Why You Should Be Watching The Fantastic German Series 'Dark'

If you have or had Netflix, sometimes things get lost in the mix. There is so much to choose from, but at the same time, it feels like there isn't. Many shows and films get lost or overlooked, and it's a crying shame as there is some truly stellar stuff just waiting to be found. It's exactly like the indie horror scene, there's some much stuff out there that things just unfortunately fall through the cracks.

But when you discover it, I'm sure you're like me and thinking, "Why they hell did it take me so long to watch this?" And that was my exact reaction when I finally decided to watch the X-Files, almost twenty years later since it originally ended!

But, thankfully Netflix's Dark wasn't that one for me. So, make your way within and let me, hopefully, persuade you to give this one a watch.
I've always been intrigued by time-travel. I think it's just natural for everyone to be drawn to it. There are certain times where you wish you could turn the clock back or just do things slightly differently. And, of course, having a glimpse of the future is intriguing but absolutely terrifying at the same time. So, would you? If you had the chance would you take the plunge and view your future self?

Anyway, Dark, the German Netflix series currently has two seasons available and I'm just going to great straight to the point; it's freakin' awesome!

It's quite possibly one of the most complex shows I've ever viewed. I can't imagine or begin to comprehend the processes it must have took to get this one put together. It has more twists and turns than a Cadbury Curly-Wurly, let me tell you! But everything is so intricate. It's actually a piece of art. Once you've watched this one, you'll be dissecting this one for days, weeks... even years.

I'm not going to go into the story as much as I would like, as I'd hate to ruin it. I'd even go as far to say don't even watch the trailer or go any further with this article, just watch it. But, from here on out there may be spoilers or maybe not. I have this whole thing worked out, but much like the show, who knows where it's going to go.

So, as I stated above; time-travel. But it's not like Back to the Future, this is an entirely different beast altogether. Now don't get me wrong I freakin' LOVE Back to the Future, it's one of the greatest films ever put to celluloid. But Dark just seems that perhaps, well, time travel could actually exist in the way that they portray and if it's anything like this, wow, hold onto your balls.

There are a slew of characters in the TV series, but it's not overwhelming even though it should be. There's families here and there and then there's families related to these families and it all sounds so confusing, but it's not, each character has their purpose, they aren't just there as say filler, they all have a purpose and, well, as you'll soon find out, they're all connected in one way or another.

So, Dark is set in the fictional German town of Winden, although there is actually a town called Widen in Germany, this one isn't the same. In the TV series there are several disappearances of children, which all seem to center around the local nuclear power plant and a mysterious cave. We soon realize that others disappeared 33 years ago and that leads us into learning that something truly strange happens every 33 years; 1953, 1986 and 2019. Then later you will learn about 1921. Oh, boy.

But yeah, I'm rambling now. I'm trying to draw you in without actually revealing much and perhaps I'm actually pushing you away. But I do hope you will give this one a chance. You will become emotionally invested towards the characters and even the town, and that's why this is so great. It becomes more than a TV show in which you will be thinking about all the existential implications to do with time-travel, and actually thankful that you haven't discovered it.

The show also has an absolutely fabulous musical score from musician Ben Frost which helps with the dread factor as well as the exceedingly complex storyline, there is some truly beautiful moments to hear in this one. And then there is freakin' Kreator, the German thrash metal legends who have their seminal classic "Pleasure to Kill" actually featured quite heavily in the show with a couple of characters. You'll have these lyrics etched in your mind long after; "My only aim is to take many lives. The more the better I feel."

Now when this first came out, a lot of people's responses was that this is "like Stranger Things," but, it's really not. It's an entirely different beast and both are awesome in their own unique ways. Enjoy both, one doesn't need to be better than the other.

Dark is just an absolute cracker of a TV series, which the show's creator, Baran Bo Odar, has masterfully created, it's deep and intriguing with multiple layers which will see you returning to past episodes to relive and unravel some of the mysteries the show so proficiently portrays, with the help of the fantastic cast.

And while I'm here, please watch this one with subtitles and stick with the German audio, as the dubbing just loses that connection you get with the German actors, and they are absolutely fantastic. So yeah, I know I've been very vague, but if you do check it out please let me know what you thought, even if you dislike it.