catarinakulborg

Okay, you know what? I 100% fell for it, I completely thought the film 'was' based on true events, I hadn't heard much about the film prior to watching it, and I honestly never thought a film maker would make a point of having an actor be all like "based on real events - what you're about to see is extremely disturbing", and I know that maybe I'm just super naive, but I also think... my naivety is exactly what made this film so fkn horrifying to me.

Honestly it's hard to say whether I so strongly to it, had I known it was a pseudodocumentary. All I know is, I've seen many horror films that claim to be based on true events and none has ever come close to scaring the absolute bejeezes out of me, the way this one did. I was so petrified, so shocked and so full of dread afterwards that I could barely speak. (Again, taking into account that I'm apparently gullible AF and 100% thought it was real. But still.) I do not understand why critics wrote this off the way they did when it first came out. I've seen hundreds, if not thousands of horror films, and the fourth kind scared the absolute sh-t out of me. I guess the key is, you gotta suspend your disbelief.

A lot of these reviews will tell you that there's too much going on in this series, too many subplots and thematic societal issues crammed into one show, and honestly - I totally agree. A miniseries consisting of 6 hours should not have attempted to touch on that many topics, in my opinion. It's ambitious and well-intended, but the end result is indeed a bit messy. They did themselves a disservice.

You think you're going to watch a series about the mysterious disappearance of a kid, but it turns into this huge clusterf-ck of different stories and the missing kid mystery sort of fades into the background. Which is ironic, really.

That being said, I was intrigued for the most part. I thought the acting was good, and unlike some critics, I rather liked most of the characters - aside from the truly awful ones, obviously. The pacing is a little uneven, but I personally like stories that unfold slowly so I didn't mind.

They do somehow manage to tie everything together towards the end, but the road there is... well, complicated. Get ready for some head-scratching.

While I do think the premise is decently interesting, I feel as though the translation from novel to tv series hasn't been very smooth. The script is just a little bit awkward, it's rushed, and the characters continuously do things that I think make better sense in a the novel. In this format, certain things sort of end up happening out of the blue, and without narration and internal dialogue to convey what the hell the character's thinking, some of it comes across as sudden and almost a bit bizarre. There's a lack of real emotional depth to these scenes, which is honestly disappointing considering the subject matter.

I also think the main character's a bit of a bore. Soldier with PTSD now has to handle being a single mum, and questions her sanity in the process? Better than all her guy friends at aiming her gun and is, of course, absolutely stunning. Hides her grief by going back to work too soon. Dislikes her overbearing MIL who is a therapist (and absolute sh-t at reading other people) and "only wants what's best" for main character's young daughter? It's just a little "meh". And while at first I thought that the actors just weren't doing a particularly good job, I know think the script probably just makes it hard for them. I think they should've had a dialogue with Coben in terms of how to properly convey the novel into a film series, what sort of liberties they could take, etc.

HOWEVER. Because I do think the plot is intriguing, enough to keep me guessing for now (they're building up a nice suspense, I'll give them that), I'll keep going. Most of the cast is doing a pretty good job, and I think it's nicely shot.