Something strange is afoot. 1899 will soon be debuting on Netflix. Why is it special? The series is a mix of multiple intriguing genres including Supernatural Horror, Sci-Fi, Mystery and Thriller. The series is created by Jantje Friese and Baran bo Odar, the brains behind Netflix’s mind bending Sci-Fi masterpiece Dark. Baran bo Odar in fact directed all 32 episodes of Dark. A German show becoming a global phenomenon is quite a rare feat. The twisty nature of the show and the glaring ambiguity added another layer of discussion to the show’s already outstanding storytelling. Dark debuted on Netflix in 2017 as an underrated show that no one cared about. It ended its run in 2020 with its third and final season, by the end it was regarded as a TV masterpiece.
Many drew comparisons to Breaking Bad which was weird as both shows hardly had anything in common. However, the comparisons were about the platinum quality of content that both shows had to offer. Seeing my passion for Dark, you can now understand why I called the upcoming Netflix series special. The only thing working for 1899 is that it has some of my favorite people working behind the camera and after single-handedly hyping the show for a while, it is finally the day of release where people have watched the show and given their honest opinions. Let’s say what are they saying?
1899 Reviews Round-Up: IMDb vs Rotten Tomatoes!
This is a battle that you’re all aware of, Rotten Tomatoes and IMDb are arguably the biggest movie rating websites in the world and yet they hardly agree with each other. This is a similar example. While Rotten Tomatoes doesn’t feature an outlandish rating, it represents the show to be an average product as it only had 71% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, however, IMDb on the other hand makes the show look like masterpiece with a score of 9.1/10.
Ever since the show’s early screening, the IMDb page of the show features a score of 9+ which is pretty rare. As I’ve not seen the show, I’m not sure which site is more accurate in this matter but mostly it is IMDb as Rotten Tomatoes is sometimes very biased. However, keeping scores aside let’s the reviews of the film.
Joe Lipsett
Bloody Disgusting
“Fans of Dark will likely find the secrets and mysteries of 1899 a little conventional…[The series] still features plenty of unanswered questions, but, compared to Dark, its approach to narrative should be much easier for casual audiences to follow.”
Michael Frank
Paste Magazine
“With magnificent production design, multiple languages, solid performances, and an incredibly twisting story, 1899 has the makings of a show that will be beloved by few but unseen by many.”
Original Score: 7.6/10
Dais Johnston
Inverse
“While all the fundamentals are there, the lightning in a bottle that made Dark so captivating isn’t present (at least not yet). And without that, all the flaws of this subgenre become glaringly evident.”
Diksha Sundriyal
The Cinemaholic
“‘1899’ does a splendid job of spreading the clues around for the viewers. The answer always seems in sight, but somehow, it goes farther away the closer you get to it.”
Original Score: 4.5/5
Dan Einav
Financial Times
“While the show succeeds in cultivating an increasingly eerie atmosphere, it comes at the expense of compelling dialogue and characterisations.”
Original Score: 3/5
Mikel Zorrilla
Espinof
“The series skillfully interweaves with inherent ease the central plot and how it affects the group of immigrants, allowing for more personal storylines that permit the cast to find their voices. [Full review in Spanish]”
Original Score: 3.5/5
Elizabeth Gregory
London Evening Standard
“[1899] is so jam-packed with torment, hardship and dissonance, that it makes waves for all the wrong reasons.”
Original Score: 2/5
Ed Power
Daily Telegraph (UK)
“The increasingly feverish plot will thrill anyone who enjoys their prestige TV garnished with cerebellum-mulching psychological horror.”
Original Score: 4/5
While the general consensus of the reviewers is that the show is no comparison better than Dark, at times it is even much simpler than it. The show doesn’t have wild reveals as the original show making it far less appealing and conventional unlike Dark. However, if you don’t cloud the show with the brilliance of Dark then you’ll watch a very good show that is better than most of the conventional shows however, it is not as good as Dark.
Check out the Full Trailer of Netflix’s 1899 on YouTube:
https://youtu.be/p7OUQ9U2qIw
The show has a talented cast starring Emily Beecham as Maura Franklin, Andreas Pietschmann as Eyk Larsen who also starred in Dark, Anton Lesser, Mathilde Ollivier as Clémence, Alexandre Willaume, Aneurin Barnard, Lucas Lynggaard Tønnesen, Miguel Bernardeau, Richard Hope, Clara Rosager as Tove, Jonas Bloquet as Lucien, Maciej Musial as Olek and Rosalie Craig as Virginia
1899 is currently available for streaming on Netflix.
If you have any questions regarding Netflix’s 1899, feel free to ask in the comments below. For more content, stay tuned. As usual, like, subscribe and share our articles as we here are trying to build a community of people High on Cinema!
