May Martin knows about your confusion.
Firstly, of course, this will be your confusion that it is in high pines, the fictional village of Vermont in the center CharacteristicThe new Netflix series created, wrote, wrote and stars.
For example: what does the terribly calm leader Evelyn Wade (Tony Colllett) mean when she tells the children under her guardianship at the Tall Pines Academy, her cult school for restless teenagers, that their mother has a door in her mouth?
Why does Alex Dampsi (Martin) find his pregnant wife, Laura (Sarah Gadon), fees to the lake just a few days after they returned to high pines, which is also the native city of Laura? Why do all children at school continue to claim what is happening behind closed doors? And why are two Canadian teenagers Abby (Sydney Fliff) and Leila (Alivia Alin Lind), it seems, the only ones who want to do something with this?
But Martin also realizes that you can be embarrassed by the tone of the show. Because the “sinister” is hardly the first word that people think about when it comes to mostly carefree roles that they had in the past, including their Over on the British panel show ” Tasktheir comedic podcast with a noto tig, and at that time they wore A Dune-Yatous worm costume for Canadian screen awardsField
May Martin and Wesovary colleagues Tony Colllet, Sarah Gadon, Sidney Fopliffa and Alivia Alin Lind talk to Jackson Weever from CBC News about the roots of the frightening drama drama and naive the nostalgies of the 2000s.
“I wanted to tell the story of adolescence and the achievement of adulthood, and, as you know, people are trying to find out who they are, while everyone tells them, who should be,” Martin said in a recent interview with a large number of actors, explaining where inspiration came from. “And then the genre element – and” ominous ” – naturally.”
After the premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival last month, then made his debut on Netflix last week, the series performed in slot No. 1 in the Global TV Streater category for English.
Characteristic helped to place Canadiana Smack-Daba in the center of cultural conversation with KPOP Demons HuntersWhich was the director of the Canadian Maggie Kan and is part of the 10 best Netflix films for 15 weeks.
But unlike KpopIN Characteristic He puts his Canadian roots in front in the center: almost blatantly. The series simultaneously tells the stories of Alex, Abby and Leila, who are all newcomers in island, strange, strange Stepford wives-Viba of the city.
Alex, a recently transplanted policeman with a dark history, is struggling to raise his life under control in high pine trees (while Martin will not disassemble and use their/their pronouns, their character is a traveler, passing by he/him). A new child in the way promises a potential future, but the complex story of his wife with Evelyn can disrupt all this.
Meanwhile, the investigation of Alex about the school Evelyn raises an example of mysterious disappearances: the reality that the friends of Abby and Leila stumbled after their parents sent to school. Friends understand that they need to protect each other when they try to expose the school as it really is, all this is for trying to advance through the secret system of the behavioral levels of the institution, which ends with the mysterious, potentially dangerous “jumping” ceremony.

Aggressively Canadian content
At every step, the show reminds the audience that it was made by a Canadian, in Canada – in the visible, for Canadians.
“I miss you, friend. Nobody here is like you, and no one thinks that I am smart as you, ”Ebby says once in a letter to Leila before she joins her friend at school. “And no one Canadian.”
“We survived,” is a later continuation, which appeared shortly before another joke played at the expense of the American one, who, believing that all Canadians live freely in French. “We are Canadians, remember?”
Иногда, к сожалению, самой уникальной вещью, непосредственно потворствуя канконам, также самая уникальная вещь CharacteristicField
In post-Stranger The world, appetite to a vaguely supernatural, inspired criminal travel pass for rental, bottomless. In this landscape, Characteristic Not so much does to stand out, in addition to regularly, repeatedly, constantly recalling his audience that this show actually heads Canadians.
Listen | How Canadian Characteristic? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=feszzyt1b3i
At first glance, this leads to a good thriller, if nothing to write home: it would seem, created by combining the horror of HBO secondary school Yellow With Netflix's Wild wild country(literal) cult classical exposure of a pseudo -utopian society, and then leave to sit.
At least on the surface. Despite the fact that they are terrible neophyte, Martin knows enough to leave most of the greatest mysteries of the show unresolved and amorphous; The most effectively alarming aspect Characteristic It consists in the fact that questions give enough volume to offer many terrifying opportunities, without holding the audience’s hand through real answers.
CharacteristicThe central theme of intimacy, as a corrier, is part of an interesting and growing pantheon, which includes a romantic terror A24 TogetherFamily nightmare of Zach Krygger Weaponand even inversion Romcom Selin Song MaterialistsField
And how the show captures strange topics, gives a little weight and originality, even if Characteristic Really tries to have his own cake and eat it too.
This both represent Alex as a character whose trans-identity should not dominate his motives or plot, and introduces issues of the late stage regarding his desire to live a “normal” life. Trying to walk through this rope, history undermines both wonderful goals, not fully committing any of them.
Characteristic Further, it increases with impressive performances from Martin and Colllet, which perform good work on wearing history, although the outstanding is, unfortunately, the insufficiently used isold ardi in the role of Berserk Snitch Stacey. Obtaining more time for its manic rupture than the dizzying cast of the characters that we asked to follow, probably, would lead to a more close -knit final product.
Instead, things are a little more scattered. Questions in the city center and school danced around, gestures, constantly built, and then ignored for The battle of the piano-Ity episode, which does everything except promoting history.
This does not mean Characteristic It is failure or not suitable – far from it.
As creative from the first from Martin, there are breadcrumbs of crackers of potential scatches. Some elements, including heartbreaking and innovative ending, even a hint of greatness if they are developed in future episodes if the show is provided the second season or in the subsequent project from Martin.
But, judging by the whole, this supernatural thriller is not entirely great. At least not yet.