On January 14, Netflix released a series adaptation of the Archive 81 podcast, produced by the most famous horror creator of our time, James Wan. Another incredibly interesting idea in the hands of one of the leading streaming services, but will these hands stifle or enhance?
A new Netflix original series called Archive 81 is just such an adaptation. They weren't the last in the horror genre to bring sound work to the screen. James Wan served as executive producer, Paul Harris Boardman ("Deliver Us from the Onion") was among the writers, and several episodes were directed by Rebecca Thomas ("Very Strange Things"). It turned out to be quite interesting, creepy, but somehow not movie-like.
What's the plot?
Dan Turner (Mamudou Ati) is a professional in his own right. The guy restores and brings back to life damaged video and audio tapes. A childhood hobby that became a real way to earn a living. When he was eight years old, Danny lost his entire family in a terrible fire. All that remained of his psychotherapist father (Charlie Hudson III) was a birthday present (later angrily destroyed by the boy himself) with greetings and his favorite old movies.
One day the owner of a very secretive, but very influential and wealthy LMG company Virgil Davenport (Martin Donovan) offers Dan to do the job for a fabulous hundred thousand dollars. The job is to recover and digitize VHS tapes damaged in a fire. At first, the boy refuses, but his instincts tell him that the tapes are associated with his parents' deaths, so they might provide the answers Turner needs. There are, however, a number of conditions attached to that reward. The archive is (oh, God, what a surprise!) in the middle of nowhere and cannot be transported. There is no communication, no Internet access, the landline phone is tapped, and there are surveillance cameras on every corner. The circumstances, of course, are completely atypical for horror movies.
In the course of his work, a young man meets a documentary student, Melody Pendras (Dina Shihabi), who has been researching the Visser apartments, which burned down under unknown circumstances. In 1994, the girl was interviewing tenants of the apartment building for her senior thesis (or was there some other reason?) and came across strange things happening within the walls of the old building. However, unusual things don't just happen to Visser. The mysteries and events in the series intertwine and grow in detail, and the lines between 1994 and 2019 blur. What is it. The effects of out-of-town isolation and over-immersion in film work, or is mysticism, demonic entities, and other worlds really there?
Videos don't burn
"Archive 81" shouts its love for cinema with almost every frame. In eight episodes, Andrei Tarkovsky's name is uttered at least three times, and the protagonist even gets to watch "Solaris" (though this, of course, is not done for nothing, because it's easy to draw a plot parallel). He's accompanied by the director's last name, other film icons, videotapes and posters (he's even wearing a Brooklyn Film Festival poster), and a T-shirt that reads 'Ministry of Fear' by Fritz Lang.
Film by film: a review from Archive 81
Mamudu Ati in a still from the "Archive 81" series. (2022)
Indeed, Dan's own fascination with film restoration could already be considered a confession of love. How meditatively and enthusiastically the camera captures the process of restoration and work on burnt tapes. How carefully and beautifully a young professional pulls the tape and takes apart a VCR. How awe-inspiringly he picks up and examines the damaged camera, these are the only shots endlessly enjoyed in the series. A true aesthetic treat for the film-loving viewer.
"Archive 81" shows the impermeability of any work (isn't the fact that easily flammable tapes miraculously survived a terrible fire a sign?) A man-made project can serve as an answer to questions of interest, or guard the dark secrets of its creator, become a treasured memento of loved ones, or gather uselessly dust on a shelf in a warehouse for many years. A camera doesn't choose what it captures, but a film will always retain the footage it captures.
We got off to a healthy start
From the very first episode, "Archive 81" hooks the viewer. The series is fun to watch, and as soon as the credits roll, we can't wait to turn on the next episode. There will be people who will say, "This is what series should be." They need to keep the target audience for an entire season, and often longer. What's there to be happy about?" But many can't always maintain viewership for a long period, so such an accomplishment is worthy of respect.
"Netflix's policy of releasing an entire season at a time is incredibly helpful in this regard. Even if the series isn't super interesting and doesn't pass the test of a multi-week marathon, it doesn't suffer the fate of being abandoned after a month of viewing. There's a good chance the season will be seen through to the end.
Tape by Tape: Archive 81 review.
Dina Shihabi on a frame of the series "Archive 81 (2022)
The mixture of horror, detective, science fiction, thriller and retro film looks excellent on the screen. Gradually, a rather non-trivial "found footage" plot with all the horror clichés listed above turns into a real detective story that draws the viewer in, and in the end - into a melodrama. With each elaborate film new details of the puzzle are revealed, the story acquires sub-lines that at some point must come together. The creators keep the suspense extremely skillfully, and the dexterity of genres is given to the series with surprising ease.
The production of "Archive 81" is masterful. The absence of big names in the cast (with the possible exception of Donovan) does not keep the series from being interesting. The young actors play their roles well, but the technical component of the project stands out well. The series is still a podcast adaptation, so we paid special attention to sound. The viewer is often made uncomfortable by the speakers.
Mamudu Ati and Martin Donovan in a frame from the series 'Archive 81 (2022)
Unlike horror films, where suspense is heightened by music, the creators of 'The Archive' replace it with grinding, nasty occult prayers, rippling videotapes, white noise mixed with external stimuli, and a host of other sounds uncomfortable to the ears. It is almost impossible to guess if the next frame will be a scream or if everything will stop. The viewer is constantly tense, waiting for the familiar "scare" pattern, but the show is smarter than such moves, which is why it's unsettling for almost all 8 episodes, because the unknown is always scarier than the familiar.
Finished Peacefully.
There are more than enough positives to watch. The authentic retro shots, for example, deserve a mention. Before each opening title, the viewer sees the beginning of the series as if taken from an old cassette tape. In the first series it's a snippet from Melody's tape, in the third it's a trailer for Satan's film and a critics' interview, and in the fifth it's the news. Or the real highlight of the project is Matt McGorry's character, Mark Higgins, Dan's friend and host of his podcast, Mystic Signals. A great character with a decent motivation, who acts as a sort of explainer of what's happening on screen. Without him, the series would definitely be worse.
Speaking of which. The screen adaptation of the horror podcast has a podcast about mysticism. But what's even more fun is that in a moment, viewers can also catch themselves in a more complex chain. Think about it: we watch an employer follow Dan on camera, who in turn reviews Melody's tapes, where a girl on a projector is shown the cursed lost tape. Has anyone called Nolan yet?
Tape by tape: a review of 'Archive 81
Matt McGorry on film from Archive 81 (2022).
Unfortunately, by the finale, "Archive 81" is getting weaker and weaker. For one thing, Netflix came up with a whole bunch of explanations that turned out to be completely unnecessary. Instead of 45 minutes of timing, a bunch of new characters and storylines, they could have told the audience everything in 15 minutes of dialogue. Why introduce a third timeline into the series and cut out the scripted storylines that have been with us since the beginning of the series, while pretending they don't exist? Secondly, the finale itself raises many questions. The logic of the characters' actions is unclear, even the main character's motivation leaves a lot to be desired, and the ending screams that the story is not over and raises hopes for a sequel.
Well, since Archive 81 didn't become a mini-series, we'll have to wait and hope that Netflix squeezes the most out of the idea in its second season, as well as bring answers and a new dose of viewer interest to the story. The series seems worth watching at the moment, but it's unlikely to add a new retro-style horror film to the hits.
What's the bottom line?
A superfluous series, a confusing ending with no coherent explanation for the laws invented in the series, and a clear plot for a sequel leave a mark on the incredibly fantastic experience of the first few episodes. "Archive 81" would have been chic as a finished story. Unfortunately, Netflix doesn't have a similar flavor, but the first season is worth watching.
The great idea, sound work, and excellent suspense that doesn't leave the viewer for nearly all eight episodes won't allow you to say the project is bad, but at the same time "Archive 81" serves as the clearest example of why you shouldn't write a review of a series/season based on the first few episodes, as the ending can significantly affect the impression of the entire season, if not the series.
