I was really, really excited for The Deleted.
I know, I know that sounds strange. It's a web-series!! I only have three words to explain it: Bret Easton Ellis.
After basically quitting being an author after 2010's Imperial Bedrooms, Ellis has gone off to have an interesting, if a bit bumpy, career as both a movie critic (if you've ever listened to his great podcast you know what I'm talking about) and a filmmaker (The Canyons, a couple short films and now this), a career which I have enjoyed following.
So you can see why I would be interested to see how The Deleted actually turns out,, and after watching all eight episodes I'm kind of, well, mixed.
It doesn't start out very well. The first episode has excellent, smooth camera-work and some pretty beautiful people, but it features some of the worst acting I've seen in a while. Like his 2013 flop The Canyons, Bret Easton Ellis' dialogue feels awkward transitioning from page to screen, and although his visual style is lovely, it seems as if he doesn't really know how to direct actors.
Don't worry though, it gets better.
Once the characters begin to meet up with each other and the cult they escaped from closes in, the show takes on a mesmerizingly soapy vibe, which fits it well. There's a lot of sex and some violence, and this is where Bret Easton Ellis finds himself at home. And then, suddenly, when you think the show has found it's groove...
It loses it.
The last two episodes are incredibly unsatisfying, and one contains one of the worst blunt-as-a- sledgehammer exposition scenes I think I have ever witnessed.
So, in conclusion, it's pretty much a mixed bag, albeit an (mostly) entertaining one.
I know, I know that sounds strange. It's a web-series!! I only have three words to explain it: Bret Easton Ellis.
After basically quitting being an author after 2010's Imperial Bedrooms, Ellis has gone off to have an interesting, if a bit bumpy, career as both a movie critic (if you've ever listened to his great podcast you know what I'm talking about) and a filmmaker (The Canyons, a couple short films and now this), a career which I have enjoyed following.
So you can see why I would be interested to see how The Deleted actually turns out,, and after watching all eight episodes I'm kind of, well, mixed.
It doesn't start out very well. The first episode has excellent, smooth camera-work and some pretty beautiful people, but it features some of the worst acting I've seen in a while. Like his 2013 flop The Canyons, Bret Easton Ellis' dialogue feels awkward transitioning from page to screen, and although his visual style is lovely, it seems as if he doesn't really know how to direct actors.
Don't worry though, it gets better.
Once the characters begin to meet up with each other and the cult they escaped from closes in, the show takes on a mesmerizingly soapy vibe, which fits it well. There's a lot of sex and some violence, and this is where Bret Easton Ellis finds himself at home. And then, suddenly, when you think the show has found it's groove...
It loses it.
The last two episodes are incredibly unsatisfying, and one contains one of the worst blunt-as-a- sledgehammer exposition scenes I think I have ever witnessed.
So, in conclusion, it's pretty much a mixed bag, albeit an (mostly) entertaining one.