Helstrom

The central duo could stand to gain a little bit of comic book flair, especially if we’re supposed to accept that the various nightmares they deal with on a daily basis are as scary as Daimon and Ana insist they are. The show really is better off having exorcised any obvious comic book connections, but it struggles to find anything especially unique to fill that void.

The script is bland and formulaic, full of predictable tropes and uninteresting characters.

It’s possible the protracted table-setting and myriad subplots will eventually pay off when “Helstrom” ties the threads together. However, even if that’s the case, the actual experience of watching those threads in action remains programmatic and dull.

Critics received five of 10 Helstrom episodes, and the fourth and fifth episodes actually contain a couple wrinkles I liked. ... Otherwise, Helstrom is nearly indistinguishable from other entries in the genre. ... Nothing here is good enough to make an investment in. Check out CBS' actually clever, actually scary Evil instead.

It’s more creepy than scary and the first episode does nothing to make us want to watch and find more of those scares. ... Helstrom was slow-moving and dull, and is more interested in brooding dialogue than actual scares.

“Helstrom” is missing clear stakes and intriguing characters, too. The under-sketched world building, the superficial questions about matters of faith, the utter absence of any sense of fear or tension—“Helstrom” is too disjointed to be enjoyable and too inconsistent to be enthralling.

What follows is part demon-exorcising procedural, part family drama, and neither are properly executed. ... Furthermore, awkward editing is also a persistent issue throughout all 10 episodes. Dramatic, action-oriented, and ostensibly scary moments are frequently cut short and the interruptions kill any semblance of the show’s pacing rather than creating tension or suspense.