True Detective: Night Country Blu-ray Review
“True Detective: Night Country” is a memorable season.
Series creator Nic Pizzolatto steps aside for the fourth season as Issa López serves as the new showrunner/writer/creator for “True Detective: Night Country.” The 6 episode season is set in the snow covered fictional town of Ennis, Alaska which is undergoing 60 days of night. Police Chief Liz Danvers and trooper Evangeline Navarro (who have beef with one another) find themselves getting sucked into a dark and puzzling case involving a severed tongue, frozen scientists, a missing scientist, and perhaps a connection to a cold case involving a murdered Inupiat woman named Annie. Throughout the season there are pivotal storylines involving Evangeline’s mentally ill sister Julia, Captain Hank hiding secrets, Hank’s son Peter (a Deputy) whose home life is struggling due to his work commitments, a shady mining company, Liz being haunted by the past, and Liz’s step daughter Leah (who gets into trouble frequently).
As a fan of this crime anthology series, it’s nice to see someone else get a crack at the True Detective universe. While Nic Pizzolatto was publicly displeased by the fourth season, ‘Night Country’ turned out to be a big hit and for good reason. Issa López brought a fresh take to the franchise and came out of the gate strong with a creepy and atmospheric season premiere. Admittedly, the season never really got better than that wild first episode which played like a cross between “The Thing” and “Twin Peaks,” but the rest of the season still offered up plenty of mystery soaked intrigue. The series veers off into all sorts of directions involving indigenous cultures, spirituality, corruption, family, justice, etc. There’s a lot going on here. Perhaps too much for a mere six episodes, but at least the series never once overstays its welcome and keeps you on the edge of your seat.
If there was any criticism aimed at this season it would be that it doesn’t quite live up to the set-up from episode 1. The finale feels particularly rushed and the answers we do get (there are plenty of unanswered questions here) are a bit underwhelming and safe. The more supernatural elements of the series tended to work better than the small town drama.
The cast makes the show work without question. Jody Foster is in peak form as the complex and messed up Liz Danvers. A star is born with Kali Reis as Evangeline. She really holds her own opposite Foster and steals the series to be quite honest. Veteran actor John Hawkes gives an unsettling performance as Captain Hank Prior. Newcomer Finn Bennett makes a big impression as Peter. Acting legends Christopher Eccleston and Fiona Shaw also shine in their pivotal respective roles.
Video/Audio:
Presentation: 2.00:1 1080p. Grade: A-
Audio Track: 5.1 DTS-HD MA. Grade: A-
Extras:
* Episode recaps for all 6 episodes
* “Meet The True Detectives”- Jodie Foster and Kali Reis play a brief Q&A game.
* “New Chapter”- A quick HBO featurette with interviews, story and character discussions, episode clips, production tidbits, and set footage.
* “Exploring Indigenous Themes” featurette about the cultures, casting, the music and more.
* “Max Inkblots”- Foster and Reis try to interpret inkblot tests.
* “Setting” is all about the fictional Alaskan town.
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