“Archive 81″ is the first binge-worthy horror series of the year, if not for its ending.
Based on the successful found-footage horror podcast of the same name by Dan Powell and Marc Sollinger, this Netflix show is a practical, propulsive body of horror that wraps its tendrils around you early with fantastic performances, a gripping story and moody thrills. It is executive produced by James Wan of “Saw” and “The Conjuring” fame, providing a reason to press play.
The series follows Dan Turner, played by Mamoudou Athie, a museum archivist and film conservator. A mysterious and wealthy corporation approaches Dan, asking him to restore a series of videotapes damaged in an East Village hotel fire. Dan carries out his work in an upstate New York facility in the remote Catskill Mountains with little cell service and complete isolation. Everything about the job is a flashing red flag, but the true horror lies in the tapes.
Rewind to 1994, when doctorate student Melody Pendras, played by Dina Shihabi, worked on her Ph.D. dissertation about an apartment building called the Visser. She is the second protagonist who is called to the Visser because her absentee mother allegedly lived there at one point. However, she uncovers far more sinister truths when she becomes entangled with a cult presence who are just as dangerous as their chilling hums.
Watching “Archive 81” was like making your way through a labyrinth. It’s a maze of horror storytelling that utilizes the outstanding performances of two mellow-voiced actors you want to root for. The viewer has to untangle the threads of both Melody’s and Dan’s story with the latter, realizing he has some stock in Melody’s story just as she has some stock in his. Every creepy corridor holds a new secret in both the facility and the Visser, leading to more truths, secrets and otherworldly dangers.
From Dan’s point of view, we watch him witnessing her story where the present and past converge into a terrifying reality that mixes the found footage elements of “The Blair Witch Project,” cursed videotapes of “The Ring” and the occult terror of “Rosemary’s Baby.” But just like the maze in the third act, the series’ true terror stems from the constant dread of isolation from “The Shining,” where there’s always a prickling feeling of someone watching your every move.
However, “Archive 81” is undercut by a detrimental cliffhanger finale that leaves room for an entirely unnecessary second season. This made the ending all the more frustrating because the series feels completely self-contained throughout, which left me hoping that the show would wrap up with a somewhat neat bow. The majority of the series is deliciously crafted and engrossing, so I do not understand the reasoning for a potential second season when the series could have been wrapped up within another episode.
I suppose we, the viewers, cannot have our cake and eat it too, but at least we can press rewind on the tapes.