Here’s a quick warning. If you grew up Catholic, or Got forbid, an Alter Boy (like me) then this series will cause you serious PTSD. The writer/director Mike Flanagan obviously did a deep dive into the Bible to make this series jive with what is… or might be… vampire culture.
Intrigued? So was I. And WOW, this is a great series… at least for the first 4 episodes.
The series takes place on a remote island, population 127, a couple miles off the “mainland”. The Mainland was never identified, so it could be off Maine, or maybe Newfoundland, based on the climate and cultivation. The main island, where the people live, has a northern island above it, which seems to be populated by feral cats.
The main island soon sees hundreds of cats wash up dead, seemingly to be devoid of blood. At the same time, a new priest comes to the island, to replace the old priest who is in the hospital on the mainland. Suddenly, the small town experiences large miracles as small, the crux being everyone starts to feel just a little bit better.
Hence the mystery.
The mystery is wrapped up in characters that are nuanced, deep, and people that are real, and that you will care about. The last 2 episodes are weak, because that’s when the payoff occurs. And the payoff sucks. It’s pedestrian. It’s standard.
That’s the bad news. The good news is, that the first 4 episodes are FANTASTIC.I love all the characters, the slow burn, the development. and the SLOW reveal.
I have read a lot of reviews praising the long speeches. I guess these reviewers are not aware of the Catholic religion, because these “long” speeches are not speeches at all, the are HOMILIES. THIS IS HOW PRIESTS TALK.
But this leads me back to being an Alter Boy. It takes a TWISTED kind of mind to take the Bible and twists it into horror. I APPRECIATE IT, but it still was a bit hard for me to watch.
Am I being cryptic? Of course I am. WATCH THIS. I loved the acting and writing so much. The series ends with not much hope of a second season, and I am fine with that. I don’t think I could take a season 2.
