With TV shows such as The Vampire Diaries and True Blood having enjoyed huge popularity in recent years, and also with the massive success of the Twilight franchise; Netflix decided to have its own go at the vampire/werewolf thing with its own series, Hemlock Grove, adapted from the Brian McGreevy novel of the same name.
Set in the fictional town of Hemlock Grove, Pennsylvania, the series hones in on the unlikely blossoming friendship of Roman Godfrey (Bill Skarsgård) and Peter Rumancek (Landon Liboiron) as the two begin bonding after Peter moves into town. With rumours spreading amongst the townsfolk that Peter is perhaps a werewolf, horrific murders begin to start taking place in the town every full moon, and Peter finds himself to be the chief murder suspect due to his outsider status and the murmurings of his werewolf status. With the wealthy Roman Godfrey as his main ally, Peter sets out to discover the true identity of the killer in order to bring an end to the murderous activities within the town and restore the townsfolk to their previous safety.
Eli Roth onboard as executive producer (and also as director of the pilot), Hemlock Grove is quite a slow paced serial that consists of 13 episodes and features notable stars such as Famke Janssen (of X-Men fame), Dougray Scott (who was originally to play Wolverine in X-Men, but ultimately replaced by Hugh Jackman due to a scheduling clash), and Bill Skarsgård and Landon Liboiron as the main heartthrob’s of the series. Despite some shaky acting, a very questionable transatlantic accent from Famke Janssen, and very little actually happening throughout the entirety of the first season, Hemlock Grove is actually a pretty enjoyable show that keeps you interested throughout and happily has you coming back for more.
With very little action actually taking place and the limited action that does occur all being fairly predictable, Hemlock Grove is a series that relies on the way that the characters interact with and relate to one another, and it’s very much the character interaction that is central to the show’s success. The relationship of Roman Godfrey (Bill Skarsgård) and Peter Rumancek (Landon Liboiron) is particularly interesting here, but it’s not just these two that are enjoyable to watch, it’s also the way in which a lot of the more minor characters are utilised within the series. There are very few, if any, characters that feel surplus; everyone seems to have their place within the series, each contributing to the overall flow and direction that Hemlock Grove takes.
The nice thing about Hemlock Grove is that it doesn’t seem to take itself too seriously; the scripting is sometimes slightly awkward and uncomfortable and the violence and bloodshed is ridiculously over the top, but it all rather adds to the charm of it. Eli Roth is connected to the show so you therefore feel that pastiche is an expected element of the series, and ultimately it’s a series that deals with the subject matter of vampires and werewolves, if it took itself more seriously then it probably wouldn’t be anywhere near as watchable and its flaws would probably feel far less excusable, too.
For all of its issues and flaws, Hemlock Grove is definitely a series that has a certain element of charm about it, and for those that love their gore there is definitely a decent amount of that on show here. The language is strong and some of the scenes definitely aren’t suitable for a younger audience, if you’re in your mid teens to mid twenties though then you may well find enjoyment in Hemlock Grove, and if you’re a campy horror fan of any age in fact then this is a series that is definitely well worth watching.
Hemlock Grove will return in 2014 for a second season, the second season all set to feature 10 episodes.
UK based film graduate with a huge passion for music, sports and video games.
