I hit the roof when I first learned that the great horror film maker Mike Flanagan, whose Netflix horror films "Hush" and "Gerald's Game," as well as his indie gems "Oculus" and "Ouija: Origin of Evil," are all some of the best in the genre these past five years, had been hired to adapt Shirley Jackson's classic gothic horror novel "The Haunting of Hill House." That film maker working with that source material would surely be something phenomenal. And it was. Actually the best thing on TV the whole year. Horror is a genre that doesn't usually work over a season of, for instance, ten episodes. But "The Haunting" works. The pace of the horror is perfect, but what it has going for it most of all is simply just a great story (which differs almost completely from the story in the novel). A good adaptation should always be a personal interpretation, I think. It is always better to take a great story, give it a unique spin or a different approach while staying true to the spirit of the original story, rather than just putting what's on the page up there on the screen, word for word. "The Haunting of Hill House," which works best when binged, made me cry several times, which I think is proof that really good horror is very close to tragedy.
MANIAC
2018 was the year I
officially changed my mind about Jonah Hill, and that is largely thanks
to Netflix's limited series "Maniac," in which he stars as a man in a
somewhat alternate universe who may or may not suffer from some form of
schizophrenia and volunteers to participate in a pharmaceutical trial where a tailored
cure for people with mental health issues by way of a very moody
computer program results in some rather surreal experiences. "Maniac" is
bonkers in the best possible sense of the word, and wears its
influences openly - one can recognize a lot of Terry Gilliam in it, and
even more Michel Gondry (particularly his "Eternal Sunshine for the
Spotless Mind"), but I also think there are subtle parallels to some
of the ideas of Philip K. Dick and a lot of similarities to the dark humor of Charlie Brooker's
"Black Mirror." Like a ten-hour movie, "Maniac" should be watched from start to finish to be fully appreciated and can definitely hold up for more than one viewing.
THE TERROR
The great writer Dan Simmons' re-imagining of what actually happened to the British polar expedition that vanished in the mid-1800s was turned into an amazing horror drama by AMC, otherwise mostly known for "The Walking Dead" and "Preacher." Although "The Terror" is technically a monster movie for TV, with some terrific scares and excellent visual effects, this is a much more serious and somewhat minimalist story than what AMC is mostly known for, yet it's that slow burn that makes it stand out, or rather slow chill, for it's a story that is more interested in the mental toll of being trapped in a place where the sun doesn't shine and surrounded by ice than fighting the vengeful beast that lurks out there in the darkness. To convey such a challenging story, the right actors are required, and "The Terror" includes some top performers working with great scripts to make for something as rare as a top-notch period horror show.
VANITY FAIR
You can always count on British television adaptations of classic literature to be fulfilling pieces of entertainment if you're a friend of period drama. But Gwyneth Hughes' "Vanity Fair" for ITV and Amazon is a remarkable work and perhaps even the best adaptation of William Makepeace Thackeray's great novel ever made. A lot of that is down to its somewhat moden touch, with music and cinematography that you normally don't get in these types of shows, but it is even more so thanks to the casting choice of the marvelous Olivia Cooke, who has already had quite an interesting career for her young age, as the non-heroic protagonist, the unscrupulous Becky Sharp. She perfectly combines the charm and intelligence with the cold-heartedness and self-serving bitchiness of Becky Sharp and still manages to come off as a fun character whose company you would thoroughly enjoy and who you surprisingly enough even root for. Another small bonus is Michael Palin as Thackeray himself, presenting each episode like a omniscient circus manager. All period drama should be this rewarding to watch.
PICNIC AT HANGING ROCK
Yet another brilliant TV adaptation in 2018 was the Australian re-imagining of "Picnic at Hanging Rock," originally a novel by Joan Lindsay in the late 1960s, but more famously a 1975 mystery film by Peter Weir. Thanks to the explosion of material on TV and in film made by women, "Picnic at Hanging Rock" features an all-female cast led by Natalie Dormer as the headmistress of Appleyard College, where a group of students go missing after the titular picnic in the year 1900. The all-female crew have taken the hypnotic and creepy quality of Weir's 1975 adaptation, but which is also inherent in the story, and turned it up maximum. As a fan, it's exciting that the weird story of "Picnic at Hanging Rock" has now been both expanded upon and improved upon.
WILD WILD COUNTRY
Netflix's "Wild Wild Country" surpassed all the most popular true crime documentary shows on TV combined, and a lot of that is not just due to the fact that it is incredibly well made but that the real events that took place in Oregon in the early 1980s are rather unknown, which gives you as a viewer a wonderful sense of discovery and originality. There is also something inherently fascinating about cults and particularly its members. The focus tends to be on the cult leaders, but not here. There have been a lot of good documentaries produced lately about cults, including great programs about Jonestown and the kidnapping of Patty Hearst, plus a very watchable dramatization of the infamous events in Waco, and "Wild Wild Country" is the cream of the crop. The failed attempt by the guru Osho's followers to establish a commune in the U.S. is so full of drama and shocking plot twists that it's amazing that it's all real, and although it's not about a cult per se, it has some interesting things to say about fanaticism.
PATRICK MELROSE
Showtime's
adaptation of Edward St. Aubyn's celebrated novels is, compared to "The Haunting" on the top of this list,
a very traditional and literal adaptation, where a lot of great material
from the books are lost in translation. But the Patrick Melrose quintet is such a rich piece of work that even if the five episodes exclude a lot they still manage to cover the
important parts and capture the cynical wit that is so vital to the
story. Benedict Cumberbatch gives another magnificent performance in a
role that is an example of perfect casting, as the recovering addict with a
mind as sharp as his tongue and a past that is dark beyond your worst nightmares.
Often today, in this golden age of television, we have to sit through TV
series where a story more suitable in shorter form has been fleshed
out (or in some cases, watered down) to make up more episodes.
But with "Patrick Melrose," it's the opposite. In this case,
five episodes are barely enough - although each episode is as strong as a movie, we would have been happy with at least twice that amount.
ESCAPE AT DANNEMORA
That Ben Stiller is a competent director is nothing new, being in fact his primary vocation - he was a director as far back as 1994, in other words longer than he has been an actor. But he is primarily known for comedies, and "Escape at Dannemora," a kinda funny, kinda silly but mostly sad depiction of an actual prison break that occurred in upstate New York in 2015, feels sophisticated, genuine and cinematic to the point that I wouldn't blame you for thinking it was made by a big shot director of more prestigious reputation than the man behind, say, "Zoolander." With Paul Dano and Patricia Arquette in two leading roles, one would expect nothing but the best, but it is also noticeably the best acting Benicio del Toro has done in years.
BODYGUARD
It's a concept we've seen before, a hard-nosed bodyguard and the high-profile woman he's hired to protect falling in love with each other as she ends up in the line of fire, but never on the level of Jed Mercurio's six-part series featuring a career-defining performance from Scottish eyebrows Richard Madden (long ago best known as Robb Stark in "Game of Thrones"). "Bodyguard" has the same gritty, realistic and intense suspense that one would expect if one has seen its creator's previous hit show "Line of Duty," with a highly detailed and fascinating insight into the world of personal security. It is also a terrifically and tightly scripted mystery show with plot twists that do not feel as contrived as they normally do in detective shows and a gripping character study.
CAMPING
I'm probably the only person in the world who's never seen "Girls," the now legendary dramedy created by all-around maverick producer Lena Dunham. Not because I've intentionally avoided it, it's just strangely enough passed me by. Still, I was quite excited to see her American update of the British series "Camping," and not just because it features a groovy cast (including one of my favorites, David Tennant) but because seeing a bunch of neurotic, middle-aged control freaks and super-awkward immature middle-class city slickers go glamping together sounds like a minefield for hilarity. Then there's Juliette Lewis as the most infuriating hippie ever, adding extra spice to this tasty broth of cringeworthy comedy and, to some extent, social commentary.
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