The Devil's Hour, review: a difficult series with an unsustainable pace

The Devil's Hour, review

Arrived on October 28th on Prime Video, The Devil's Hour is one of those stories that are difficult to understand at first glance, like those extremely complex and symbolic paintings, even abstract ones, that gradually take on a very particular meaning, accompanied by due experience. This TV series is just like that: watching it means delving into the maze of an extremely tangled narrative, trying from time to time to dissolve its dynamics in such a way as to find a unique connecting element that justifies all the efforts and events that occurred from the beginning. .

To subscribe to the Amazon Prime Video streaming service and take advantage of the 30-day trial, you can use this link. So, even if in its early developments The Devil's Hour might mistakenly suggest the idea of ​​being a typically English thriller / thriller, with some horror element, so it is not, or at least not entirely, pushing to continue in the vision to try to learn. as many elements as possible on the reality of the facts. Written by Tom Moran and produced by Steven Moffat, the journey proposed by this TV series is by no means the easiest, although as it continues through the folds of its shadows, the general originality surfaces, totally changing every premise, or initial judgment.

What is The Devil's Hour about?

The narrative of The Devil's Hour develops, at least initially, in two distinct paths. On the one hand, we find the character of Lucy Chambers (played by Jessica Raine), a social worker who suffers from sleep-related problems, being tormented by a series of undefined nightmares that make her always wake up at the same time: 3:33. The woman's life is divided between work (in which she is in contact with difficult and complicated family situations) and her son Isaac (a very particular boy, cold, apathetic and detached, distinguished by a relationship with the world around him that is difficult to understand , in which he claims to see things and presences that others do not perceive). The other side of the plot is marked by the vicissitudes of Ravi Dillon (Nikesh Patel), a detective dealing with some heinous crimes. In search of motivations and answers we know him while he moves on some crime scenes, barely managing to restrain himself, since he is terrified of blood. The two paths meet when Isaac disappears, presumably kidnapped by someone, with searches that will lead to completely unexpected developments.


The Devil's Hour Contrary to its premises, the narrative does not move only in this direction, alternating its temporal possibilities with some developments that are shown to the spectators at the same time as the events of these two. In the story, in fact, the main scenes alternate with those of an interrogation of an elderly man (played by a masterful Peter Capaldi). We do not know when the interrogation takes place, we do not know who this man is, and we do not know the reasons that led to this situation. In the room with him, on the other side of the table, we find both Lucy and Devy, with the phrases pronounced during the meeting that are first extremely enigmatic and then become the key to the interpretation of all subsequent developments.

Moving trying to get to the end

One of the most particular traits of The Devil's Hour is its narrative structure and the choices it takes as events progress. Starting from an extremely recognizable genre, that of the thriller / detective story, this series chooses to follow a completely different path, merging elements belonging to the dimension of the paranormal throughout the story, and creating a real hybrid that knows how to surprise. The surprise, however, soon becomes fatigue and mental effort when accompanied by a not very compelling narrative rhythm, which expands excessively even to explain the simplest things and lateral developments, complicating the vision even more. So we find ourselves witnessing moments of extreme tension, accompanied by long brackets, even useless, prolonged by a direction that does not help to advance, taking up a lot of space between one event and another with fixed shots and exhausting silences. Everything finds a square in The Devil's Hour, more or less. The narrative experiment at the base of the experience that the story offers, certainly remains very interesting, even if to have a minimum vision and understanding of the whole you need to get to its sixth and last episode, remembering that each of the previous ones lasts from 56 minutes in su.

Reflections

The Devil's Hour, however, is not only mystery and puzzles, but also social interest. Outside of the events involving the protagonist, we find an extremely realistic and well-defined context in which to move, with an England designed by some issues that certainly embellish the narrative. The protagonist's own work, in contact with families distinct from domestic violence and drug abuse, speaks volumes about the social interest of this product, supported by some extremely direct moments of violent and sincere denunciation and criticism.



The Devil's Hour The result is expressed in a story that seems to be something that changes continuously by playing with the spectators and dragging them into a dark vortex where the shadows continue to dance without the possibility, at least not immediately. to understand what they do and the reasons for these dances. Once the darkness has dissipated, however, the situation is by no means the simplest, requiring further reflections and understandings that try to open up to something difficult to define.