Season 1 |
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Episode Guide
Episode 1 -| Review Score – 3/5
Episode 2 -| Review Score – 3/5
Episode 3 -| Review Score – 3/5
Episode 4 -| Review Score – 3.5/5
Episode 5 -| Review Score – 3.5/5
Hound’s Hill is the latest Polish crime drama on Netflix, sporting a dense mystery and a small town vibe that nestles right into the usual cliches of this genre. This is very much a slow burn with emphasis on the slow, and although it does take its time to get to the good stuff, the final twists do make the journey worth persevering with.
The story takes a while to unravel its layers but centers specifically on accomplished writer Mikolaj. He returns home after publishing his latest book, which shamelessly profits off a murder that tragically took the life of his ex-girlfriend, Daria.
Unfortunately, he’s also thrown a lot of the town residents under the bus in the process, distorting and twisting their personas to fit the mould of a crime thriller. As a result, there’s understandably a lot of hostility toward him from the other residents.
Nowhere is that more evident than with his father, Tomek. Their relationship is a strained one to say the least, and this is only exacerbated when Mikolaj returns for his dad’s birthday. It doesn’t take long for things to become awkward and old issues to resurface, but Mikolaj has another reason for returning home.
He’s received a postcard, threatening to reveal the truth about an incident from the past. Accompanied by his journalist wife Justyna, the pair set out to try and uncover who the blackmailer is.
However, they soon bite off more than they can chew. The town of Zybork is rife with corruption, as the Mayor is in bed (figuratively, not literally) with a local investor called Kalt who wants to turn a lot of land into a luxury hotel, displacing hundreds in the process.
Tomek happens to be an activist in his spare time and he butts heads with the authorities, sometimes aggressively. Of course, this makes him a target for the authorities who just want to silence him no matter what. If that wasn’t enough, murders spring up once more and local gangsters get involved, muddying the waters and throwing question marks over exactly who can be trusted – and who’s causing mischief.
There’s a pretty dense fog of mystery around this one and at surface level, there’s an awful lot to unpack in this series. The writing is undoubtedly good when it comes to the characters, although a questionable inclusion of a narrator that tells us this is “going to be a bad ending” and “really long” is a weird way to promote the show from the off.
However, this definitely holds true because Hound’s Hill is a slow, methodical series that takes its sweet time to get to the good stuff. In fact, a lot of the early episodes really drag their heels, delivering drip-fed bits of characterisation around a few exposition dumps, but really doubling down on long, drawn out establishing shots. Expect plenty of slow zooms and tracking shots across the countryside, along with the camera lingering on facial expressions too.
The setting is undoubtedly a good one though and Zybork looks great. The woods encircling the town and little touches like the metal bridge separating the town from the outside world really feed into the feed of this being a small, isolated community.
On the other hand, the music accompanying these scenes is really ill-fitting. There’s a constant reliance on major chords which gives off a bizarre uplifting vibe next to the moody crime drama going on.
Aesthetics aside, Hound’s Hill story is, on the whole, not bad, although it’s certainly not going to be a crime thriller that stands out next to others in this field. This is certainly not a twisty-turny affair like one of Harlan Coben’s thrillers, nor is it as pacey and tense as something like The Chestnut Man. Instead, this is a slow, moody, atmospheric drama that leans into its small town vibes to suck you into this world.
The trouble with the story progressing so slowly like this, is that it gives you lots of time to think over the plot and what’s occurring. During the run-time there’s definitely a few moments that feel ill-fitting or dragged out for the purposes of extending the drama. I won’t reveal them here don’t worry, but one in particular involves infidelity, which feels thrown in just for the sake of adding drama.
There’s also a few misunderstanding tropes thrown in, including a character that just stares at our protagonist for a few episodes before explaining who she is and what she’s doing. There’s also a string of cliché characters like the crooked cops and politicians who frustratingly don’t get very satisfying conclusions to their arcs. On the other hand though, the main ensemble do get a pretty good ending to their stories, so it does balance out a bit.
Hound’s Hill isn’t a bad crime drama by any stretch of the imagination, but it’s not outstanding either. This is a slow burn with emphasis on slow, but the pay-offs at the end are pretty good to be fair.
The atmosphere and small town vibe are easily the stand-out elements for this one, while the characters are interesting enough to stick with for the long-haul. If you’re after a moody crime drama, this one’s not a bad option to check out. Just be ready to go in with some patience!
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Verdict - 6/10
6/10