Ares is the first Dutch original series streaming on Netflix. There are 8 episodes in each season. A single episode is 30 minutes, which may be a little less. The story revolves around a hard-working pre-med student Rosa, at the University of Amsterdam who wants to get ahead in life. Later she meets a group of people who will help her do that. She joins a secret society against her friend’s warning. Still, later she realizes she had no idea what she was getting herself into. Lets us see the Ares review.
Casting
Jade Olieberg as Rosa Steenwijk
Tobias Kersloot as Jacob Wessels
Lisa Smit as Carmen Zwanenburg
Frieda Barnhard as Fleur Borms
Robin Boissevain as Roderick van Hall
Ares Review: Critical Observation
Alert! You may not want to eat while watching this show! The way that this show starts focuses on what it is like to join the society. But the first episode was gruesome and gore. There may sometimes be we would consider whether we want to look at those scenes or not, where people were dying and mutilated.
These scenes might be repetitive and a little bit much to watch. The first episode sets an idea on how the show is going to go, obviously more violent and horror-filled imagery. A mystery remains in each episode, where we have no idea why they do so. Because of drugs? Or stress? Still not known. It kept us guessing, which is real and which is imagined.
Aesthetically though, the first scene of the show does a wonderful job introducing this concept, with a maniacal woman repeatedly stabbing herself with upbeat music in the background. Their families were involved for quite some time in the beginning, and we can see Rosha wondering what role she plays in this world.
It is quite queer and dark and enough to draw you into this show, but beyond that segment, nothing ever really reaches that same level again. We have fewer chances to watch around the scenery because it was too dark. So dark that we might not see the characters in some instances. Yet it is a horror show. What can we expect more, right? Apart from this, Ares too often sinks into melodrama.
Despite the episodes clocking in at a little less than 30 minutes, Ares has a real issue with pacing during its midway point. Ares regularly divides into subplots and reveals the melodrama of the character but fails to make progress in the main plot.
Apart from Rosa, some of the other characters are not exciting at all, and the series suffers from the same issues that a lot of these other teen dramas do too. We have already witnessed this idea of someone joining a society before, and Ares does not do not give off an extra flavor to stand out from others. It is also not particularly scary or creepy, except for a few moments.
There may be some trouble keeping up with the characters and with whom their relationships were with. The lead character Rosa, may not be liked by us all times. We might disagree with the choices she makes. We are left with no choice but to like Rosa because the other characters are worse than her. This is what makes the show more intriguing to watch. But the show did a good job of balancing many elements.
Every character has their own story of how they got in there, but the series centers on Rosha and her storyline. The story constantly bounced between the happenings in the society and the visual uneasiness inside there. The cult might have made her believe that this is where she belongs. Despite all the craziness that’s happening around her, she still wanted to be there.
The series gets somewhat crazy towards the end. The episodes being so short, make us even more curious to watch the next one, as the current one leaves us with many riddles.
In The ending to this season, we may not get all answers to our questions. Based on the ending of this season, there may or may not be a second season. While some think the ending is a bit of a cliffhanger, some do think they should be left as it is.
Ares Review: Conclusion
However, Ares can be watched in about 4 hours. If you are a horror fan, then this is worth giving a try. Still, you cannot expect a whole lot here to get excited about as the series is pretty predictable along the way. It is certainly not the worst show of the year, and there are some stand-out moments. Overall it is an average option on Netflix.
Are you in the mood for something dark and heavy? Then you might want to check this out on Netflix. But remember, no foodstuff near you, as you will regret eating later! I hope you loved the Ares Review!
