Marina Antunes [Cathode Ray Mission 04.19.13] horror



The trailer for the Eli Roth produced Netflix original series Hemlock Grove showed promise. Adapted from Brian McGreevy's novel, the show was being touted as "Twin Peaks" meets "Supernatural" which could bode well for fans of the creepy.

All 13 episodes are now streaming on Netflix in a number of countries and I made some time this morning to catch up with the pilot which is directed by Roth. The results? Mixed.


Hemlock Grove starts off with the brutal murder of a teen girl on the last day before school and then immediately back tracks to earlier in the summer in a rather dull attempt to introduce the rest of the characters. The fact that the murder isn't immediately dealt with only cements the notion that the reason for the inclusion of hte scene so early on is to hook potential viewers.

If one flashback isn't enough, the episode also goes back 13 years to introduce one of the central character's dead father. The scene isn't important to this episode and unless they're coming back to it later in the season, completely unnecessary as whole; even then I'm positive there's a more effective way to convey the information shared by the two characters in the scene.

The acting is mostly flat with the exception of Famke Janssen who's really laying the creepy mother angle on thick and at this point, the relationship between her and her son Roman, played by Bill Skarsgard (the newest member of the clan to make the move to Hollywood) is the most interesting thing the show has going for it. That and the possibility that she's some kind of demon and that there may be warewolves in town.

Though the pilot isn't great it shows potential, laying the groundwork for some interesting possibilities but be forewarned that if the pilot is any indication, things are likely to get pretty cheesy.

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donc48 (9 years ago) Reply

I saw the first three episodes (So Far) I don't think it was that bad. The flashbacks didn't bother me and I found the relationship between the two male leads Roman and Paul unexpected and interesting. I agree with the reviewer Roman mom is a creepy woman, and I wanted to see more of her what is she? Demon was not on my list and is to obvious. Not wanting to get to much into it if you have Netflix streaming Hemlock Grove is worth a watch and much better then most of the Zombie movies on Netflix streaming.

Marina (9 years ago) Reply

I'm happy to hear it's pretty good. I though it showed promise just had some problems with the pilot.

Missphitts (9 years ago) Reply

Only watched two eps. Thought it was pretty good. Haven't formed a complete opinion yet but I'm gonna keep watching and see what happens.

agentorange (9 years ago) Reply

I'm four episodes in.

It was a bit of a slog at first because, as Marina alludes to, nothing feels particularly fresh about Hemlock Grove. It thinks its Twin Peaks, but it missed the quirky humor which was a huge part of that show's success.

But, it's sucking me in slowly now. Some storylines are interesting.

A new story of classic monsters (9 years ago) Reply

First off this is nothing like Twin Peaks, sans the weirdness, murder mystery, and slight "goth" feel of it due to the setting being the northeastern United States season of Fall... but Twin Peaks did not invent any of that anyways. I Finished all 12 episodes, and wow, it is pretty damn good. The thing is that the story develops over all 12 episodes and all of a sudden the story lines all tie in to paint the whole picture... and it is pretty close to being unpredictable. Bring on season 2!

skullan (9 years ago) Reply

The entire season under my belt. Personally, I now think it is a decent series, very odd, but in my opinion, worth a second season.

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