Netflix kicked off the Halloween season in style with a brand new, limited series horror show called ‘Marianne’.
The French film debuted on Friday the 13th in September and was immediately met with strong reviews and ratings, with many calling Marianne the scariest witch ever.
Starring Victoire du Bois, Tiphanie Daviot, Lucie Boujenah and Mireille Herbstmeyer, the film tells the story of a famous author (Emma) who has to do battle with the witch who tormented her, and was the inspiration for her books, when she was a child.
Right out of the gate Marianne establishes itself as a gory, in your face, and twisted story of torment, possession, and pure evil, and kicks off a stunning performance by Herbstmeyer as Madame Daugeron, who is possessed by Marianne for the first part of the series.
Facial expressions and body language are illustrated brilliantly and convey the presence of the pure evil that is Marianne with no deviation from impact.
The story is woven, overall fluidly, over the course of several episodes, and continues to build the intensity for a final showdown with the witch, while at the same time digging up her past, and telling the story of Emma’s childhood, exile, and battle with alcoholism.
While it can be kind of confusing, at times, with the constant back-and forth and story-to-story transition, the series doesn’t deviate too far from it’s path.
While Marianne could have been better served by being trimmed by 1-2 episodes to eliminate some of the “filler”, it easily makes up for it with a strong story, plenty of terror, and a complete tale, showing how well Netflix can bring even a foreign horror film to their platform and spin out a classic.
