Marianne

Marianne can be quite nasty at times, but in the end, and although it’s technically all right, it failed to fully keep my interest. I watched the last episodes only because there wasn’t much left till the end and not because I wanted to see how it would turn out; plotwise, it’s not all that interesting. It also carries on with the French inability to present at least one somewhat likeable character. All of them, without exception, are unbearable, unlikeable; French, basically. And I was terribly annoyed by the "flipping" representing the time moving back and forth; and the occasional comic relief didn’t help, either. Marianne is strongest in its horror in the scenes with the obsessed old woman, who unfortunately has a lot less space than would be appropriate. (2019-09-26)

A decent genre story in which it is evident that the French creator was slightly inspired by a ghost type of horror movies, but mainly he filmed this movie in his own way. And that is of course good, because he finally brought some much needed humor to this genre. On top of that there is an obvious attempt at genre crossover and sometime halfway through the series I even got a feeling that he would like to make this series into a horror version of Stranger Things. Even though it is hard to judge whether Stranger Things is not a horror series as it is. Nevertheless Marianne is another mind-blowing horror series produced by Netflix which can be considered a success. It has an idea, feeling, new actors, original Brittany countryside similar to the gloomy atmosphere of Scandinavian movies, and mainly ideas, which you as a fan of ghost type of movies just want to enjoy. (2019-12-28)

The Marianne television series is over, which is a good thing. The eight episodes seemed too many, and it is very drawn out in places, making it unenjoyable. However, there are some interesting revelations and surprising twists that make you think it cannot be all that bad. However, it really is not that great either. (2020-02-10)

Netflix together with France put together a praised horror series, but unfortunately I didn't really like it. A writer returns to her hometown to face the woman who has haunted her for 15 years. She also soon discovers that the book she wrote is not fiction but reality. The plot is fine and so is Mireille Herbstmeyer, who plays the repulsive grandmother perfectly, but unfortunately doesn't get as much space as she deserves. The series has decent craftsmanship, it keeps a decent atmosphere and the creepy scenes take the best from James Wan (the birth or the claymation with the priest are very good), but it also has some weak points. The characters are very unlikeable and you don't get to relate to any of them (the girls are ugly, boys are not funny), there is no violence at all and from the middle of the series the pace slows down so much that by episode 6 I fell asleep three times and had to do a lot of coaxing to get through the rest. Fans of ghost stories and exorcisms will come into their own because there is nothing better available within the genre at the moment and I'm not afraid to admit that, but it's a great shame that the series is better in its details than as a whole. A film would have been better. 60%. (2019-09-29)

I’ve never made it a secret that I wasn’t particularly fond of French films and series, but sometimes even French filmmakers shine so brightly that I have to give them credit, which was exactly the case of Marianne. I enjoyed the grim, oppressive atmosphere, decent suspense and well-written story. I really didn't expect a horror series (let alone a French one) to be so entertaining. I was expecting something borderline retarded, of which there are so many examples everywhere these days. I was greatly satisfied. (2019-11-08)