When the first season of “True Detective” premiered on HBO in 2014, viewers were not only drawn to the crime story, the dream-like direction of Cary Fukunaga, or the compelling performances by Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson. The first season of the show also embraced cosmic horror. It was filled with Lovecraftian references and a sense of invisible, supernatural danger. Its story seemed to contain more layers than viewers could ever fully grasp.
Ultimately, many felt that the first season of “True Detective” didn’t deliver the depth it often hinted at. Regardless of your opinion of the season’s ending, its embrace of cosmic horror helped it stand out from other crime dramas that viewers had seen before. So, it was disappointing when the second and third seasons of the show abandoned the tone of supernatural horror. The second season tried to replace it with a David Lynch-inspired unease, with mixed results, while the third season didn’t even come close to the kind of horror that made the first season so compelling.
“True Detective: Night Country” avoids making the same mistake. The new fourth season, directed by Issa López, not only brings back the original supernatural horror elements of the show, but amplifies them even further.
“True Detective: Night Country” wastes no time in delivering a truly horrifying series. The impressive opening scene ends with a seemingly possessed scientist declaring, “She’s awake,” just before all the lights go out around him. In the minutes and episodes that follow, “Night Country” lives up to the promises of those initial moments. Its first, second, and third episodes are filled with disturbing, macabre visions, as well as ghosts and moments that induce fear. The second episode of “Night Country” even begins with a moment that could be the scariest moment of any television show this year: a half-frozen scientist, previously believed to be dead, screams in agony as an unwitting police officer accidentally snaps him in half.
The third episode further embraces the horror elements of the season. Early on, Officer Evangeline Navarro (Kali Reis) is disoriented and frightened when the frozen, seemingly dead Alaskan wilderness throws an orange at her, while López decides to vividly emphasize one particularly gruesome discovery with close-up images of thawing, contorted central bodies of dead scientists. These moments not only align perfectly with the heightened mood and plot of “Night Country,” but also with the style and atmosphere of the first season of “True Detective.”
While the third episode of “Night Country” takes us to places that no previous season of “True Detective” has ventured, it does so with closure. When Navarro stands in the waiting room of one of the two surviving scientists from Tsalal Research Station, a half-dead man rises from the bed, completely possessed, and warns her. As the episode ends, the scientist’s body starts to move and quickly dies – his possession has drained him of what little life he had left. It’s simply a terrifying moment, one that you would expect to see in a movie like “The Exorcism of Emily Rose” or “The Conjuring,” rather than in an episode of “True Detective.”
In the first three episodes, “Night Country” proves that it understands what made the debut season of “True Detective” so special. It doesn’t copy all the tricks of that season’s entertainment (for example, it abandons its time structure), but it delivers the same palpable sense of place and a terrifying yet captivating fear of the unseen. At the same time, “Night Country” shows that it is not afraid to further expand certain genre boundaries than its 2014 predecessor.
“True Detective Season 1” proved that the best crime stories should not only be judged based on how effectively they solve murder mysteries, but also on how absorbingly they make their worlds full of murder, death, and tragedy. So far, “Night Country” has created a reality filled with both physical brutality and immaterial forces that exist just beyond the boundaries of its characters’ perception.
No one, whether it’s Navarro Reis or Liz Danvers Jodie Foster, can reach the frozen wilderness of the “Night Country”. If the first three episodes have taught us anything, it is that “Night Country” has a certain control over them and it is beautifully terrifying.
New episodes of “True Detective: Night Country” air on Sundays on HBO.
FAQ
1. What is “True Detective: Night Country”?
“True Detective: Night Country” is the fourth season of the crime drama series “True Detective” that airs on HBO. This season brings back the original supernatural horror elements.
2. What sets apart the fourth season of “True Detective”?
The fourth season of “True Detective” distinguishes itself by reintroducing the supernatural horror elements that were present in the first season. It has a more terrifying atmosphere.
3. What are the main themes of the fourth season?
The fourth season of “True Detective” explores themes related to cosmic horror, supernatural danger, and macabre visions.
4. Is the fourth season a continuation of the previous seasons?
The fourth season of “True Detective” is a standalone story and is not a direct continuation of the previous seasons. Each season has a separate storyline and characters.
5. Is it worth watching the fourth season if you haven’t seen the previous seasons?
The fourth season of “True Detective” can be enjoyed on its own without prior knowledge of the previous seasons. Each season has its own storyline and can be understood independently.
Jargon:
– “True Detective” – the original title of the “True Detective” series
– “True Detective: Night Country” – the fourth season of “True Detective”
– HBO – a television platform that offers programs and series
– cosmic horror – a subgenre of horror that incorporates elements of science fiction and cosmic threat
– Lovecraft – short for H.P. Lovecraft, an American horror writer with elements of fantasy
– David Lynch – an American filmmaker known for creating surreal and unsettling films
Suggested related links:
– HBO
The source of the article is from the blog macnifico.pt