Archive 81 Review

Whether you’re making a Netflix series, a television series, or a film, adaptation and uniqueness needs to be a key component. There aren’t many television series that are breaking the barriers of uniqueness and individuality these days, especially in a way that Archive 81 has managed to. When it comes to inspiration, horror as a genre has always been compelling. It has always managed to create tropes, and follow them throughout the common story arcs of the genre. However, every once in a while, there comes a film that is genuinely a trendsetter. Like Robert Eggers’ ‘The Witch’ brought us a world full of tense, slow-burner horror films that explode at the climax, Archive 81 brings a unique, twisted and unnerving vision to life. 

Dan is a young conservator, who is approached by a mysterious entity. This mysterious organization hires him to restore a specific set of video footage, which belonged to a young grad student named Melody. Melody’s Ph.D. dissertation documentary project was regarding an apartment building called the Visser, which famously burned down back in 1994. The tapes are too fragile to be moved, so Dan is invited to go live at a research campus owned by the employer named L.M.G. Dan has a history of mental health issues, which will only keep sparking as he goes through the tapes and restores them to their perfect foundation. However, what Dan realizes quite early on while going through the tapes is that there is something quite ominous about them, as well as his employers.  

Archive 81 is one of the more curious shows to be adapted onto a small screen. It initially started as a podcast created by Daniel Powell and Marc Sollinger. However, Netflix seemingly loved what they were pitched by series creator Rebecca Sonnenshine, and boy did she have something malicious in mind. Archive 81 is by far one of the most menacing television series I’ve watched in quite some time. It’s a series that creates this haunting atmosphere, like a looming threat is constantly on the horizon. It doesn’t ridicule the viewers with cheap jump scares, but takes a huge amount of time setting up its otherworldly elements while dragging a lot of its story content. It has a focused narrative in the latter half of the season, in particular the final two episodes. Though, there could have been a more practical way of setting up the storyline.  

It relies a lot on the unnerving aspect rather than scaring. It creeps you out, slowly and gradually throughout its eight episodes. The story is threaded in such a multi-faceted way that you never really know what to expect. That unpredictability is what defines the looming dread in Archive 81. It’s such a methodical series, each sequence crafted with such an intense strategy that it’s designed to induce fear in you. Of course, this wouldn’t have worked half as well if it wasn’t for the two protagonists, Dan and Melody. The two characters are such complicated people to unravel, it’s an exploration of these two characters in the fullest extent.  

And these extremely nuanced protagonists have engaging stories to tell. However, huge credit goes to the actors who portrayed them, with both of them doing a fantastic job. Mamoudou Athie was the perfect choice for the role of Dan. He makes sure that Dan is a character heavily defined by his past trauma, and how his actions are very reliant on what the consequences might end up being. Melody, on the other hand, is a much morally stronger, energetic character with a huge love for learning. She’s played by Dina Shihabi, who brings out the best that this character has to offer. These two performances ensure that we begin to care for these characters, and it makes the harrowing sequences that much more terrifying.  

In terms of the look of this show, the cinematography is the main component that creates such a looming atmosphere. This particular aspect of the series is by far the most important, as the tone of the series depends entirely upon its visual and artistic design. Safe to say that a trio of very talented people worked on the visual design of Archive 81, and it paid off massively. Julie Kirkwood, Bobby Bukowski, and Nathaniel Goodman work together to paint an homage to some of the darkest, most cinematic, and architectural visual designs in cinema history. Archive 81 is so drowning in color and its very specific aesthetic that it looks genuinely otherworldly. It masks its elements narratively for a while; however, it makes you u feel uncomfortable and eerie due to its visual design.  

The music also does a great job of enhancing that eerie feeling. This series constantly has that creeping, anxiety-inducing tune that lingers and creates tremendous fear in the audience. It’s a curious and strategic design choice. Instead of using the familiar and trope-y tunes that we are all well-accustomed to in the genre, it uses more unconventional melodies to spark that instinctive sense of dread. It is a series that uses its music as the main source of fear, and it does so quite well. 

The themes of this show revolve a lot around grief, loss, and moving past the moments that harmed you. Yet, that’s not what Archive 81 is trying to accomplish. It doesn’t want to give you a big life lesson – it just wants to tell you a well-done, unique, and genuinely creepy horror story. It succeeds in a lot of those categories, as it features some fantastic characterization, some of the best cinematography in the genre, some incredible acting, and a decent narrative. However, it is bogged down a bit by the dragged-out pacing of the episodes, which hinders it from being perfect.