The Darkness

Caught this while I was in Australia - it aired there (no US release yet?) - and I genuinely wasn't prepared for how good it is. Thought it'd be your standard moody crime drama with pretty backdrops. Instead, it's quietly gripping, sharp, and way more emotionally layered than it lets on at first.

It takes its time. It doesn't spoon-feed. The tone is icy but grounded, and the tension builds in this really restrained, almost hypnotic way. The lead performance is excellent - minimal, but you feel everything. Visually it's beautiful too. Cold, clean, controlled.

If I had one gripe, maybe a few of the supporting characters could've been fleshed out a little more - but the central story is strong enough to carry the whole thing.

Out of curiosity, I went and read the book afterward. Huge mistake. It's all internal monologue and emotional exposition - just endless moping. Hulda in the book is... not great. Kind of aimless. On-screen, though, she's magnetic. Everything the book tries to say, the show shows instead. The adaptation is tighter, smarter, way more alive.

Don't let it slip past you.

Also, all the trolls hating on it for not being whatever they think it should be (more Nordic?) should probably go back to Iceland.

I normally don't leave reviews but felt compelled to write one after watching this series.

The topic itself is an important one. However the execution of the series is only for effect without any background.

The plot starts interesting but quickly gets worse. The last episode is just plain ridiculous to the point where I could hardly bare the stupidity of the plot.. There are gross inconsistencies in the story, the dialog is minimal and the contents just get worse. I watched it with friends and we all felt cheated of a good story in the end. Do not watch it. This is a complete waste of time.

...which appeared out of the blue here in Denmark on SkyShowtime.

I was pleasently surprised by the plot and twists, episode after episode. I won't spoil anything, but I bet ya that you can't figure out whodunnit. Love the cold setting that Island is too. Very vibey, moody and beautiful.

I've always liked Lena Olin, who I really "discovered" when watching "Romeo is Bleeding", also starring Gary Oldman. She gives a heartfelt, stellar performance in this series, as a mom and tough detective. It's really top notch.

Also very good performance from Jack Bannon, which I haven't seen before in a major role. Note to self: Check out his other work.

And as the cherry on the topping is that the series is directed by Lasse Hallström, which also directed the excellent "What's Eating Gilbert Grape" from 1993 starring Johnny Depp and other great movies. And it shows. The directing is tight, beautiful and to the point.

Definitely recommend this series.

Here's hoping for season 2.

Was expecting a cheesy theatrical Icelandic cop drama but was pleasantly suprised to find a beautiful, suspensful and unpredictable series. The Icelandic actors really stood out as proper good even though they were not acting in their mother tongue. Björn Hlynur and Thorvaldur were great!

Lena Olin was a bit stiff at first but as the series plays out her character deepens and her acting starts fitting the character better. Bannon was great!

Cinematography and lighting was top notch and the aerials were superb in the low light conditions. Street lights, snow and tire tracks are a suprisingly pretty combo, who knew?

Definitely recommend.

I'm Icelandic and worked crew on The Darkness. This was a big one for us, with many local people involved - all the way through to post. Even though it's in English, it still feels Icelandic to me. The silence, the light, the landscape - the feeling.

Most people don't know, but the first scripts had Huldakona - real hidden people - and I loved that. The director tried hard to include things that are deeply Icelandic, even if some parts were cut later (I don't know why). There was more of our culture in this story than what ended up on screen.

I just hope people stop attacking it. If there's no season two, we all lose. It was something good for Iceland. Don't kill it from pride.