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“1899” Review – Netflix Series Offers Mystery Aboard a Ghost Ship

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1899 review

Hailing from Dark creators Jantje Friese and Baran bo Odar, 1899 is a suitably creepy and mysterious period thriller about a missing (possibly haunted) ship. The eight-episode Netflix series is a combination of the first season of The Terror and Ghost Ship with a splash of Downton Abbey.

The series opens with a nightmare as Maura Franklin (Emily Beechum), an English doctor, awakens from a dream where she’s threatened by a mysterious man shrouded in shadows. Immediately upon exiting her room it’s clear that she’s already onboard a ship, crossing the ocean to New York like her brother Henry. He and more than a thousand other people have been missing for four months since something happened to the Prometheus, a sister ship to the one Maura is on. Her only hint of what happened is a letter addressed to Henry asking him to come to New York as quickly as possible.

There’s a strange symbol embossed in the wax sealing the letter: an inverted triangle with a line crossing through the bottom part (almost like the reverse of how icebergs in the water are often drawn). This symbol appears regularly throughout the series: on the floor underneath a bed, on the necklace of one character, and as a tattoo on the neck of another. It’s a striking recurring visual, though early in the series its purpose or meaning is unclear.

Fans of Dark will likely find the secrets and mysteries of 1899 a little conventional. Friese and bo Odar’s previous Netflix series was an incredibly convoluted and challenging time-travel serial killer story. 1899 still features plenty of unanswered questions, but, compared to Dark, its approach to narrative should be much easier for casual audiences to follow.

There’s still plenty of atmosphere, however, and the production design is top notch. With the exception of some dodgy FX work when characters stand on the deck, the period costuming is immaculate and the art department has outdone themselves with the expensive, textured look of the ship’s interior. There’s even a clear palette change in the rich vibrant wood of the upper-class levels versus the somber greys of the lower decks where the poor families are crammed in like sardines.

1899 review netflix

The distinction between the classes is thrown into even starker relief in scenes with Olek (Maciej Musial), a frequently shirtless member of the engine crew whose job is to feed the giant engines coal. His story intersects with Jérome (Yann Gael), a Black stowaway posing as a member of the crew whom Olek discovers and befriends just as the central mystery comes to the fore: the coordinates of the missing ship begin transmitting from an unexpected location.

What happened aboard the Prometheus is the show’s driving question, but like all good mysteries, the answer is far from simple. Complicating matters further is that nearly everyone aboard Maura’s ship has a reason to escape Europe and the interlocking backstories of what characters are running away from are nearly as compelling as the ghost ship. Throw in a mute boy hidden in a cupboard (Fflyn Edwards) and a wet stranger (Aneurin Barnard) who sneaks aboard when no one is looking and it’s clear that strange things are very clearly afoot.

Intriguingly, the diversity of stories aboard the ship means that 1899 prominently features multiple languages. The two ships were once owned by a German company, then sold to the British with half of the German employees kept on. This means that the two main characters are a female British doctor and German captain Eyk Larsen (Andreas Pietschmann). There’s also a woman posing as a Japanese noblewoman (Isabella Wei) who secretly practices the language in her room with her domineering handler.

One minor element that detracts from the enjoyment of the series is how the score is occasionally used. In one scene a predatory closeted gay man (Miguel Bernardeau) locates his object of affection – a lower-class man (The Rain’s Lucas Lynggaard Tønnesen) – in a bathroom to force a cigarette case into his pocket. The score that accompanies this scene wouldn’t be out of place in a horror film; while Bernardeau’s character is clearly acting shady, the use of score makes it seem on par with Michael Myers stalking Laurie Strode.

The same musical tactic is used when Jérome sneaks into the cabin of French newlywed Clémence (Mathilde Ollivier) to leave an object on her husband’s desk. Considering Jérome is one of only a pair of non-white characters in the series, it is uncomfortable and unusual that the 1899 creative team uses the score to suggest that marginalized POC and queer characters are threatening or terrifying figures.

Small demerits aside, 1899 is a polished, compelling period mystery. There’s plenty of intrigue wrapped up in the events of the disappearing ship, as well as the diverse cast of characters whose futures become intertwined in its reappearance. There’s nothing else quite like 1899 on TV right now.

Joe is a TV addict with a background in Film Studies. He co-created TV/Film Fest blog QueerHorrorMovies and writes for Bloody Disgusting, Anatomy of a Scream, That Shelf, The Spool and Grim Magazine. He enjoys graphic novels, dark beer and plays multiple sports (adequately, never exceptionally). While he loves all horror, if given a choice, Joe always opts for slashers and creature features.

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‘Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire’ Review – Latest Monster Mashup Goes Bigger and Sillier

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GODZILLA X KONG review

The heavyweight championship event that was Godzilla vs. Kong ended in a tenuous truce that saw Godzilla holding dominion over Earth while King Kong claimed Hollow Earth. Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire introduces a new Titan-sized threat from the depths of Hollow Earth, one so dangerous that Kong and his human allies will need all the help they can get to defeat it. Director Adam Wingard continues the kaiju spectacle with the latest Legendary Monsterverse crossover event, this time injecting an even greater sense of adventure and silliness. It’s the type of epic-sized popcorn movie that unleashes nonstop monster brawls and tongue-in-cheek humor in equal measure.

Since the events of Godzilla vs. Kong, Godzilla spends his downtime curling up for naptime in Rome’s Colosseum when not snuffing out rogue Titans that emerge. The kaiju king’s activity is closely monitored by Monarch and Dr. Ilene Andrews (Rebecca Hall). Dr. Andrews also keeps a close eye on Kong through stations established around Hollow Earth access points, and poor Kong is lonely as he still searches for others like him. Then there’s Dr. Andrews’ adoptive daughter Jia (Kaylee Hottle), the sole survivor of the decimated Iwi tribe from Skull Island. Jia’s struggles to find her place in school and society at large get exacerbated by strange new visions that seem directly tied to Hollow Earth.

Dr. Andrews enlists Bernie (Brian Tyree Henry) to help her navigate Jia’s new plight. Once the new threat makes itself known, all three, along with wisecracking kaiju vet Trapper (Dan Stevens), descend into Hollow Earth for answers. Instead, they find a terrifying new battle heating up for kaiju sovereignty. 

Rebecca Hall and Dan Stevens in Godzilla x Kong

The Monsterverse franchise often struggles with its human characters and how they fit into the kaiju mayhem, but screenwriters Terry RossioSimon Barrett, and Jeremy Slater may have finally cleared this hurdle by trimming down the human cast and keeping it simple. Jia’s heritage creates an emotional conflict between her and her adoptive mother that injects a sweet earnestness, while Brian Tyree Henry’s Bernie brings levity. Then there’s the scene-chewing Dan Stevens, whose Trapper gets introduced in style as he performs a tooth extraction from an aircraft with infectious exuberance. Stevens plays the character with the bravado of an ’80s action star but one that’s fully aware of himself and the absurdity of his unique gig. Trapper’s boisterous personality goes far in demonstrating to audiences just how much we’re meant to be having fun and not take everything seriously, so much so that Godzilla x Kong could stand to see more of him.

Of course, the real stars are the monsters, and this, once again, is Kong’s show. Godzilla remains the undisputed heavyweight champion, but it’s Kong’s pursuit of finding his place in Hollow Earth that drives Godzilla x Kong. The required exposition delivery as Wingard corrals the converging plotlines into an action-heavy final act does slow the momentum in the first two-thirds, despite frequent action set pieces. But the main event delivers the promised team-up and then some, thanks to at least one pivotal surprise up Wingard’s sleeves that brings the wow factor to the final battle. That key surprise is pivotal, not just for fan service, but to offset how underwhelming the new enemy is, a generic mirrored inverse of Kong and his frenemy. 

Angry Kong

Wingard and crew seem fully aware of that and play up the cartoonish quality of the premise to maximize the fun factor. While it does indeed evoke the intended sense of fun, especially when Kong flings a smaller ape around as a weapon or dons a power glove, there’s a weightlessness to the whole thing. There’s no real impact to any of it, even though it often looks cool.

It all amounts to a visually polished Saturday morning cartoon filled with monster brawls and the humans who love them. Beyond the charming entertainment, though, Godzilla x Kong is more hollow than Hollow Earth.

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire roars into theaters and IMAX on March 29, 2024.

2.5 out of 5 skulls

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