High Country

I so wanted to love "High Country"! I've travelled this region for decades and was so excited to see a mystery set in the Mansfield region.

"High Country" is a disappointing TV series marred by lackluster acting and uninspired writing. The performances are wooden, with characters failing to evoke any real emotion or depth. The dialogue feels forced and unnatural, making it difficult to connect with the storyline or the characters' motivations.

Despite these shortcomings, the series does boast stunning scenery and locations. The Australian landscape is showcased beautifully, providing some much-needed visual appeal amidst the mediocrity of the rest of the production.

Overall, "High Country" falls short of its potential, failing to deliver engaging performances or compelling storytelling. While the breathtaking backdrop may momentarily captivate viewers, it's not enough to redeem the show from its significant flaws.

I have delayed writing this review while I sort out my conflicting thoughts about this series.

On the one hand the eponymous high country is an impressive backdrop to the story, there is an interesting sub-text regarding the aboriginal heritage of the police sergeant and the plot is complex and the ending contains surprises.

On the other I did struggle to follow the plot, which is not usually a problem for me. Worse, the main characters were too often required to behave nonsensically in order to create the next moment of drama.

So this series has its merits and I did watch it through to the end. But it could have been better.

High Country: Australian Noir which morphs into Folk Horror in a similar manner as Dark Winds did. Sergeant Andrea 'Andie' Whitford Leah Purcell) is transferred to the town of Brokenridge in the Victorian High Country, accompanied by her partner Helen and stepdaughter Kirra. She immediately encounters a doctor running naked through the woods. He's just killed his family and commits suicide. There are also five people missing in the area. Brokenridge is an odd place, a local psychic is suspected of murdering a boy years before and the sergeant (Ian McElhinney.) who Andie replaced is obsessed with the case. A survivalist is terrifying hikers in the woods and Andie has a few other murder cases on her hands. Oh! I forgot to mention the Yowie and the weird Rose who runs an artists colony on a farm. The woods and mountains are literally characters in this drama as they keep many secrets. There are far darker conspiracies at play here along with Ando's domestic traumas which are soapy enough for Neighbours and some interesting plot twists. It's a good series with fine acting especially from Leah Purcell and Ian McElhinney. Created by Marcia Gardner and John Ridley who Co-Write the series, Directed by Kevin Carlin and Beck Cole. Eight episodes on the BBC iPlayer. 8/10.

There was a really good Aussie whodunnit in this, especially seeing the setting was so lush and expansive. However, the actual execution wasn't good.

Other reviews have said it but there's too much clutter. Too many characters and too many side quests. But these side quests (such as a cafe owner's son and the key suspect at the start being creepy to kids) just pad out the run time and then they go nowhere at the end.

In fact I have the biggest issue with the ending, it doesn't really have that satisfying wrap up at the end, there are some story points left in the air, like they expected they'd have another episode, bud didn't.

This can be really frustrating for a mystery series, especially when we don't know if Season 2 is coming.

When detective Andie Whitford is transferred to the High Country, she is thrust into a baffling mystery of five missing persons who vanish into the wilderness. Through an edge-of-the-seat high-stakes investigation she discovers the greatest mystery is her own and that her true identity lies at the heart of the puzzle.

This was the perfect series to watch on a cold Melbourne day given the spectacular scenery of the Victorian High Country.

I thoroughly enjoyed this and was hooked from the beginning. The character development was good and I got to know and care about what happened to them.

Hoping for a season 2.