Devil in Ohio

Devil in Ohio was a show I watched on a whim. It sounded interesting and I do enjoy supernatural shows and true crime shows. It starts off strong enough with a fairly open story about a girl who escaped a cult and made it to a near by hospital. From there the first few episodes do a descent job at setting up what could be a really great and interesting pay off. The problem is, that pay off never comes. Instead the characters flatten out, become awful versions of their initial appearance and make flat out stupid choices that will leave you thinking the last half of this show was either not finished when shooting or written by some different from the first half. To top it off, the ending is underwhelming to a level that made me regret giving this show time in the first place.

The girl playing Mae plays her role well. You are never sure if she is good or bad. Suzanne is a good character too. Man playing cop is also okay. But the rest of them are plain boring. The show could have benefited from a fast pace and more twists and turns. Its watchable but not exceptional. Definitely not binge worthy. Took me a while to get through all episodes.

And why they had to insert a lesbian character and an asian character and a gay best friend? Seemed force and an unnecessary effort for showing diversity which adds no value to the actual story.

The cult and its story is also kinda meh.

The show is just good enough for a one time watch when there's nothin else.

It's hard to say exactly where this series goes wrong. Either durable to direction, acting or production. The premise should be one to grab your attention but it never seems to do that. The series fails to create any real sense of suspense or tension. Episodes just mosey along at their own pace. It relies heavily on the sound track to build tension but eventually it has the opposite effect of simply being annoying. Despite having some excellent actors the characters seem wooden and stiff. Half the time they seem to be whispering orspeaking in softer tones than the scenes demand. The sets often seem too bright and cheery for the dramatic tension they're trying to build. Overall the entire series feels as if someone described what an occult thriller is to hallmark movies.

I think the bad reviews are too harsh. I enjoyed this show and though it was unique. It did a decent job of weaving a wide range of complex psychosocial themes through the characters in a way that made each of them relatable and interesting at last once throughout the show. I particularly enjoyed not being able to get a handle on the true motives of one of the main characters, and changing my mind about her constantly.

True, it wasn't a masterpiece and there were predictable, tired tropes. Pacing was a bit off at times in terms of plot and character development, and there was some lazy writing around key events. Overall, I am still glad I watched it and would recommend it to people who are intrigued.

It definitely wasn't what I was expecting from the trailer- it's definitely like a lifetime movie that's been dragged out to 8 episodes with a high budget! Now, I'm not saying that's a bad thing in the slightest, but you have to know what you're letting yourself in for! It's cheesy, overly dramatic at times but it's definitely entertaining! It probably could have been cut down to 5 episodes and would have been slightly better! It reminds me of the Apple TV show servant with regards to the cult aspect! Had the same sort of ominous vibe- just wasn't as well done. I can't complain, kept me entertained all evening!

Give it a go- see what you think!!