You know the drill, sign on to Netflix and spend hours looking for a good horror movie to watch. But here’s a surprise, the scariest thing on Netflix isn’t a horror movie. It’s a French (English dubbed) series titled “Marianne,” and it was released on Friday the 13th.
I know what you’re thinking, ‘How scary can a show called ‘Marianne’ be?’ As a hardcore horror fan who’s next to impossible to scare, I can honestly say “Marianne” is downright chilling. But that’s not all; at its heart, the series is about a messed-up woman returning to the place and family that she pushed away years ago. It’s about people growing, becoming a better version of themselves, and conquering their demons.
In the series, a well-known horror author Emma (Victoria Du Bois), returns to her hometown after a childhood friend reaches out to her for help. She believes that her mother is possessed by the witch from Emma’s novels, inspired by nightmares. What Emma finds is far more frightening than any dream could be.
Emma’s life is a wreck, even before she comes back to town. She gets dumped, she’s an alcoholic, and every time she lays down, terrible nightmares plague her; however, by writing them down, she’s found a way to silence them while making serious bank. The moment she stops writing, things go to Hell. If seeing her old friend commit suicide isn’t enough, her parents disappear. As if that wasn’t enough, suddenly everything Emma writes comes true, including children committing suicide and cows jumping from cliffs, and that’s just the start.
The show is balls to the walls crazy, intense, and creepy as shit! When you think you are about to shut off your TV and be productive, the show drags you kicking and screaming into another episode. You have to know what’s next.
I watch many horror movies (like a lot), but I haven’t been this excited in a long time. Between the fantastic, unique storyline, the amazing special effects, the talented cast, and the sheer creepiness of it, “Marianne” may be the best thing in horror to happen to Netflix this year.
Victoria Du Bois’s character Emma goes through the wringer. Just when her character is established as a selfish, shallow, cold woman, the truth is revealed that makes you question everything that you thought you knew.
Mireille Herbstmeye crushed it as Marianne. She brought the character’s outrageous creepiness to life. Marianne is the most disturbing character I’ve seen in ages.
The cinematography is fantastic. The series is set with a backdrop of the sea and features remarkable rustic buildings and homes with great architecture.
The pacing is dead on. No lulls or episodes are being stretched out for time. “Marianne” is never slow or dull. The story never suffers from being rushed, either. They take their time telling the story but do so without filler.
And the ending! I swear I will lose my mind if we don’t get another season! I NEED to know how the rest of the story plays out, and judging by the response on social media, I’m not alone.
I hope that one day I can sit across from director Samuel Bodin and co-writer Quoc Dang Tran, buy them a drink, pick their brains, and thank them. I have not been scared or honestly freaked out in so long. “Marianne” reminded me of the feeling I got while watching scary movies as a kid, the very sensation that made me fall in love with the genre, that feeling in your gut that you get while watching something from between your fingers on the sitting on the edge of your seat.
This is the easiest scoring decision I’ve made in months, “Marianne” gets 5/5. If I could give it more, I would. It’s simply brilliant. If you haven’t seen it, stop what you are doing and binge the Hell out of it. But I will say this; I don’t advise that you watch it alone, in the dark, at night (you’ll thank me later).
