The Darkness

We watched other Icelandic crime series before so we had high expectations, especially seeing Douglas Henshall's name amongst the actors, but we were soon disappointed. The conversations were absurd at points, serious plotholes, unexplored themes. The acting was terrible, especially Lena Olin. It was theatrical and ridiculous. The only actor who was almost good was Jack Bannon. We really wanted to believe that it could get better as we watch but no; it got worse and worse, to the point where we could not watch the last 20 minutes. Everything was cringe. It is sad that this story was butchered, it could have been good if it was done differently.

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.

I have seen many of the Nordic Noir / Crime series such as The Bridge, The Killing, Wallander, Beck, Trapped, Valhalla Murders, Karppi, etc. And I can assure you that this is one of the worst series in this genre that I have ever watched. The acting is so overreacting that you cannot stand it and I did not like the way how Lena Olin performs. On the other hand, there are plotholes in this series. I wish it was not so easy to guess who the killer was. It did not meet my expectations at all and I recommend you to skip these series and instead watch Den Som Draeber (Those Who Kill) series instead of wasting your time with this one. I give 3 over 10 only because it was filmed in Iceland.

This show just isn't worth your time. I tried to give it a chance, but after watching two episodes, I couldn't bring myself to continue. The pacing feels sluggish, and the story lacks any real hook to keep you invested. The characters are uninspired, and the dialogue often falls flat, making it hard to connect with anyone on screen. Additionally, the predictable political correctness woven into the narrative feels forced and unnecessary, detracting from any potential intrigue. Overall, the series feels unoriginal, lacking excitement or depth. It blends into the sea of standard content without leaving any lasting impression. Save yourself the time and skip this one.

Everyone who reviewed this series so far has a valid point and, taken their individual pint of view, is accurate in his or her review. Not much to add here other than, for me, it was a huge disappointment. Only the addition of Jack Bannon, kept me from watching the series to it's torturous end.

What really got to me was the incredibly bad depiction of the Icelandic police force. If taken at face value, every policeman and policewoman is either an utter moron or too lazy to work. Everything in this series related to police work, police procedures and internal police management is so wrong, one questions the sanity of the person who wrote the script.

This could have been an excellent psychological twister-thriller, if the writer(s) wouldn't have assumed that the general viewing audience is comprised of morons as well.

3 Stars for the otherwise good, not great, performances of the lead actors and, of course, Jack Bannon.