Archive 81 is a horror show that is currently airing on Netflix. I know that you think that you've had enough of the found footage subgenre of horror, but this show does something special with it. Mostly because we know it is found footage, but we don’t see it in that format. So we don't have a lot of shaky camera. It is so well made that you'll forget that you were ever tired of found footage. The show is pretty brilliant and very unpredictable. It also means you either going to love the ending or hate it. But I loved it.
James Wan is a producer on this show, so that explains why I love it so much. I usually prefer him as a director and not a producer, but TV is different than movies I guess because this show nailed it in my opinion. I loved it and can't wait for a second season of this show. Even though technically this season has a clear ending, but I want more of this world and these characters.
The show follows Dan Turner (Mamoudou Athie). Turner has an unusual job. He restores damaged cassette and converts them into digital formats. He works in a museum of images which is perfect for him, but this is also his hobby and something that he does in his spare time. He loves old stuff. His best friend is Mark Higgins (Matt McGorry) has his own mystery podcast and a very rich father who pays for everything. They seem like really good friends.
One day, Turner gets a strange job offer. He is asked to restore a collection of old cassettes that were recently acquired that were saved from a fire. The fire happened in an apartment building in New York called the Visser building. Since the tapes are extremely damaged, he must do the work in a remote facility all by himself. A person in isolated location looking at things that were saved from a fire is a bit cliché, but it is very well made. There are some troops in this show, but it doesn't damage how good it really is.
On the tapes we see Melody Pendras (Dina Shihabi) who is investigating the Visser building and those who live in it. Yes, the same Visser we know will burn down. Her investigation takes place in the 90s. In order to investigate the building she moves in to it. The building and the residents in it are very odd and strange things start to occur. It is all somehow connected to the present as well. And it is all fascinating and totally unpredictable.
The show is a slow burner, but that is the best kind of horror. The mystery builds slowly and we get to know the characters and get attached to them. The built up and the atmosphere are perfect on both timelines, but each of them feels completely unique. We slowly wonder what the hell is going on and get it totally wrong. Even though there are some troop and cliché from the horror genre, there aren't too many. It all works together perfectly. The script is great. Some very good dialogue plus I love the themes in the show. Both supernatural and human. The acting is also great. Athie and Shihabi are just great. They can totally hold their own. Especially Athie who spends so much time on screen by himself and he just does an amazing job with what he is given. It is just really well made horror.
If you're a horror fan than this show is a must see. It is just brilliant. It has some clichés and troops, but it is so well made that it makes up for it.
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