This review contains spoilers, click expand to view.
Over three seasons Netflix's "Hemlock Grove" follows the supernatural residents of Hemlock Grove, Pennsylvania which include: vampires (upirs), werewolves (vargulfs), Jarmungandrs (don't ask) and a Frankenstein monster (a teenage girl in a mutilated giant's body). I at times wonder what I'm watching or if someone slipped a little LSD into my diet Coke. Yes, it's that bizarre.
"Hemlock Grove" goes where no others have gone before. Sometimes that's a good thing and sometimes it's not so good. You can't say they're not creative. The actors give it their all and aren't bad. Bill Skarsgard as Roman and Landon Liboiron as Peter are standouts. Joel de la Fuente as Dr Johann Pryce is compelling. He's also currently on "The Man In The High Castle". I wanted to see much more of Destiny (Tilo Horn) . Too bad the actors didnt have better material to work with.
There are some great gory moments. Eli Roth (of "Hostel" and "Cabin Fever" fame) is the executive producer after all. See exploding preggo guy as one such example.
There are also some truly funny moments. Here's a few:
Olivia making fun of Johann pontificating is always good for a laugh.
Olivia fighting with herself while her personality was in two different people while her imaginary friend Chango/Issac joins in was great.
Those Spivak babies seriously look like tiny stingrays. Am I right or am I right?
And now for my long list of criticisms. Was the budget blown before they added the CGI? Cause it is atrocious. It really takes away from the story. If you're going to have a giant flying reptoid, ya really gotta sell it.
The story is ALL OVER THE PLACE. Plots emerge and then disappear for no apparent reason. See the Order of the Dragon from season 2 as one such example. See the infected upirs from season 3 as another. Did they write the show as they went along? There is little to no cohesion. A big deal initially was made about the Ouroboros Project only for it to fizzle out later.
There is also a revolving door of characters who have little to nothing to do with the story. See the Chasseurs, Peter's mom Lynda, and Ms Padilla as examples. The dialogue is so bad at times that it's laugh out loud funny. Olivia's accent comes and goes. Just pick one and stick with it darling.
One of my chief complaints about "Hemlock Grove" is that the story climaxes are either in the wrong places or nonexistent. Examples include:
Destiny- was quickly killed by Roman after she confronted him about Andreas. There was no buildup whatsoever. Destiny deserved better.
Miranda- lots of time was spent with her in season 2 only to find her dead and rotting in Spivak's cabin. Well that was uneventful. The actress must have had other shows to do.
Annie- killed herself in a blaze of glory after telling Olivia she prayed for her to be everything she currently wasn't. I'm still not sure what the point of Annie being in town was. She was a very strange girl.
Dr Spivak- after being the "big bad" in season 2 he was easily dispatched and stomped into the ground. WAY TOO EASY. He didnt live all those centuries by being so stupid.
Dr Pryce- there wasnt much buildup to his death either-- except that we learned his consciousness was uploaded into someone else (at least partially) before that.
In the end, only two deaths were dealt with appropriately.
Olivia- after Annie toasted herself, Olivia imagines she's a wildly successful actress on the London stage. In reality, she's dying in the floor, cradling a charred Annie in her arms. She eats her flesh (just as Johann predicted).
Roman- Roman is killed by his best bro (and, according to some, soul mate). Peter gets an assist by Destiny's ghost and they tumble out a window. Peter pulls out Roman's heart. Roman is dead and Peter is stuck in wolf form for the rest of his life
I've always given "Hemlock Grove" points for creativity and goriness. Unfortunately it's still not enough to overcome this hot mess. It's a shame since the show had lots of potential. If only a giant winged reptoid could have whisked me away before watching season 3.… Expand
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