This surprised me, I have to say.
It does start out a little slow - and since I've read the source material, I was wondering where they'd be taking this, since the way they handled the beginning seemed to exhaust possibilities for keeping it interesting over 10 episodes.
But they did something very different from the short story - and made it both unpredictable and compelling.
What I really appreciate is that it's not afraid of taking its time to build characters, and it doesn't rely on twists or the spectacle.
That said, when the story calls for horror and violence - it delivers and then some, but in a very precise and measured way.
Those elements are definitely present, but not in a cheap way. It's balanced with drama and human interaction. It makes the shocking nature of the action sequences much more effective.
It's also wonderfully cast - and while Adrien Brody starts off a little one-note, his deeply somber style and surprisingly strong nature starts to grow on you.
The supporting cast is also excellent. The children manage to not be annoying - which isn't always so easy to pull off.
I also particularly liked the ending, even if I'm not going to be surprised if most people don't. It's not the typical for-effect ending with tons of over-the-top action.
Instead, it's touching and extremely appropriate for the characters involved.
In short, this show is a slow burn - but it's most definitely worth it if you enjoy something slightly more subtle that does things in its own way - but which also respects its characters and doesn't change course just to shock and surprise.
Highly recommended.
It does start out a little slow - and since I've read the source material, I was wondering where they'd be taking this, since the way they handled the beginning seemed to exhaust possibilities for keeping it interesting over 10 episodes.
But they did something very different from the short story - and made it both unpredictable and compelling.
What I really appreciate is that it's not afraid of taking its time to build characters, and it doesn't rely on twists or the spectacle.
That said, when the story calls for horror and violence - it delivers and then some, but in a very precise and measured way.
Those elements are definitely present, but not in a cheap way. It's balanced with drama and human interaction. It makes the shocking nature of the action sequences much more effective.
It's also wonderfully cast - and while Adrien Brody starts off a little one-note, his deeply somber style and surprisingly strong nature starts to grow on you.
The supporting cast is also excellent. The children manage to not be annoying - which isn't always so easy to pull off.
I also particularly liked the ending, even if I'm not going to be surprised if most people don't. It's not the typical for-effect ending with tons of over-the-top action.
Instead, it's touching and extremely appropriate for the characters involved.
In short, this show is a slow burn - but it's most definitely worth it if you enjoy something slightly more subtle that does things in its own way - but which also respects its characters and doesn't change course just to shock and surprise.
Highly recommended.