Netflix Original 'Archive 81' Harkens Back To The Cinema Of Yesteryear In All The Best Ways
In terms of engaging series premieres, Netflix has certainly brought their A-game with the new original series Archive 81, a chill inducing ride that is part found footage, with a throwback to cult horror of Hollywood yesteryear. From executive producers Rebecca Sonnenshine (The Boys) and James Wan (The Conjuring), the show is based on the horror podcast of the same name.
Set between present day and 1994, Archive 81 tells the story of video archivist and restorer Dan Turner, played with a quiet vulnerability by Mamoudou Athie, is given the task to uncover what is on a set of old cassettes which burned up in a mysterious fire in a Manhattan apartment building, which a young filmmaker was documenting at the time. Hired by a wealthy and mysterious man named Virgil, Dan is left alone in a secluded mansion, cut off from the internet and cell service, to complete his task. What he begins to uncover begins to unravel a bigger riddle which might lead back to a mysterious cult.
The show plays with a litany of tropes which, if you are paying attention, hearken back to several films from where the inspiration for the series pulls from. Here are a few blink and you missed it nods to film moments to look out for as you watch this eerie and affecting series.
The Blair Witch Project
When it comes to found footage movies. The Blair Witch Project holds the crown. Considered as the godfather of archive horror, the film leaves the viewer to sit through the uncomfortable events with no idea of when the next terrifying shoe is going to drop. This feels like the impetus for the footage being restored by Dan. Throughout we are put through the same anxiety as our protagonist, only learning as much as he is allowed to uncover and causing an uneasiness from the footage which carries you through the first episode.
Rosemary's Baby
Set in an old Manhattan apartment building with a sorted past, the denizens of The Visser have a mysterious air to them, adding to the sinister feel of whoever is behind the events on the tapes. Much like The Bramford aka The Dakota from Rosemary's Baby, the Masonic-style symbols and vague backstories about those who reside there give the building a cultish veneer which plays heavily into the plot. The same could be said for the vague amount of information given to Dan to complete his task, much the way Rosemary is kept in the dark while outside forces seek to manipulate her.
Blow-Up and Blow Out
Similarly the way Blow-Up and, the later remake, Blow Out brings the third party narrative of a photographer, a sound editor, or in the case of Dan, a video archivist, to a whole new level. Archive 81 creates that outsider perspective to the events on the tapes, drawing Dan (as well as the viewer) into the sinister underbelly of the world set before us and thus amping up the voyeuristic terror.
Solaris
In a not-so-subtle reference to the 1972 Tarkovsky sci-fi drama, the show has a moment where Dan, left alone in the secluded mansion, puts on a copy of Solaris, which tells the story of a physiologist sent to a space station to find out why the crew went insane. Often left to our own devices, our mind's tend to play tricks on us when under duress. This nod to the film is an interesting juxtaposition to Dan's situation, adding to his own fears and suspicions building throughout.
The Shining
Even made reference to in the pilot episode, Kubrick's The Shining is a dead on reference to the plotline. Left alone in the middle of the wood in a secluded house hired to do a job with limited contact to the outside. One of the more blatant nods to past films, Dan, like Jack Torrance, has a sorted past that develops into a plot device which is setting him up to question his own sanity.
The Wicker Man
Cults, missing children, and an outsider digging for the truth. Mind you, Dan is not forced to become a sacrifice (as far as we know), The Wicker Man has that same "everyone is a suspect" feel as Dan's relationship with Virgil and those on the tapes he is hired to restore.
All and all, Archive 81's first episode is a powder keg of a narrative, teasing the audience with question after question, while giving just enough clues to keep you riveted to your seat. Moody, dark, and brooding, the show has some definite potential to be one of the must-watches for Netflix's 2022 line-up of shows.
Season 1 of Archive 81 will be available to stream January 14th.
