Black Sands

Really enjoyed this crime thriller, set on the south coast of Iceland. Yes the landscape is as stunning and haunting as you'd expect, but I really enjoyed the story, characters and acting too.

It's slow building at first, but then builds to a crescendo in the last couple of episodes.

Do not understand the few low ratings on here, must be the Marvel generation... who need a stupid fight in spandex every two minutes to keep them happy! Anyone with a brain, who likes an intelligent, character driven story will love this series I'm sure.

The only slightly weird thing is that I've stood on top of the exact mountain where key events in this series. Always thought of it as a stunning location - which it is - but now I'll always think of this series too. Which despite being great, will be rather odd :)

Complex and initially a bit slow to take off it certainly packs a punch by the end. All similar dramas share a little bit of artistic licence and this is no exception. Like many contemporary productions in this area no one would want it to be based on fact. Written by the actor plating Anita I have to feel she has crafted a great role for herself. Some of the make up for injuries is very realistic and might put off some viewers. One review suggests gratuitous sex or nudity. This not a valid criticism. In context this is obviously an adult drama and no normal adult would find anything here remotely problematic. Well worth viewing.

This is a review based on whole first season watched.

There are times I can't comprehend the scores some shows get. This is one of the most extreme examples of such. It's an excellent crime drama and I can't help thinking that many of the reviewers either didn't watch the entire series or they did with music on and scrolling their phones.

It is a subtle show, it doesn't lead you by your hand, it doesn't tell you nor spell you things, it shows you and you need to spot it, see it and feel it.

It is a slow burner, but than again I never liked, like, "fast burners"(what is that anyway?) nor respected them much. Introduction is well paced, characters are (much) more than it meets the eye. It's a great whodunnit, but even more story of loss and deamons you can't escape no matter how hard you try.

Beautifully brutal and minimalistic Icelandic scenery contributes to a tense atmosphere where you permanently feel there is something wrong, but it's never actually revealed to you. Until brutal, strong, emotional ending.

Don't neglect music score which accompanies great acting performances overall.

Recommend it highly.

If this had been done in four or even six episodes, it would have been twice as good. As it was, a reasonably good mystery just dragged and dragged over eight slow motion episodes. The cast was mainly good, though the script had the main character behaving in an overly unlikely and unprofessional way a little too often. So, not bad...but could have been a lot better.

Svörtu Sandar (Black Sands) is one of the Nordic Noir series that takes place in Iceland, like Trapped, Katla, and Valhalla Murders. I can assure you that if you are into the Nordic Noir genre and if you love the great Icelandic landscape, you will love the first season. Nevertheless, I cannot say the very same for the second season because it is very depressing and it makes you feel really bad in particularly because of abuse and suicidal scenes. For that reason, I recommend everyone to watch only the first season to chase the mysterious killer and skip the second season. In total, I still give 8 out of 10 for this series because of the awesome first season!