Tis spooky season at last!
And as such I am dedicating this month of reviews to the spooky, gruesome, and downright traumatic media I have been consuming over the last few weeks! (911 I'm looking at you!)
I will be reducing my posts from 3 times a week down to 2 or 1 due to circumstances out of my control right now. There is a lot going on in my life, most of it all up in the air, and sadly I havent had much time to watch, read or cinema as other people need me.
However, Jamie and I did manage to binge Haunted Hotel within 2 evenings as it was so funny and easy to watch that we couldnt help but get sucked into it as a distraction. So without further ado, here's my review on the Netflix show!
Haunted Hotel follows Kathy, a single mum of two who has inherited a hotel from her late brother. Unfortunately for her and her kids, the hotel is haunted...badly. Having unwillingly taken on a new ward in the form of a young child possessed by a demon, with help from her dead brother Nathan, Kathy must run this hotel and keep them all alive in the process.
Involved in the mix is Kathy's son Ben, a dim-witted 13 year old who enters into a relationship with a 1920s ghost, Annabelle. Esther, Kathy's daughter, takes this in her stride however and uses it as an opportunity to practice dark magic so that she can use the supernatural to her advantage. As the issues from the dead start to impact the living, it is usually Esther who comes up with a plan to save the day. You then have Abaddon, a demon trapped inside a little boys body. He's along for the ride but is readily accepted into the family after some...issues. In the finale we come to see just how much he has grown within this unit as he sacrifices his powers and freedom for his new family.
I'll tell you what, I nearly didn't bother with this show as I had flashbacks of Exploding Kittens which I did not enjoy in any way shape or form even if Jamie did. Preparing for a similar strain of blue humour, I threw it on more for Jamie's entertainment than my own as I needed to sort my head out, but I was pleasantly surprised.
While the show doesn't shy away from its own blue humour, it isn't the theme of the show. There arent as many in your face sort of gags and the show actually has a storyline to follow and some quite emotional bits. It's one of the first adult animations I've really enjoyed and I am looking forward to season 2.
I really liked the dynamic between characters. This actually seemed more like Gravity Falls than the usual AA they spawn out these days (think Family Guy, South Park, etc). Connected storylines, deep and dark themes, nicely wrapped up end. It was well planned out is what I'm trying to say, no gags for the hell of it. Kathy and Nathan are working through their sibling issues and trying to navigate Nathan as a ghost. Ben is navigating growing up, and Esther is trying to navigate school and getting friends. You see the character growth throughout the series and each and every one get their goal. Even Abaddon who wanted to return to Hell for a sense of belonging finds his own. Not to mention a sort of truce with the various ghosts.
We see loads of tributes to the horror genre here alongside my favourite nod in this series, the one to the late, great Donald Sutherland. If you know, you know. That was super clever.
It isn't just ghosts either. You've got serial killers, possession creatures, mothman, zombies, demons, and some creature in the woods that requires sacrifices in order for the water mill that provides electricity to continue. It is a mad show, but it all ties in nicely.
Overall, I'm giving Haunted Hotel an 8/10. I really enjoyed it to the point I want to rewatch it. The characters have depth to them instead of being there for the laughs. This was more than just a dark comedy show, this was cinema.
Comments
Post a Comment