Archive 81: Season 1 of Netflix’s Horror Show a Mixed Bag
**Some Spoilers for Season 1 of Archive 81**
Archive 81 is a show that I feel pretty mixed about. There are some elements of the show that I liked a lot and that I think were well done, but I definitely have some harsh critiques too. Let’s start out by looking at the show’s strengths before delving into why I think Archive 81 falls short of being a good horror show and where it goes off the rails.
The first thing about Archive 81 that I think is really well done is the feel and atmosphere of the show, particularly in the earlier episodes. The Visser apartment building is very creepy, and I think having us watch some of what unfolded there through Dan restoring Melody’s tapes works effectively.
There’s a good mix of using found footage techniques with normal filming that definitely works in Archive 81, with the show never going overboard with the found footage stuff or feeling cheesy (like lots of found footage movies do). In addition to the apartment where Melody’s investigating, the compound where Dan’s restoring the tapes is also a good, isolated eerie setting.
Both of our main characters are really largely alone in their endeavors in the first part of the series and I think we feel their vulnerability and uneasiness because no one’s there to help them. Archive 81 is never a truly terrifying show, but it’s definitely spooky, and the two central locations work well for a horror story.
Another strength of Archive 81 is the acting of the two leads, Mamoudou Athie as Dan Turner and Dina Shihabi as Melody Pendras. Both actors have some acting credits, but nothing really major before.
Overall, I think they both do a really good job on Archive 81. They both have a quality about themselves that I think makes them very likeable, and I think I was more invested in the show than I would’ve been otherwise since they were both just very easy to root for.
While I like both the main actors and the setting for Archive 81, I feel like where it falls short is the story itself. Archive 81 Is based off of a podcast of the same name. Assuming the show follows closely to the podcast, I feel like the creators had an idea for a podcast, maybe they made a general outline, and then just started making up a story as they went along, adding more and more details to make their successful podcast go on even longer.
Sometimes what makes something scary is that it’s not totally explained. Knowing less when it comes to horror can often be scarier than having every little detail of what’s going on explained to us. Archive 81 is a perfect example of this where the more we learn about the cliché evil demon-worshiping cult, the less scary everything becomes.
Really, there’s maybe four or five episodes worth of a good horror story here stretched out over the eight episodes of this season. The rest of the show is filled with investigations that’re going on far too long, with more and more story being added as we go. There’s an entire episode taking place in the 1920s filled with just information and history that we really don’t need at all to tell the story of Dan with the tapes and Melody’s investigation at the apartment.
Another problem with Archive 81 that was extremely annoying to me while I watched it is just how dumb our characters act at certain moments. Horror movie/TV show protagonists aren’t known for being the smartest, but some of the decisions Dan and Melody make (particularly Melody) take the cake.
For example, Melody thinks that the psycho cult, which has a bunch of members roaming around the apartment building at any given time and is clearly very dangerous, is going to sacrifice a young girl. So what’s her plan? Well it’s just to run through the apartment building frantically by herself without a weapon screaming the girl’s name and looking for her. Melody’s seemed intelligent before; she should be able to come up with something better than this.
“Where'‘s Jess?!” - Melody (Pictured: Jess)
Archive 81 scores points for its creepy atmosphere and likable protagonists, but the fact that the story isn’t even wrapped up after eight episodes is crazy to me. I feel like the creators had an idea for a horror mystery about someone restoring footage and uncovering what really happened in a burned down apartment building, but then took this simple idea and tried to stretch it out with history and lore about the case that really isn’t all that interesting.
Grade: 5/10