Why "Archive 81" is called one of the best thrillers of the year

On January 14, the 81 Archive series based on the podcast of the same name was released on the Netflix streaming service. In the first days after the release, not too much was said about the project. And fans of the original and completely scolded the adaptation. The fact is that the authors of the podcast were inspired not only by traditional mystical stories like The X-Files, but also, for example, by the literary work of Jeff Vandermeer. As a result, the audio version of "Archive 81" was a disparate set of recordings, from which the listener himself had to put together a whole story.

Of course, the film adaptation was made easier to understand, which angered the fans. But if we consider the serial "Archive 81" as a separate work, then it looks like an amazing mixture of several traditional plots, which together give an unpredictable and very tense history. Therefore, already a week after the release, thanks to the feedback from the audience, the project became the leader in terms of views on Netflix, and on the aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes it has 89% of positive reviews.

Archive 81: Season 1 / Rotten Tomatoes critics.

Such accolades are truly deserved. The project combines different genres, perfectly holds the viewer's attention, and also pleases with an interesting production and an abundance of references.

1. "Archive 81" completely captures the mix of stories

Dan Turner (Mamoudu Ati), who lost his entire family in a fire as a child, works as a film and video cassette restorer. One day he is sent a very old tape with a film in which they show spooky ritual. After Dan restores and processes the film, he is hired by the enigmatic Virgil Davenport (Martin Donovan), head of the LMG Corporation. For a $100,000 reward, Turner is offered to restore and digitize a series of cassettes damaged in the fire. Moreover, everything must be strictly confidential, and he will work in a secluded place where he does not even catch a mobile phone.

Taking the order, Dan looks through the records of Melody Pendras (Dina Sheehabi). In 1994, she goes to look for her mother in the Visser apartments, filming everything on a video camera. The heroine meets the inhabitants of the house there, who turn out to be followers of a certain cult. And then Dan finds out that his dead father was somehow involved in this case. And even more strangely, the young man can mystically communicate with Melody.

The first thing that catches your eye when viewing "Archive 81" is the load of the plot. It seems that the authors decided to capture literally all the typical tricks from thrillers, mystics and horror.

From the very beginning, two storylines are launched, and even taking place at different times. Dan's story plays on the theme of found footage, a genre once popularized byBlair Witch». In fact, this technique began to die off against the backdrop of the development of digital technologies (more precisely, it gave way to its modern counterpart - Screenlife). But the authors of the series intelligently revive it by turning to retro themes.

At the same time, Melody's line, if considered separately, resembles Roman Polanski's "apartment trilogy", especially the film "Rosemary's baby». In it, the heroine also finds herself in a building inhabited by mysterious people, and more and more suspects that those villains are.

But the authors of Archive 81 do not stop there either. Gradually, Dan and his friend Mark (Matt McGorry) develop their own investigation in the spirit of the X-Files, turning what is happening into a puzzling detective story.

It is no less interesting that the fates of the heroes in both times are somewhat similar. They become more and more paranoid as they explore strange housesin which they live.

And quite suddenly, even a love story appears here.

You can continue to list the unexpected moves that will be shown in the series, but it is better not to deprive those who have not yet watched the pleasure. After all, a large part of the tense atmosphere rests precisely on complete uncertainty: at any moment, the project can change the genre, artistic techniques, and even the time of action.

There seems to be nothing surprising in such a compilation. The authors of modern films and TV series often try not to dwell on one genre, but somehow combine classic plots. It is only striking that with such a load, "Archive 81" does not look chaotic.

The thing is that the lines are very neatly intertwined with each other: the stories do not seem to be separate, and each next scene or theme follows logically from the previous one. And here it remains only to rejoice at the skill of the screenwriters and showrunner. But keep in mind that this series will not be able to watch in background. The pace and number of events imply total immersion.

2. In "Archive 81" everything works to scare you

In recent years, it has been customary to praise the so-called post-horror films (or “elevated horror” - elevated horror) - pictures that scare not with screamers, but with metaphor and almost philosophy. But at the same time, the audience's love for ordinary horror films that make them jump in their chairs and scream has not gone away.

And "Archive 81" will be a good outlet for fans of the good old horror. Here you can pay attention to the executive producers of the project. Among them are, for example, James Wan - the creator of "Astral" and "Incantations". And it seems that directors and screenwriters peeped frightening tricks in his works. It is unlikely that Wang personally participated in the filming process much: he created too many projects in parallel himself. But the séance scene certainly came from his paintings (there were analogues in both examples).

Also in the company of producers appears Paul Harris Boardman - co-author of Scott Derrickson in the film "Deliver us from evil». He also worked on the scripts for Archive 81, along with showrunner Rebecca Sonnenschein. The latter does not have much merit in the genre of mysticism and horror, but she once did a lot for the TV series The Vampire Diaries.

In a word, there is no reason to doubt the professionalism of the team: they know how to scare. And more than half of the series is really expanse for thrill-seekers. Moreover, the authors use completely different methods. Often, of course, these are classic screamers, up to references to the legendary "The Ring". But besides this, literally all the components work for the disturbing atmosphere.

So, sound plays a very important role. The soundtrack is often played too loudly to make the viewer uncomfortable. It feels great that Ben Salisbury, Alex Garland's regular composer, worked on the music. Remember "Developers": the same hum and ringing that endlessly drag on, fall silent for a split second and start anew. And every time they cause anxiety. At the same time, the sound component also becomes part of the plot: one of the residents of Visser writes an experimental opera, and the main character is haunted by the ominous music of cultists.

And already to all this, Sonnenschein and co-authors add a paranoid atmosphere: it seems to the characters that behind them are watching, and important little things really often flash in the background in the frame.

At some point, it will come to meta-irony: Melody is watching life through the lens of her video camera, Dan looks through her tapes, he is surreptitiously followed by Davenport, and everyone is watched together through the screen spectators. Well, how can you not start looking around: what if someone at a higher level is looking at us?

3. The series has a huge number of references and stylizations.

As already mentioned in the previous paragraphs, "Archive 81" often refers to the classics of cinema. But the matter is not limited to plot refrains. We can say that this series as a whole is a declaration of love for cinema in all its manifestations. No wonder the main character says that as a child he watched many great films with his father.

In the small details that the authors of Archive 81 show, you can even notice hints of plot development. So, Dan includes "Solaris"Tarkovsky, in which the hero meets his dead wife - and later Turner will begin to communicate with the deceased Melody. In addition, the young man wears a T-shirt with the logo of Fritz Lang's "Ministry of Fear" - this is a picture of a man who was in a psychiatric hospital, and then suspected his loved ones of a conspiracy. Similarly, an unbalanced Dan will doubt his father. And closer to the finale, a poster of "Devils" in 1954 will appear, and they are also connected to the plot. And even the cartoon "The Secret of NIMX", which both main characters love, appears for a reason.

And besides this, "Archive 81" pleases with visual stylizations. The scenes that Melody filmed really look like old VHS footage. And it's not just about 4:3 format, but also in noise, and even in the strip at the bottom of the frame, which appeared on poor-quality or damaged films. From the series you can even learn about the amazing PXL2000 camcorder, which recordedCamcorder that uses Cassette Tapes - The PXL‑2000 / YouTube picture on audio cassette.

If that's not enough, each episode begins with a short, stylized cutscene. It could be an archival news release, a piece from an old movie, even an unusual advertisement. Moreover, all these details are not only pleasing to the eye, but also play a role in the plot.

And the character Mark, a friend of the protagonist, looks like a separate irony. He leads his own podcast dedicated to all sorts of mysticism. A kind of little hello to the original from which the series originated.

It is very fortunate that "Archive 81" was released on Netflix - a service that releases projects in whole seasons, and not by episodes. The series is ideal for "drunk" viewing in a couple of evenings. This is the best way to immerse yourself in the mystical and frightening atmosphere of old films. By the end, the eerie mood subsides a bit, giving way to explanations. And of course, it will not do without a backlog for a possible continuation. But this does not spoil the story: it looks coherent and exciting, like a small trip to another world.