Before I jump into this review, I'd like to give a shout-out to the WB for supplying us with a copy. My opinions are my own.
Story: How do I start this? Oh yeah... this show is crazy as hell, starring girls who know a little something about... chaos. It's basically a horror-based soap opera described as a "secretive and suspenseful drama series" by the team over at the WB.
This story takes place in the
Pretty Little Liars universe, but it's in a different location (which is Millwood, Pennsylvania). I'm new to the series... so I'm not familiar with the story of the prior P.L.L. installment. Regardless of the title, there are chicks in this story who need to be called... nasty little liars. I don't want to give the show away, but the reason why the stars of this show are looking over their shoulder... is because of the crap their moms (the nasty not-so-little liars nowadays) pulled when they were in high school.
They treated the new girl so horribly... she harmed herself. There is even info in the opening of the episodes because of things depicted in the show. This isn't the whole show, but... you clearly understand why the wheels of revenge are set in motion. Believe it or not... I didn't look at the villain like a bad guy (for the most part), I was more so watching the show like how is he going to make certain people pay. It wasn't just the moms, there were other not-so-savory characters (who acted like villains themselves to a degree).
Speaking of which, this show can be a bit agenda-driven (here and there). It covers some topics that I wouldn't knock being covered to a degree, but if one of the characters wasn't a survivor, it was another character. (Follow me) Parents were around... but not to the point where most asked where they were going and actually put their foot down to take preventative measures (especially after certain incidents took place, but... some select survivors said nothing to them). I'll give them credit for two situations off the top of my head, there was one at the movie theatres, and another with the moms of one of the characters when she was younger.
Nearly everyone in this show was jacked up (I have to be honest), except for Faran's dad and a handful of others... but he was basically under the boot of her mom (one of the nasty not-so-little liars). She was a career woman, he worked a 9 to 5 (I believe), and Faran lived with him. Her mom would pop her head in here and there for the sake of getting Faran to do things (her way) and would override the dad's objections with a smile (or would at least try unless Faran opposed it).
You might be wondering where the villain came into play in all this, but he was woven throughout (along with other villains who don't wear masks)... and despite the things the characters did to annoy me (think of horror movies and the way characters can behave), it kept things interesting. I did find myself almost shouting at the telly at times, but I kept watching as they brought it around (someone got their just deserts).
There is a twist in there that I wasn't expecting, but I'm not spilling the beans... so you'll have to check it out yourself.
There's a part I really want to touch on, but it would be saying too much. What I will say is that... I do find it weird that a particular character was able to function the way they were despite an L. You could tell that someone else was dealing with their L a little harder, but I don't know, I tried not to overthink it... I just thought it was weird. I guess she wouldn't have been able to function well through the season on that note. Once you watch, you'll likely know exactly what I'm talking about (it happens in episode one).
Overall, I think they did a good job keeping the pace of this season strong, and making sure things revolved around school life (along with the catty behavior being traded off between the P.L.L crew, Karen, and others). Season one was wrapped up in the end in a way that justifies a second season, so if this new entry into the franchise... floats your boat, stay tuned.
Visuals: Visuals for this show are solid. They were clean and crisp (for the most part), and when it was time to set a certain tone... they put the scenes together well.
They delivered a horror movie in a show with the visuals to match. Even the school looked creepy in the daytime (almost looked like night school)... which I would've switched that up and given a bit more variety. Brighten up the lights or something. Take a look at various scenes minus a certain hotel and the homes they reside in (for the most part), and they look like they belong in a horror movie. I'm guessing they wanted to maintain that energy, but the other scenes helped break it up somewhat.
You get a lot of mid shots in this show, not to mention full shots to show off the fashion... and of course the P.L.L. crew. They didn't stop there, they delivered some other nice angles as well like a POV shot from the villain's point of view (i.e. you even see through the eye holes of the mask at a Halloween party). You will also see other shots like one where one of the girls falls to the ground and the camera literally falls to the ground also (with the full shift of the angle)... which was pretty cool. You can see the effort, which is applauded.
There was also this one scene where the villain caught someone in the bathroom, and it gave me full-on Halloween vibes (minus the Michael Myers/William Shatner mask). On top of that, you may notice a few things that make you think of one or more horror movies. I got at least 4, which were Halloween (as mentioned), Nightmare on Elm Street, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and Pumpkin Head. There were others, but... they were mentioned in the show.
They were able to pull off their own feel with the look of the character and the story, but... Halloween vibes were pouring from the screen for me. Oh, by the way, they also hit us a Dutch angle in episode one... when Faran got a text from someone in dance class.
Audio: The audio was fitting, they paired up the music well along with the sound effects. There are some movies that don't utilize effects at times that could really sell the scene, so I take my hat off to the audio in this show... which is clean and impactful. Speaking of impactful, at some point in the show... they even played, 'Mister Sandman' (just like in Halloween).
In addition to the 10 One Hour Episodes on DVD, you also get...
- Swagger, Romance and Fear: The Boys of Original Sin
- A New Generation of Terror: The Villains of Original Sin
Story 4
Visuals 5
Audio 5
Price + Extras 4
4.5 out of 5 Cool Points
