A Martfüi Rém - A Sorozat

Before I started watching, I had not known that this was based on true events. Nor had I known that this was an expanded version of a film released a year or so before.

I was impressed. There was barely a scene that was surplus to requirements despite an hour having been added to the length of the original film. The story was told in a controlled, fascinating way. As we moved through the timeline of events, we learnt who was responsible for the gruesome murders and the story became a race to catch him.

On the way, we see the realities of life in post-1956 Hungary, particularly the political and judicial imperatives.

The period sets and locations were utterly convincing as were the clothes worn by the actors and actresses. I understand that the factory that featured so heavily in the series was a famous shoemaking enterprise. It looks totally authentic as a glimpse of life in what we would now consider a sweatshop.

I watched all four episodes in one day. That's something I rarely do and is a testament to the excellence of the cast, screenplay and story.

I saw the movie in 2016. It was definitely the movie of the year in Hungary... now Netflix releases it as a series with approx 30-35 minutes of extra content to show more of the background story, give more chance for the characters to build on the screen and the amazing world what the movie makers rebuilt to build the scenery.

For the Hungarian viewers this is a real time-travel. You can see the factory at Martfu where the legendary quality shoes were made... Factories like these barely exist here today. It's amazing to see the scenes, the colors, the clothing, the cars... I grew up in the 80s... amazing... Going back to a world of total control, but where people were still happy and felt safe.

In this picture... something terrible happens, what no one expects... in this world serial killers are just not supposed to exist. Period. .... The tension is built up great... first you don't really know who the killer might be... the actors are good... they do everything to bring back those times and to tell you the story of one of Hungary's most notorious serial killers.

There's no sugar coating of the topic here... you see the monster basically hunting prey in the small town... no Hollywood feeling... gray... said and terrible. What reality was exactly at that time.

A great movie overall cut / turned into an interesting series. I'm looking forward to seeing the reviews from outside of Hungary.