Dark Tourist

:

Season 1
  • Network: Netflix
  • Series Premiere Date: Jul 20, 2018
User Score
5.8

Mixed or average reviews- based on 25 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 13 out of 25
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 25
  3. Negative: 7 out of 25
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User Reviews

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  1. Homerun22
    Sep 6, 2018
    1
    The concept was interesting but overall the host was naive. He never seemed to grasp why different cultures do things differently. I really did want to like the show overall but the host turned me away with his lack of understanding and bias towards his own culture. Really wish they kept the concept the same but got a new host
  2. spicyfriedfood
    Sep 9, 2018
    2
    I'm often a very curious person and I really do like watching travel documentary because I like getting to see what it's like in other parts of the world (whether it be good or bad). This show was interesting, but I just did not like the host of the show. I found him very unlikeable and felt like he often judges everything negatively. Felt like he lacked understanding of other cultures andI'm often a very curious person and I really do like watching travel documentary because I like getting to see what it's like in other parts of the world (whether it be good or bad). This show was interesting, but I just did not like the host of the show. I found him very unlikeable and felt like he often judges everything negatively. Felt like he lacked understanding of other cultures and customs and I just wished someone else had hosted this show.… Expand
  3. EllaFunk
    Jul 31, 2018
    7
    I was left with so many More questions wondered why as a journalist, David was NOT asking them. I felt like a voyeur, and left unsatisfied - not quite complete- watching the first season. I too am curious about the quirky, unusual, different from my experience/life but I think that begs a little research before showing up blind and creating a situation without respect or understanding ofI was left with so many More questions wondered why as a journalist, David was NOT asking them. I felt like a voyeur, and left unsatisfied - not quite complete- watching the first season. I too am curious about the quirky, unusual, different from my experience/life but I think that begs a little research before showing up blind and creating a situation without respect or understanding of the conditions that led to its creation. I am left feeling like David is ALWAYS out of his league and truthfully I can't understand his approach to getting to the things he says he wants to understand. I am grateful to have been exposed to some of the places previously unheard of, but as with guys that die going the extreme sports they love, go into it prepared for the worst- if you get an injury in a foreign country, how will you deal? Sometimes, I think, David just comes across as not that bright, and needs a stronger editing and production crew. And in a small way, that leaves the viewer to experience for them selves, and to have their own thoughts and to leave the segment with soooo many more questions. Not good writing or insights as others have mentioned, but nice that they got permissions to go in some places.… Expand
  4. MovieNights
    Sep 8, 2018
    8
    i personally really enjoyed this show and it quickly became my "Stranger Things" "just have to watch the next episode" show. I never realized dark tourism was a thing until I watched this. I'm not sure why I enjoyed this so much but I think it's because it's so completely opposite of pretty much every tourist, travel, or food show that's ever come on. Take a travel show, keep thei personally really enjoyed this show and it quickly became my "Stranger Things" "just have to watch the next episode" show. I never realized dark tourism was a thing until I watched this. I'm not sure why I enjoyed this so much but I think it's because it's so completely opposite of pretty much every tourist, travel, or food show that's ever come on. Take a travel show, keep the educational aspects, and the new things you didn't know about that place then flip it on it's head and add some creepiness and this is what this show is. Very much so recommended and I'm already dying for season 2.… Expand
  5. ThePeoplesVoice
    Aug 15, 2018
    8
    I really enjoyed this series. I'm always attracted to the unknown. This series gives you a look in other cultures. Things aren't always as dark as they seem, but yet they are. Every episode is pretty different from the other. It's possible to watch only a few episodes that grab your interest. If you like exploration and see about other (weird) habits or cultures this is a show you mustI really enjoyed this series. I'm always attracted to the unknown. This series gives you a look in other cultures. Things aren't always as dark as they seem, but yet they are. Every episode is pretty different from the other. It's possible to watch only a few episodes that grab your interest. If you like exploration and see about other (weird) habits or cultures this is a show you must watch. It's not always as deep going as I hoped but globally it's very great.… Expand
  6. alejandro970
    Sep 23, 2018
    9
    The unseen face of tourism. An original way to know more about foreign culture facts, with no prejudice, with a little bit of humor. The con is having the idea of some questions no answered.
  7. azovka
    Feb 20, 2019
    5
    Among the positive aspects of the show, it is beautifully shot. Areal footage is great, and the editing and soundtrack choices do succeed in creating an atmosphere.
    However, the show host David's attitude towards the places he's visiting is a bit off-putting, and a lot of interesting things and questions are glossed over.
    As an example - his botched prayer at the Shinto shrine in the    Among the positive aspects of the show, it is beautifully shot. Areal footage is great, and the editing and soundtrack choices do succeed in creating an atmosphere.
    However, the show host David's attitude towards the places he's visiting is a bit off-putting, and a lot of interesting things and questions are glossed over.
    As an example - his botched prayer at the Shinto shrine in the Japan episode, where he doesn't show any respect for the locals' customs and is more of a "urgh, lets get this over with" thing. Or the glossing-over of the animist beliefs surrounding the "suicide forest", where locals claim to feel the presence of spirits. That is never explored either.

    The show doesn't seem to succeed neither in sensationalising these "dark" stories, nor in presenting their reality and gravity, what with the light tone it adopts. And at the end of each episode, there isn't any moral or lesson or anything to remember about it other than "place / thing X is weird".
    It doesn't help that a lot of disjointed stories and locales are crammed together in each episode, which makes any in-depth look at them impossible. And it's further not helped by the show host David that fails to ask any interesting question, and generally has a very, dare I say, "millennial" and judgemental attitude that can be summed up as "wow, okay, weird".

    Tldr: Show with an interesting concept and great production value, but whose execution is quite poor, and is presented by an annoying and seemingly clueless host. Even VICE documentaries have more substance.    … Expand

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
66

Generally favorable reviews - based on 5 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 5
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 5
  3. Negative: 0 out of 5
  1. The Atlantic
    Reviewed by: Sophie Gilbert
    Jul 26, 2018
    40
    In rare moments, Dark Tourist (the show) summons some sense of this appreciation for how resilient people can be. ... More often, Dark Tourist treats its subjects like curios in a junk shop, casually examining them from different angles and then discarding them. ... Dark Tourist is just another guide on the trip, cashing in on people’s morbid curiosities without caring what real wisdom it could impart if it tried.
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  2. IndieWire
    Reviewed by: Steve Greene
    Jul 20, 2018
    50
    There are plenty of questions to be had about many of the things Dark Tourist wants to capture. It just seems like this show never asks the right ones.
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  3. The Daily Beast
    Reviewed by: Nick Schager
    Jul 20, 2018
    80
    Dark Tourist is the work of a cheery, good-natured, curious individual drawn to the ugliest side of human nature, and it’s that contrast which gives the series its potent energy. Over the course of each 40-minute installment, Farrier gets himself into situations both strange and perilous, which is all the more captivating because he comes across as a fundamentally jovial sort of wide-eyed explorer.
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