Daniel Farriol’s reviews:
the devil in Ohio
The devil in Ohio is a miniseries produced by Canada and the United States that was created by Daria Polatin (Close Eye, Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan), adapting his own novel, in which drama and intrigue merge. In the direction of the 8 episodes participate John Fawcett (Orphan Black, Ginger Snaps), Brad Anderson (Asylum: the experiment, Transsiberian), Leslie Hope (Swamp Christmas, Ghost Wars) y Steven A. Adelson (Skymed, debris). The story shows a mysterious young woman who has escaped from a devil-worshiping sect that intended to sacrifice her and is greeted by a psychiatrist who has her demons from the past, her presence will eventually upset the stability of her family.
It is carried out by Emily Deschanel (Bones, Boogeyman, the door of fear), Madeleine Arthur (Color out of space, the possession of Grace), Xaria Dotson (Birch), Sam Jaeger (Take me home, SWAT: under siege), Gerardo Celasco, Alisha Newton, Naomi Tan, Tahmoh Penikett y Samantha Ferris. The series premiered Netflix on September 2, 2022.
From terror to family drama
The first thing to clarify the devil in Ohio It is not a horror series. The poster, the ad campaign and even the opening scene seem to indicate that the adaptation of the novel written by Daria Polatin He will have a genre cinematic approach when it comes to Satanism. Plus, he’s inspired by real events that happened across the United States on the subject, but then the scenes where he actually flirts with all of that will be scarce. The series prefers to bet on a family drama with touches of intrigue about the real-world adaptation of a young woman raised in a satanic sect and the repercussions of being welcomed into a normal family that will gradually collapse due to her presence in the house.
The fact that terror is left aside does not necessarily have to be a bad thing, as we can see in the first chapters directed with great skill by John Fawcett y Brad Andersonthe problem is when the reins are left in the hands of Leslie Hope y Steven A. Adelson who do not know how to handle the material correctly. The series will lose interest as the chapters pass until it reaches a smoky final chapter where the satanic will be more like dirty millennial kids registration a coil for instagram than to the menacing worshipers of the evil one about to make a human sacrifice in the light of the moon (that music that beats less than a boat of Imedio! of God and of Satan!). Even if he rains on me a lot and beyond his cinematographic virtues, how much damage has he done Mid summer (Ari Aster2019) to popular horror!
family and another
the devil in Ohio starts with Mae (Madeleine Arthur) flees in terror through some wheat fields until she reaches a highway where she is picked up by a truck driver. Still in the state of shockshe will be taken to a nearby hospital where she will not speak to anyone and will only begin to open up in the presence of Dr Suzanne Mathis (Emily Deschanel). The inability of social services to offer her a safe haven will cause the psychiatrist herself to decide to temporarily welcome the girl into her home, as she identifies with her when the demons of a traumatic childhood she believed she had overcome and that we will get to know how to awaken.
The girl’s entry into the doctor’s family environment and the strange behavior that emanates (it seems to her all new as if she lived in space, blesses the table with demonic references, builds an altar with objects of family members …), it will end to wreak havoc in a home that more represents the traditional values of the American Midwest coldthat is, the middle-upper classes of the city, while the sectarians from which Mae comes would be linked to the feelings of the mountaineers of the area, i.e. the rural ones that depend on their crops to survive, even if it is true that this description does not at all fit the good manners and education that the girl shows in her relationship with others even though she never went to a school .
Suzanne is married to Peter (Sam Jaeger), a selfless family man with many financial problems who hides his wife in a clear display of hurt masculinity, and both are parents of three girls, teenage Helen (Alisha Newton) and Giulio (Xaria Dotson), and the little adopted Dani (Naomi Tan), who is obsessed with musicals and shows others her singing skills. Although Mae is received with suspicion, she will do her best to fit in and stay in that family as long as possible. Her behavior will be so ambiguous that the viewer will never know if she is a victim or not.
Bring twice
The truth is that, apart from Suzanne and Mae, the only character with face and eyes that we find in the family environment is Jules. The rest are secondary supporting characters who are either uninteresting or broadly defined, including the usual share of sexual identity with respect to Helen. We need the inclusion of girls the devil in Ohio broaden the spectrum of the audience it is aimed at with typical subplots of high school teens with adjustment problems, love affairs and even a typical prom scene with clear references to Carrie (Brian De Palma1976).
In this regard, there’s an earlier joke on Halloween night (another genre movie topic) when Mae and Jules both dress up as a bloody girl and say one will be the old and the other the new, in reference. to the remake. If we get exquisite, this comment is absurd for Mae to make as it is assumed that in the sect she did not have access to see the movies, although it is something that Jules could have told her in advance since it is the film she sees every year with her friend. Isaac (Jason Sakaki). Better not to thoroughly analyze the script of the devil in Ohio in details like this …
Jules, beautifully portrayed by Xaria Dotson, it is at first the character who makes the narrative alternation of the series work between the esoteric world and the adolescent one. She is a maladjusted girl who is rejected in the student environment even by her older sister and who finds in her Mae the intimate friend that she has always wanted to have of her. Her passion is photography and the publication of a work in the school magazine. It’s a shame that this easily empathetic character acts increasingly foolish in later chapters. The other family narrative axis is the mother-son relationship that is established between Suzanne and Mae, causing the jealousy of their daughters and also of the clumsy husband who do not understand the true bond that unites them, since wanting to take care of her and save her from sect It is a way to save oneself from the trauma that still brings due to the mistreatment of the father with the implicit consent of the mother.
rites and symbols
Beyond the family plots we have the police investigations conducted by detective Alex Lopez (Gerardo Celasco) who will be the one who will reveal everything related to the satanic cult and where more emphasis should have been placed to create the disturbing and terrifying scenes that we all expected to find. the devil in Ohio creates an imaginary mythology around the Amontown cult “Sliocht an Diabhail” founded by Caleb Dodd, an Irish immigrant (that’s why they use Gaelic in rites), who after various difficulties, misfortunes, famines and crop losses, decided to resign to God like the “Dracula” of Bram Stoker worship the Devil and make him a “wish-granting” in exchange for human sacrifices.
Both the place and the cult are fictitious, but the writer and showrunner from the series Daria Polatin He claimed to have done research to be inspired by various royal cults of the American Midwest in order to integrate the necessary symbology to make it more believable, the inverted cross, the pentagram, the altar of offerings, the harvest dance, the white roses, the fiery gallows for the sacrifice which is far less imaginative than the wicker man (Robin Hardy1973)… In general, these are little new things and have already been seen in other films or series more focused on satanic terror.
And it is that, unfortunately, here the graphic scenes of the cult are more video clips than terrifying. Songs popular that hum or play in the background is typical of Cumbayá hikers around a bonfire rather than Satanists who burn people alive. Someone should have put the director of the last episode of the devil in Ohio the soundtrack of Eyes tightly closed (Stanley Kubrick1999) or even that of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (Steven Spielberg1984) in order to understand the sound climate that a ritual should have to create an attractive rather than frightening atmosphere.
More from Ohio than Diablo
Decidedly, the devil in Ohio is a series with an interesting approach that works better as a family drama than as a thriller or terror. After about four first chapters, a bit in style Mike Flanagan, where the description of the characters and the settings is balanced quite well with the supernatural aspect that is at the intriguing basis of the story, little by little our expectations will be diluted in the following chapters until we reach the end with embarrassing but badly executed scenes.
Even so, despite the feeling of disappointment that the viewing leaves, the series is recommended if we compare it to the average number of previews that arrive on our platforms and it can be good entertainment if you are not looking for something too scary and family stories are your thing decaying from past trauma. Its technical finish is good and the performance of the trio of female protagonists composed of Emily Deschanel, Madeleine Arthur y Xaria Dotson. Of course I warn you that there is more Ohio than Diablo.
List of episodes of “The Devil in Ohio”.
the Canadian miniseries The devil in Ohio It consists of 8 episodes of 40 to 49 minutes each.
Episode 1 – An Interrupted Escape
When a young woman with a strange wound shows up in Amun County and is rushed to a nearby city hospital, Dr. Suzanne Mathis takes care of her.
Episode 2 – The Refuge
Mae adjusts to life with the Mathis family as Suzanne tries to find her a foster home. Inspector Alex López makes a disturbing discovery.
Episode 3 – The Mother’s Protector
After enrolling in Jules’ high school, Mae catches the attention of the newspaper editor. Suzanne tries to talk to Mae’s parents. Peter asks a friend for help.
Episode 4 – Trust
Alex tries to find answers about Amontown and Suzanne talks to an expert. A photo of Mae causes a stir at school, with unexpected consequences.
Episode 5 – Flames
Suzanne gains a better understanding of Mae’s experience in Amontown. Halloween night doesn’t go as planned for Jules, who questions Mae’s intentions.
Episode 6 – Me and My Love
Alex comes to a revealing conclusion after the fire. Suzanne deals with painful memories. A scared Mae tries to stop Jules from going out on a date.
Episode 7 – Blood Bond
The night of the Harvest Ball brings full moon and chaos with it as Suzanne desperately tries to protect Mae. Alex understands the powerful influence of the cult.
Episode 8 – Dawn
Suzanne follows Mae to Amontown, where the Dodd family and their followers prepare a deadly ritual. The Mathis have decided to start over.
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