By Jordan Galan
Staff Writer
Netflix recently released its newest original series, “Archive 81,” on Friday, Jan. 14. The show, directed by Rebecca Thomas, stars Dina Shihabi (Melody Pendras), an emotionally damaged undergrad student seeking answers to who she is, and Mamoudou Athie (Dan Turner), a mentally perturbed film restoration expert who receives an unexpected job offer. This horror-based thriller is as riveting as it is grotesque but sadly seems to unravel as the show progresses.
The beginning of the show sets itself up for a slow-burn kind of pace with clues scattered within each episode as to what will happen next. The opening scenes and background components give viewers the impression that they can predict future events, but they find themselves pleasantly mistaken with every new surprise the show delivers. The show envelopes viewers with its constant twists and turns that to keep up with it all is almost staggering. Tackling the struggles of identity, drugs and cults within the confines of mental health, “Archive 81” is an outstanding portrayal of the dark world that society keeps hidden.
The series takes more of a turn towards horror as Dan learns about a cult while restoring tapes. Chills began to roll down my spine when they showed the constant rituals and chants. The actors really immersed themselves into their roles — it felt like the more I watched these disturbing ceremonies, the more I began to understand how people are indoctrinated into these types of societies. The gruesome and unsettling scenes only enhance the already-building storyline, which should’ve led to a nail-biting climax.
With each tape revealed, the ability to differentiate the show’s genre, from terrifying-thriller to supernatural-horror, becomes muddled. Almost mirroring the infamous movie “The Rings,” the series begins to have unruly things occur. From people speaking through tapes to even a demon-like figure emerging from the screen, “Archive 81” begins to go downhill in quality. Its CGI effects ultimately downgrade the plot and integrity of the show. Once everything started to focus on this “other world,” I lost interest in the show entirely. The once-interesting twists and turns seemed to be forced, and the mystery as to what will happen next became unnecessary and extravagant.
On top of the over-displayed CGI effects and over-shot plot, the show begins to delve too far into the past, dedicating a whole episode to the Vos’s who started the cult in the first place. The past seems to take up so much time and adds characters that are relatively unimportant to the grand scheme of things. A bit of background as to how the cult began would not have hurt, but with how much there was it only hindered the flow the show was able to generate. In truth, the whole show seemed to devolve into chaos and nothing truly makes sense anymore. The ending only served to confirm this notion, and the cliffhanger feels as if it was a last-ditch effort to ensure a second season will be produced.
Regardless of these negatives, the show still holds much promise for what we can expect if a second season were to be released. The storyline as well as the tape sequences make it enticing to watch, and for anyone interested in supernatural horror, I would recommend watching “Archive 81” despite its shortcomings.
