Just finished (2017).

[Fenril]

- Scream (season 1). Twenty years ago there was a series of murders in the usually quiet town of Lakewood. But the killer was apprehended and stopped… or so the legend goes. Now, after two brutal murders, it looks like the cycle has started again. Meanwhile, teenaged Emma Duvall finds herself stalked by somebody claiming to be the killer and that the current murders are tied not just to the town’s past but to her own family’s story. She’ll have to solve the killer’s deadly puzzle before she finds herself becoming another statistic…

Reinvention of the infamous movie series. As can be expected, it shares most of the movies’ flaws and virtues. There is a pretty pop-educated script sprinkled with lots of genre references, both current and past. There is the quintessential cast that you will find either hip and clever or smarmy and annoying (to be honest, I’m mostly on the latter camp). There is mostly well-orchestrated suspense and a mystery that… doesn’t quite hold up on inspection, but still delivers an entertaining yarn. I personally preferred the other two tv shows that this one competed with. “Scream Queens” and the severely underrated Canadian production “Slasher”. And as far as the trend of taking famous movies and retooling them for tv shows goes… Well, this doesn’t take as much risks as “Hannibal”, but it is at least on the same league as “Bates Motel”. It has good pacing and mostly delivers what it promises. Overall, recommended, especially for fans of the original movies.

[Fenril]

- Slasher (Season 1). Sarah Bennet moves back to her birth town, Waterbury, with her reporter husband in tow. Nearly thirty years ago, Sarah’s parents were slain by a masked killer on Halloween Night. Said killer is now behind bars —but no sooner has Sarah returned home when she finds herself stalked by a killer who calls himself “The executioner” —wearing the same costume as the man who killed her parents. And intending to finish what the first killer started…

Sort of the Canadian counterpart to both “Scream” and “Scream Queens”; a tv series that homages 80’s and 90’s slasher movies, and follows a formula similar to the other two shows: A mystery from decades ago (that itself imitates slasher movies of the time), a diverse cast offed over the course of a several episodes, and the quintessential plucky female lead who finds herself stalked by a costumed killer, usually via modern technology. This one has a cast of adults instead of teenagers and the murders are generally much more brutal than those of the US counterparts.

The mystery is generally intriguing… without giving too much away: Yes the killer’s identity and motives make sense… or as much sense as the movies this story homages. The characters themselves are likable or at least interesting (there is the usual mix of victims punished way out of proportion for mistakes of the past and others so vile they practically deserved it). So is it suspenseful and scary? Mostly so, although once you figure out the killer’s pattern it’s probably not too difficult to guess which characters will die next. The last two episodes do deliver a pretty neat twist, however.

Overall: Recommended.

[Fenril]

- Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon (complete series). Live-action adaptation of “Sailor Moon”, which combined elements from both anime (at the time the original anime was the only one) and manga (both “Sailor Moon” and the original “Sailor V”), plus quite a few new threads and characters.

It’s hard for me to choose a favorite “Sailor Moon” adaptation between the anime, the manga, and this one. Each had unique elements worth considering. All three constitute the “grande-dame” of the entire “Magical Girl” sub genre (even if this one debuted ten years after the previous two). This one is admirable for taking far more risks with the writing. There are some flaws, mostly due to production values —cheesy special effects and a very obviously rushed conclusion, for example (however, the true ending, the “special act” more than makes up for this last point). The strongest element here is the character development, of both main and minor cast —including characters that were initially played only as comedic relief but who showed a few other layers as the episodes went on.

All in all, a very good adaptation, and a pleasant surprise for fans of either previous version.

[Fenril]

- Santa Clarita Diet (Season 1).



Sheila and Joel, plus teenage daughter Abby, are the ideal suburban family. Both parents are successful realtors, happy with each other and their family… well, minus some or other small issues. Like unspoken and unsolved conflicts. Or their increasingly annoying neighbors. Oh, yeah, and the fact that Sheila has recently developed a craving for human flesh…

Black-humor comedy (with increasing doses of gore) that mixes standard sitcom fare with old-fashioned zombie yarns (think 70’s zombies a la “Les raisins de la mort”, rather than current era zombie apocalypse stories). Character- rather than plot-driven, with occasional bits of gruesome imagery to spice things up (be ready for thoughtful family debates that end with somebody’s eye popping out of their socket). Overall a fairly original and entertaining outing —for people with strong stomachs, that is.

On a personal note, while I’ll confess to being a little bit disappointed by the fact that (SPOILER) the nature of Sheila’s condition turns out to be viral in nature, when previous episodes seemed to hint toward a more mythical, even supernatural revelation (SPOILER END), the show itself nevertheless grew on me as it went on.