Saw the first episode of this. Very nice premise so far. Very nice cinematography too. Definitely finishing the series.
Thanks for the rec X!
Special Effect I didn't know I wanted to see: watching someone walk into a mirror that realistically shatters (and unshatters) around them as they walk into it.
I read the comic ages ago, so I don't quite remember how much matches, but I think that they did a pretty solid job of it so far. I think that the finale was probably the weakest episode – but I suspect that's partially a result of it being written in a way so that...
the show could have been made as a one-off micro-series, or could have been allowed to have another season depending. You can definitely feel that the conclusion and the way that they bring in the supporting cast near the end was something that they didn't know whether or not they'd be able to rely on entirely, so it does make the finale a little bit shaky. I think that given how they ended it, they felt confident with what they had, but it'll be at least a month or so before we know for sure.
That being said, I think that by-and-large they really nailed the aesthetic that I remember from the comics which is that the moments of real-world darkness are often more frightening than the definitely-haunting-supernatural ones. Our characters all have areas of moral grey, they don't always make decisions that you want them to, and they usually live with the consequences of those decisions for a long time, rather than the "learned my lesson and done" thing that a lot of shows will do.
My favourite thing about the series in general is that it's the, "kids exploring a strange supernatural thing they've discovered, while having to use their curiosity to overcome the knowledge that they lack" and it doesn't shy away from letting the dark and scary things be dark and scary – but especially when it comes to the physical/psychological effects on the characters themselves (something I also enjoy about My Hero Academia).
Either way, if you like this, I'd definitely recommend checking out the comics, too.
I've seen half (first five episodes) of this. Thoughts so far...
While it's obviously got elements of horror in it, the characters don't act like they are in a horror show/movie. The scenes of the kids playing around with the keys feel like what kids would do if they got their hands on something like the keys. It's also nice to see adults acting like responsible adults and not just getting booted to the background to make more room for the kids to be the main characters.
I don't usually say this, but I really want to see what else the special effects department has come up with. The special effects in this show are so pretty and more importantly, they feel like they "move" right and have "weight". And that really helps sell that the keys are interacting with the world. Even little things like the different sound effects of the keys when they turn in "non-standard" locks was paid attention to. It makes it really easy to suspend disbelif.
I finished it. It's a nice horroresque series. You are right X, that the last episode is paced weirdly for a final episode. It felt like if the show creators knew they were getting a second season, it wouldn't be so awkwardly paced since they could put some of the stuff at the end at the beginning of the second season.
But thematically, the story works, which is the important part. And the acting is good and the special effects don't jump out as feeling wrong. It's definetly going on my re-watch/recommend list.
