20130823: Horror Review--Hemlock Grove

Hemlock Grove

1. American television series, 2013, 13 episodes, each a bit less than an hour.  Horror, supernatural, rated R, at least, for language, nudity, sexual content, and violence.
2. IMDB: Nothing yet beyond the list of stars.  Viewed on Netflix.
3. Starring Famke Janssen as Olivia Godfrey, Dougray Scott as Norman Godfrey, Bill Skarsgard as Roman Godfrey, Landon Laboiron as Peter Romancek, Penelope Mitchell as Letha Godfrey, Freya Tingley as Christina Wendell, Joel de la Fuente as Dr Johann Pryce, Nicole Boivin as Shelley Godfrey, Lili Taylor as Lynda Rumancek, Aaron Douglas as sheriff Tom Sworn.
4. This is a more detailed update of the partial review I posted on 20130612.
5. This series is not for the faint of heart.  There is more than enough butchery of the human form, self-mutilation, alcohol abuse, generalized anger and mistrust, nightmares, and horrid corporate goals.
6. The town of Hemlock Grove, Pennsylvania, is beset by murders of young women.  Attempts are made to lay the blame on Peter Romancek, who is a gypsy suspected of being a werewolf, but who is also not guilty.  Peter and Roman Godfrey become unlikely friends who have the common purpose of finding the real killer.
7. The town is dominated by the enormous wealth of the Godfrey family, from its past when steel was king, to the present, where the Godfrey family owns controlling interest in the high tech and hugely lucrative biological research done there.  The abandoned buildings used for steel production serve as backdrops for some of the action.
8. Secrecy and intrigue surrounds Roman, his mother Olivia, his uncle Norman, and the leadership of the corporation allied with the family.  This takes its course during the series, and Roman ends the first season in control of the family fortunes.
9. Eventually (12th episode), the killer is found and dispatched.  Unfortunately, the wrong person is identified as the killer; this sets up further complications for season 2.  The sheriff's loss of his twin daughters sets up revenge motivations for season 2.
10. Another recurrent theme in the series is that of the births of bizarre individuals.  One case in point is Roman's sister Shelly; a second would be the child of Roman's cousin Letha.
11. The last episode reveals that Roman inherited more than just wealth from his family.
12. Four stars of five. 

Cinematography: 10/10 Excellent.

Sound: 10/10 Excellent.

Acting: 10/10 No complaints; just fine for this property.

Screenplay: 8/10 Long, convoluted, loaded with dark motivations and mistaken perceptions.  The rich versus those not rich, the supernatural versus regular people, the Roman Catholic Church versus its perceived enemies, hunters versus their prey.  The story was a bit too murky for me.  The entire Chasseur story line (the hunter hired by the Church) could have been dropped as far as I was concerned; it added little, and took too much focus away from the central characters.  Unfortunately, this thread will be continued in season 2.  The matter of just what the biotech corporation does is hinted at, but not fully explained.  This would be another to be continued piece.