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Although captivating, I've always found the recent trend of serial killer stories distasteful because of the particular focus on the killers and their gory crimes. The subcategory of serial killer drama nearly turned out to be filled with prolonged torture porn that encourages sympathy for cold-blooded murderers.

This one takes a different and better approach and it almost doesn't flesh out the killer at all. As quoted in an episode, he is a "nobody" and doesn't deserve to be deeply characterized. In a similar line, the killings occur off-screen and even the bodies of the butchered woman haven't been shown. Instead, the series highlights the details of criminal investigation as well as what the victims and their relatives experienced.

The long shadow also gave important insights into the challenges of solving a case without the modern tools owned by law enforcement agencies at the moment. A similar case would be closed sooner now since there are CCTVs, plate recognition systems, big data analysis, and cell phones around. Thanks to these modern utilities, the police don't have to lean on "the gut instinct" that sometimes leads to big failures like this 70s investigation.

As a non-US person who likes afro-american culture, I loved the cinematography and the atmosphere of the movie a lot. It does a perfect job at giving the hommage (and also a subtle criticism to that movement) to the blaxploitation sub-genre.

However, as the movie delves into deeper into sci-fi genre, the subtext of the movie became somewhat condescending towards the afro-american culture. I understand the social commentary regarding the responsibility of the "white men" about the contemporary troubles of black communities in the US, but after some point, afro-american people were painted as mindless drones who don't even have a free will at all. The church scene in particular attract my disgust because I've always liked black gospel.

"White men" control lots of things but not every piece of black culture, right?

Unlike some other reviewers, I am OK with the limited acting capabilities of Kiefer Sutherland. I enjoy him playing the same character, probably himself, over and over again. Also, as usual, Charles Prince does a great job with what is given to him and it's a pleasure to watch his presence on screen. The other members of the cast were a huge "meh" with no outstanding performances.

What bothers me most are the consistencies, plotholes, and excessive liberties taken by the writers. I am happy to suspend my belief but for this show, you need to believe in a parallel universe where hunted fugitives could do anything they want, and maybe more, as the abiding citizens do. And this doesn't happen only once, it's repeated as long as the plot requires.

"Rabbit Hole" is full of such story conveniencies that insults the audience such as escaping inescapable situations. Still a bit fun to watch though, if you don't have a better thing to do.