January 2, 2018
This is how I feel about Netflix because it is so therapeutic after a tiring day, their UX is amazing and they make binge-watching so effortless wtf. I don’t have to Google and click endless links just to find a HD subbed version because they have thought of everything.
And while they have loads of titles available, all I ever feel like watching is horror. Especially slashers and whodunits, which have always been my favourite genres. Same for when people recommend me stuff to watch (and I do plan on watching them, really… eventually), I always end up on a horror binge.
Here are some whodunit shows I have been binge-watching on Netflix recently. I swear I started slow and tried to savour them… like one episode per day. Then the plot picks up and I can’t stop because of all the whys and cliffies #noshame ?
1. The Sinner
Okay, this is more of a #whyshedidit than a #whodunit. But WOW.
At first the synopsis had my curiosity (how do you stretch a murder that Jessica Biel’s character clearly committed for an entire season?) but barely halfway through the pilot and there came the insane stabbing scene. NOW YOU HAVE MY ATTENTION.
Anyway this was surprisingly good and the best part of it all was the satisfying ending! I felt so content and rewarded as the audience. The Sinner has a wonderful pay-off and this is something many shows fail to achieve despite boasting of a strong plot in the middle.
Verdict: ★★★★★
Highly recommended and you will get hooked on the iconic song like me lol.
2. Slasher
I don’t know why I took so long to finally watch it when the title already says Slasher. It’s like a wet dream for me and made up of everything I love omg. People getting stranded and being killed off one by one as you try to figure out who the killer is. Wooo!
I accidentally watched Season 2 before Season 1 cos I mixed them up but they are standalone anthalogies so it doesn’t matter. Plus it’s a good thing cos Season 2 is heaps better. I correctly guessed who the Season 1 killer was in Episode 3 ?
I don’t want to be correct, I want to be shocked and mindblown.
Which is what Season 2 did to me. I never saw the ending coming!!!! It was also damn brutal, gory and graphic (even worse than the Hostel and Saw films) but the deaths were actually quite creative, plus it isn’t gory just for the sake of being of being gory.
There was a male character that got the shortest end of the stick: frostbite, isolated, abducted, raped in the ass by a gay ex-convict, burned alive, choking on blood… WTF the writers must really hate him.
I also love how Season 2 pays homage to/reminds me of so many classic horror films. Season 1, on the other hand, is like the bastard sibling of Se7en (1995) despite some interesting moments. With pedo rape and minus the famous box.
Verdict: ★★★★★
Season 2 is one of the best whodunits ever (to me) so highly recommended for horror fans, but not for the faint-hearted.
3. Riverdale
Yes Riverdale, based on Archie Comics, has turned into a whodunit too in Season 2. Not that I’m complaining cos I enjoy it so much more than Season 1. But it’s quite dark and psycho. When I was describing scenes to my colleagues, they were all in disbelief because it sounded nothing like the comics.
Sadly the serial killer’s identity was revealed mid-season and very disappointing after so much tension, but hopefully it picks up again! One month without Riverdale cos they went on break so I had to turn to other shows.
Verdict: ★★
Honestly it is not fantastic and I don’t ship any couples (everyone is quite irritating) but I just like following it (mostly due to the serial killer element)
4. Guilt
I only watched this because I finished everything else of interest and Netflix recommended this, but their algorithm is really always on point.
On a critical level, this is probably just so-so. But I watch stuff for entertainment so I seriously enjoyed this because it is fast-paced, has lots of plot twists and hot characters, the soundtrack is killer (no pun intended), and it’s all wrapped up in a whodunit!
Initially I felt quite meh by the killer’s identity (lousy pay-off)… until the second reveal. And the final scene is insane. Would have been an awesome lead up to Season 2… except there isn’t one because the show got cancelled ? But what a ride!
Verdict: ★★★
Really fun to watch!!!
5. Pretty Little Liars
If there is a show for being the biggest waste of time, PLL would win. I marathoned this nearly every night and was in time for the finale when it aired. I finished all 160 episodes in 3 months because I was desperate for a reveal that didn’t come until the last episode.
And it really sucked.
The only character I actually liked in the whole show was Hanna, her mother Ashley and her OTP Caleb (wanted to puke when he was with Spencer… their ship name is Cancer which pretty much sums up how all we fans feel).
I also really detested Ezria despite my penchant for forbidden romances. In fact, everyone got on my nerves except for Mona who is the only one with brains.
This review by a @goodreads user is exactly why I love whodunit mysteries and why #PrettyLittleLiars was dumb and a bloody waste of time. pic.twitter.com/m84UWWtJFW
— Cherlynn (@twiinklex) July 16, 2017
Verdict: ★
Terrible pay-off, damn pointless, a disgrace to the whodunit genre.
Currently I am reading Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn which is another whodunit and a great page-turner HAHAHA CAN’T STOP WON’T STOP.
