crew then comes across a freezer filled with decaying human bodies, though Emmet is not among them.

Kurt (Thomas Kretschmann) goes off alone, followed by A.J. (Shaun Parkes). He finds a photo of himself and a woman revealed to have been his fiancée. He also finds Rabbit (Katie Featherston), the camerawoman who abandoned Emmet in the jungle.

She reveals that Emmet was in the facility, and though he was still very sick he’d been recovering. But then the crew is attacked by some of the inhabitants of the facility, who have somehow been thrown into a cannibalistic fury. Yep. We’ve got zombies. The zombie-fication is courtesy of Kurt’s fiancée, Mina (Lili Bordán), who was also on a security mission. She interrupted the scientists dissecting one of the Zulo tribesmen, telling them that their research would never leave. Shooting them, she apparently released some type of… virus? energy? or something that has turned them into zombies. She, too, has been infected.

Tess (Leslie Hope) nearly gives up hope of finding Emmet, though there’ve been clues that he survived. Then they spot a dragonfly, and recognize it as a symbol that’s always led them closer to finding him. Ultimately, they discover him in some type of cocoon, barely alive. Frantically trying to escape from the cannibalistic doctors and soldiers of the base, they make it back to the Magus.

But some of the zombies have followed them, and attack. Rabbit is killed, Kurt has to shoot Mina, and Tess is nearly killed. But at the last moment, she is saved by Emmet, who is out of his coma.

Well, again, at least this episode has plot. But seriously, I just can’t get past the fact that we brought zombies into it. I love zombies, don’t get me wrong. But they’re an obvious trend as far as horror and general pop culture goes, and this just feels… weird and out of place. The horror prior to this may not have been super successful in any consistent way, but focusing on supposed regional legends and creepy things at least gave the show some distinction. Or having the ghost ship, which at least made sense as a plot having to do with being trapped on the river. But zombies have nothing to do with anything except as a “hey, this is a trendy thing right now.” I suppose it could be making a point about the excesses of science trying to understand or replicate or thwart nature, and how it will end in disaster… but isn’t that more or less all the other zombie movies out there?

Leaving that aside, I guess it was an okay episode. The found footage style is starting to feel extra contrived, though, in some regards. Not that it was seamless and totally believable before. But just happening to find the computer in the facility, that just happens to contain the footage of Mina shooting the scientists… way too convenient. Similarly, deliberately not showing the scary things gets frustrating, too. Like supposedly the cameraman is disgusted so we don’t get to see more than a tiny glimpse of the bodies in the freezer. It’s not necessarily unrealistic, but it still feels fake. The “less is more” theory of horror doesn’t always work in my opinion. Sometimes it’s a good way to build tension, but sometimes when it comes to filming it just seems like a way to mask laziness and bad effects.

I’m liking the development we got for Kurt, even though it doesn’t explain all of his creepy behavior throughout the series, or why he (and Mina?) were on the mission that he reveals to A.J. [Extra heavy spoilers]: He reveals he intends to kill Emmet, probably to “protect the Source” as we’ve gotten cryptic hints about. And since he seemed to know that Mina would be in the outpost, they may have both been on complementary missions to do so. [End of spoilers.] I like Kurt’s willingness to discuss his secret plans and mission in German, since no one around understands him.

The cocoon thing with Emmet was… weird. It was intercut with a clip from his nature show about how some butterflies and dragonflies will essentially retreat into a pupa-like state in order to wait out hardship, sometimes for months or years. (While I know of fish and frog species that do something similar by retreating to a near-coma until conditions improve, I didn’t actually know of any insects that do something like this. I don’t know if it’s actually a thing, or if the show is just making shit up. It’s disappointing if they’re just bullshitting, but I don’t have any knowledge either way.) This “older footage” comes with commentary from Emmet telling the audience to keep this in mind if they think they could improve upon nature… that nature always provides a way for creatures to survive. This seems like the contrast against the scientific disaster zombies, but… HUMANS DO NOT PUPATE and I just can’t quite get over that. I know it’s supposed to be a mystery and unexplained and such, but… nature doesn’t work that way.

We’ve got one episode left. I have no idea how this is all going to be resolved in any way that actually wraps it all up. And maybe it won’t be; the implication of the “this is the footage they left behind” taglines in the commercials is that none of the crew ever returns from the mission. There also seem to be plans for this to continue for more than just this mini-season, though whether it’ll be the same characters and goals, I don’t know. We shall see.

Horror Episode Review: The River, Episode 6

Episode 6: Doctor Emmet Cole

Overall: B-

Acting: B

Writing: C

Story: C+

Technical aspects: C

Effects: C+

IMDB

Directed by:

Michelle MacLaren

Starring:

Joe Anderson

Leslie Hope

Eloise Mumford

Paul Blackthorne

Daniel Zacapa

Pauline Gaitan

Thomas Kretschmann

Shaun Parkes

Bruce Greenwood

Scott Michael Foster

            After finding out from Lena’s father a possible location to find Emmet (Bruce Greenwood) the crew sets off. They find Sahte Falls, and some evidence that Emmet was there, including a pocketknife and a bag containing some of his tapes. Taking the tapes back to the Magus, they see the last leg of the journey Emmet embarked on.

            The tapes show him leaving Russ on the Magus, and setting off on a long trek on foot with two other crewmembers and his dog. He went on some type of spirit journey and found “them,” a tribe that he believes guards the Source that he hopes to find. Soon they encounter a threatening “spirit” (though upon viewing the tapes Jahel, returned to her role as mystical exposition provider, recognizes it as a demon,) that he insists is merely “testing them” to prove they are worthy, and that all the other unexplainable things they’ve encountered have also been tests. He apparently believes that The Source is some kind of cure for death, that it creates magic but that the spirits of the dead can be found there as well. (He hopes to find the friends and crew he’s lost, as well as his and Tess’ first child, a girl who died in infancy.) He believes that members of the Zulo [I don’t know how to transcribe the name he’s saying, so my apologies if that’s wrong] tribe are angels on earth, and that they guard the Source. Eventually one of his companions is killed, and the other runs away in the middle of the night with their provisions, leaving Emmet alone and still followed by the demon. He continues on foot, filming as he goes. He addresses some of the tapes to Lena, insisting she’s “marked” and special. But Emmet starts growing weaker and sicker, and eventually seems near-death. But just as the demon comes for him, members of the Zulo tribe find him and carry him to some type of (military?) outpost, leaving him outside the gates.

            Lena discovers the birthmark on the back of her neck, the mark that matches the necklace Emmet gave to Lincoln.

            The current crew goes to find the outpost and Emmet, but when they arrive, it appears deserted.

            The other plot-relevant bit we get, which is also a spoiler: Lena reveals to Jonas that she used a remote satellite link to set off the beacon that brought everyone to find Emmet. She wanted someone to try and find her father because she believed the crew was still alive. End spoiler.

            At least the plot is back? Finally there’s some forward progress, now that we’re two episodes away from the end. For that reason alone, I’m inclined to say this is one of the better episodes.

            There’s actual development of some of the characters; Lena, Tess and Lincoln, Emmet himself. There’s progress made toward understanding Emmet’s goal, and towards the current crew’s goal of finding him. It was pretty competently acted, or at least I remember fewer cringe-worthy moments.

            Still, it’s not managed to shake the problems with the series as a whole or the individual episodes. Some are just seeming plot holes, which could maybe be resolved in the future. If the Zulo took Emmet and his camera (still filming!) to the outpost, why did they then take the tapes back to where the crew found them? For that matter, why did they continue filming him, from multiple angles at points? How has Lena made it to her early/mid-twenties and not noticed a pretty major birthmark? Since the first episode featured them finding a demon sealed in a room on the Magus, when will that fit into the timeline? It didn’t appear to have happened yet at the point when Emmet leaves the Magus.

            Some issues are with the writing and story, like why there are typical Judeo-Christian angels (basically winged humans) found in the middle of the Amazon? (And yes, the people don’t appear with wings, but Emmet tells us they scar their backs “as if removing wings.”) It just feels like it’s largely about moving Euro-centric mythology into an exotic location, which feels… shallow at best, and shittily appropriative more likely.

            It also felt like the horror was absent from this episode. Emmet was running away from a demon, but minus one shot of the demon having skinned a monkey to threaten them, and the largely uncharacterized companion being killed, there wasn’t anything “scary” that happened. There’s the more “mundane” horror of being alone and sick in the jungle, too far out to get help, but that’s a very different kind of horror than the supernatural or paranormal feel that the show had up until this point.

            Basically, I am glad to see a return of the plot, and it’s reignited some of my interest in the eventual resolution. But at the same time, it still fails to really pull together as a whole. Plus that eventual resolution feels increasingly like it’ll probably be very anti-climactic.

Horror Episode Review: The River, Episode 5

Episode 5: Peaches

Overall: C+

Acting: C

Writing: C+

Story: C

Technical aspects: C

Effects: C-

IMDB

Directed by:

Rob Bailey

Starring:

Joe Anderson

Leslie Hope

Eloise Mumford

Paul Blackthorne

Daniel Zacapa

Pauline Gaitan

Thomas Kretschmann

Shaun Parkes

Bruce Greenwood

Scott Michael Foster

Lee Tergesen

Don McManus

Karen LeBlanc

Walter Perez

Kelemete Misipeka

Well, I speculated last time that Lena (Eloise Mumford) was a non-character because they wanted to push her into the background, but that’s proven wrong, since this episode focused mostly on her.

The Magus and crew are continuing on, hoping that they can use Jonas’ (Scott Michael Foster) recollection of Emmet’s (Bruce Greenwood) plans to find him. All Jonas can really tell them was that Emmet had become obsessed with the idea of “The Source;” a single thing responsible for the real magic in the world. On the journey, the boat is sideswiped by another vessel in the dark, leaving them stranded and in need of parts to do repairs. Meanwhile, Lena seems to be growing very upset over the focus on Emmet. Her father, Emmet’s cameraman, is missing too, and she feels like the only one who cares about that.

Fortunately, the Magus is contacted by another boat named the Exodus. Their four-person crew is on an ecological mission to fight logging and protect indigenous people, flora, and fauna. They agree to sell some spare parts to the Magus. As the crews mingle and chat, Lena and Jonas realize that it looks like there’s someone else over on the Exodus, and they decide to investigate.

Spoilers for the episode: It turns out that it’s Russ Landry (Lee Tergesen), Lena’s dad, that’s on board the Exodus, which appears run down and abandoned. The Exodus is a ghost ship, and the crew is trapped on the boat unless they can capture living people to replace them. Eventually, Lena, Jonas, Tess (Leslie Hope), and Kurt (Thomas Kretschmann) are all captured, and have to be rescued by sunrise in order to be saved.

In the end, Jahel (Paulina Gaitan) is able to tell Lincoln (Joe Anderson) where to find them, and they are rescued. But Lena’s father is now one of the ghosts, so he can’t leave with them. End spoilers.

I feel like I’m running out of things to say. The flaws are just so frequently getting more and more apparent. The writing for the individual episode was pretty good, but it’s rather obvious that each episode is written by a different person. So, conveniently, the episode where Lena is upset about her father is the same episode in which we find out his fate, when there’ve been few mentions of him before. (We know he’s missing, and that Lena wants to find him, but she hasn’t been especially emotional about it prior to this episode.)

The effects in this one were bad. The “fuzzy static, off-color scary ghost-face” thing just isn’t scary.

The acting was… inconsistent. Parts were pretty good… other parts were too ridiculous and over-acted to take seriously.

And in episode 5 out of an 8 episode series, do we really need to shoehorn in an awkward love triangle subplot between Lincoln, Lena, and Jonas? I mean, I guess it was set up in the last episode a bit, since Lena hired Jonas in the first place and flirted with him in his audition tapes, but seriously. More subplots in a show that can’t seem to focus on the main plot is not what we need.

Which leads to the biggest thing that still bothers me; again, with the possible exception of episode 4, every episode has felt unnecessary. This one too. While it provides emotional development for Lena, and lets them know what happened to Russ, the overall plot is no closer to being resolved. It’s not that an episode focusing on a single character’s development is worthless, far from it, but this is such a short series! We’re more than halfway through, and it seems like they have yet to really move forward. This episode was about the crew being literally stranded and unable to move ahead.

I also really for some reason noticed during this episode that this show has a severe case of Missing Mother Syndrome. Lincoln’s mother Tess obviously features prominently, but the other two young members of the crew, Lena and Jahel, both have fathers who show up and are important to the story… but neither of their mothers have been mentioned to my recollection. It’s like watching a Disney movie!

There are some positives for the episode. I complained a lot in my last review about Jahel’s character being reduced to the mystic exposition fairy, and she actually had a better role this time, in my opinion. She was primarily responsible for helping out as mechanic, and then later for receiving Lena’s transmission and directing the others on where to go; something done without some kind of mystical knowledge.

There were also at least two moments that I thought were actually pretty funny, both in kind of a meta way. One was where one of the ghosts was trying to get Jahel back to the Exodus, and she remarked that no one on the Magus joked with her, because they were afraid of her. The boy said she didn’t seem scary, and she replies with “You don’t know me.” The delivery was pretty funny, and was even a decent bit of foreshadowing, as she’s the one who ultimately led to the failure of the Exodus crew’s plans. The other moment is when Jonas and Lena go on board the Exodus, and make fun of Blair Witch style found footage camera work. I mean, in some ways that joke falls flat because The River isn’t really any better at the “found footage” thing, but at least it gives it a little self-awareness.

Despite the good points in the episode, the flaws are still way more prevalent. The individual episodes still feel too isolated from each other, like they have almost no bearing on the entirety of the plot. Considering there are only three more episodes to go, it’s going to take some kind of masterful finale to tie this together in a way that really works or makes the individual episodes feel relevant. I still don’t think it’s “THE WORST THING EVER” as a lot of angry internet comments say, but as is, it seems stuck around mediocre.

Horror Episode Review: The River, Episode 4

Episode 4: A Better Man

Overall: C+

Acting: C

Writing: C+

Story: C+

Technical aspects: B

Effects: C+

IMDB

Directed by:

Dean White

Starring:

Joe Anderson

Leslie Hope

Eloise Mumford

Paul Blackthorne

Daniel Zacapa

Pauline Gaitan

Thomas Kretschmann

Shaun Parkes

Bruce Greenwood

Scott Michael Foster

In Episode 4, the crew of the Magus continues their journey. As they try and decide where to go, they see a man hanged in a tree. Shocked, they realize the man is Jonas Beckett (Scott Michael Foster,) a cameraman who disappeared along with Emmet Cole (Bruce Greenwood). As they plan to cut him down, speculating that the body must have been put there recently, they realize he’s still alive. Bringing him onboard, it’s clear he’s suffering from malaria, and they face the decision to go back to civilization with him to get him treatment, or press on to find Emmet. Tess (Leslie Hope) is thrilled that Jonas’s phone may provide some data that will help them find Emmet. But Jahel (Pauline Gaitan) becomes obviously distressed by his presence, as she keeps pulling the “hanged man” card from her tarot deck. There’s some exposition regarding the hanged man being a justly punished thief. Viewing tapes, it becomes clear that Jonas was a thief of a sort: he went against Emmet’s wishes and filmed a death ritual that was forbidden to view. In doing so, he “stole” the soul of the man who was dying. Bizarre and dangerous things begin happening on the boat, such as birds plummeting from the sky and hundreds of thousands of insects appearing. It’s evidently the curse following Jonas for what he’d done, and will probably culminate in a severe storm that could kill everyone on board. Upon viewing a tape that Jonas had tried to steal, it’s clear the curse was brought down on the Magus before, and Emmet elected to throw Jonas overboard to save the crew. Furthermore, the tape reveals that Jonas had been hanging in the tree for months until they found him, and somehow hadn’t died. After getting what information from Jonas that they could, Tess and the others plan to cast him off again, though Lincoln (Joe Anderson) fights to keep it from happening.

Spoilers for the ending of the episode: In the end, Jonas pulls a rather sudden 180 from begging for his life to deciding to sacrifice himself. He smashes the phone he recorded the ceremony on, and hangs himself from the vines. The stolen soul is freed, and Jonas is spared. In the end, Jonas is hired on as a new cameraman. End heaviest spoilers.

Is it just me, or are the “morals” kind of simplistic and heavy handed? The last episode had “be brave and willing to sacrifice yourself, and it will prove you’re worthy.” This one has “stealing is wrong, but if you give it back, it’ll all be okay.” It’s kind of… frustrating. And how quickly Jonas suddenly decided to kill himself to save the others, after spending the whole episode trying to hide what he’d done and then begging them to save him, was also rather bothersomely unbelievable.

I did actually like this episode more than the last one, in that it seemed to have a little more actual tension to it, and the horror felt a bit more “real” to me. Particularly the reveal that Jonas had been left hanging but alive for months… that actually struck me as creepy in a way that some of the rather unsubtle imagery from previous weeks hasn’t.

However, there are certainly flaws that seemed more apparent to me this week than they have in previous weeks. The filming, for one, feels far too convenient for a “found footage” story. So often there are multiple camera angles that conveniently fit together to give a perfect and deliberate sense of continuity for a conversation or a run of action, in a way that doesn’t feel authentic for what it’s supposed to be.

Some of the characters are beginning to feel more one-dimensional, as well. The episode largely hinges on Lincoln being the moral voice on the boat, and it feels like that’s becoming all he is. He’s the “good guy” who will be the hero and try to make everything right, even though he has to go against everyone else. The other one that frustrates me is Jahel. She was initially my favorite character, when it seemed like her knowledge of the supernatural was just one aspect of her character. But with the last episode and this one, it seems like that’s all she’s there for. To have her tarot cards and obscure knowledge of symbols in order to provide easy exposition of what folkloric creepy-of-the-week they’re facing. She could be an interesting character, but she again is falling into feeling like a plot device more than a person.

This last one might be just me, or might be deliberate, but is Lena a total non-entity to anyone else? Like seriously, I forget entirely about her character when she’s not on screen. It’s been suggested to me that this may be deliberate, because she’ll be important later, and it’s meant to be some sort of twist. But the story so far hasn’t shied away from hinting at her importance. The birthmark that matches the necklace Emmett had? The fact that she was in contact with Emmett even when he’d stopped speaking to Tess and Lincoln? It hasn’t been real subtle about hinting around the idea that she may ultimately be the most important person, or that she knows more than she lets on. And yet, I just don’t seem to be able to hold onto her as a character. If it is intentional on their part to push her into the background, they’re doing so with more skill than I would expect.

And a final gripe, the episodes don’t feel well-tied together. I feel like any one of these episodes, particularly 2 or 3, could have been left out entirely, and we wouldn’t really be missing anything other than a line or two of relevant dialogue. I understand that a series has to have stand-alone episodes. But this almost feels like every single episode is a filler episode, like nothing about the ultimate goal is getting closer, like nothing new and necessary occurs. This episode may be the first exception, since finding Jonas at least propels them forward and expands on the mystery of Emmet’s disappearance.

So ultimately, I think this episode was a little stronger and more enjoyable than the previous one, but I still wish the series would live up to a little more of its potential.

Horror Episode Review: The River, Episode 3

Episode 3: Los Ciegos

Overall: C

Acting: C

Writing: C-

Story: C

Technical aspects: B

Effects: C+

IMDB

Directed by:

Michael Katleman

Starring:

Joe Anderson

Leslie Hope

Eloise Mumford

Paul Blackthorne

Daniel Zacapa

Pauline Gaitan

Thomas Kretschmann

Shaun Parkes

Bruce Greenwood

In Episode 3, the crew is still seeking to rescue Emmet Cole. They hope that they have some kind of new lead, and go into the jungle. Unfortunately, when they stop for the night, it becomes clear that something is following them. Jahel, who has the most knowledge of the superstitions and legends of the area, believes that they’re being followed by the Morcego, a semi-paranormal/semi-real tribe that will judge whether they are worthy of survival or not. (Since it’s this show, of course she’s right.) After spending the night in the jungle, one by one they start to go blind. Seeking answers on the boat, they find out that it’s probably a poison, which has an antidote, if they can find the right tree. The few non-blinded members set off to seek out the antidote. Meanwhile, everyone on the boat has gone blind, including Lincoln, who is trying to tend a very severe wound of Clark’s. And of course the Morcego are on the ship as well, threatening to kill them. And meanwhile on the expedition off-boat, the cameraman A.J. is the only one who can still see, but he plans on abandoning the others. Ultimately he finds the antidote, though he has to face what turns out to, of course, be his most paralyzing fear in order to do so.

Spoilers for the episode: seriously, this crappy ending bugs the hell out of me. Simultaneously A.J. and Clark do something self-sacrificing. Cool. And this means that the Morcego decide to let them live, going so far as to actually save A.J. from death. But… really. It’s just so… cliché, yes? The idea that “oh, we’re so doomed, oh God, what will we do? We’re all going to die, because we’re being judged” but then oh, someone is willing to be a martyr, so everything is okay again, because of the goodness of the human spirit. It’s just so obvious and such an overplayed trope that I couldn’t take it seriously. End of the most serious spoilers.

Otherwise the episode is all right. I liked the development A.J. got as a character, since we didn’t see much of him in the first two episodes. Enough new hints were placed for some of the ongoing plot threads to keep it interesting. The Morcego were pretty creepy looking, though they held to the idea that “the less you see the scarier it is” for most of the episode. Once you do get a good look at them, they’re plenty freaky, but kinda in the same way the dolls in episode 2 were. Like it’s just so obviously done specifically TO be creepy, that it doesn’t feel surprising or real. I know that horror obviously has the aim to be horrifying, but something about this just feels like they’re doing it wrong. I’m not sure I can explain what I mean all that well... But in my opinion (for the kind of horror this seems to want to be,) doing it right would be a good atmospheric horror, where it’s unsettling and creepy and the horror serves to further the story. Where ultimately, the story is most important, it just happens to have a bunch of creepy happening, too. And this feels more like they just wrote a story with the intent of tying various creepy things together, so they can point and go “hey, it’s horror!”

I’ve heard a lot of “OH GOD, THIS IS THE WORST THING EVER PUT ON TELEVISION” opinions, and I think that’s kind of an exaggeration. It’s still entertaining enough and has a few legitimately creepy moments, but it’s also kind of underwhelming. Probably especially so if you’ve seen a lot of horror things in the past. My opinion hasn’t changed much since the first couple episodes. I’m still watching, and still want to see more, but this episode definitely felt weaker than the first two, and that’s not what I hope for out of a short series.