V-WARS REVIEW: V for Victory…

At a snowy Arctic research station, a man walks outside into the frigid weather in his underwear, in obvious pain. The man puts a gun in his mouth and pulls the trigger.

Welcome to V-Wars.

THE JIST:

The show stars Ian Somerhalder – who ironically is best known for playing vampire Damon Salvatore in The Vampire Diaries for almost a decade. Dr. Luther Swann is lecturing climate scientists about how he believes the most pressing threat to humans is ancient pathogens that are being released by melting polar ice caps. Those pathogens, he contends, could make “ebola look like a chickenpox party,” and our bodies aren’t adapted to have any immunity to them.

After the lecture, he’s ready to celebrate his anniversary with his wife Jess (Jessica Harmon), when he’s called away to investigate the breakdown in communications with the Arctic station.

He has his good friend Michael Fayne (Adrian Holmes) get him up to the station, and the two of them find something horrifying: A broken biohazard container and a skull fragment. Swann knows exactly what’s next: They’ve been exposed and they have to go back to the States for quarantine.

During the quarantine, both feel sick but no other symptoms. Both are released when the results come back that says it’s just a “prehistoric cold.” But Fayne experiences other symptoms, like acute hearing, vision and strength. He also has fantasies about drinking the blood of his girlfriend Danika (Kimberly-Sue Murray).

One night, he calls Swann from a random apartment in a panic; he killed a bartender and doesn’t remember what he did. Fayne helps him clean things up, but expresses regret to Jess afterward and goes to the police. In the meantime, we see Fayne attacking another woman, then getting shot by the police without it bothering him too much. When Swann goes to talk to him in an interrogation room, Fayne breaks out of his restraints and attacks, which sends him to a mental health ward.

DRAMA, DRAMA, DRAMA:

Netflix’s latest drama is something of a blend between science fiction and horror, mixing the best of both of those elements in a story that benefits a great deal from it.

Based on the comic series of the same name by Jonathan Maberry, V Wars centers on the outbreak of a deadly pathogen – one that turns people into bloodthirsty creatures that crave, well, blood. And in case you haven’t figured it out already, yes, we’re talking about vampires.

The characters are interesting, the politics are interesting and the way they tackle real-world problems is interesting, too. This new series is dark and sinister in some ways but also extremely soapy!

Culturedemandsgeeks wanted to like V Wars from the start, and it did take a few episodes to get into. Nothing bad, maybe just a little roper CGI at work for our eyes, but gradually we were drawn into the drama of the series.

NEGATIVES:

Also, Ian Somerhalder did not work for Culturedemandsgeeks as the bleeding heart doctor, who just wants to save the people turning into vampires. His whole “they just have a disease”-spiel gets increasingly tired. But, as the show proceeds and Dr. Swann grows, Somerhalder grows more into the role, too.

POSITIVES:

Special mention to the young Kyle Breitkopf who plays Dez. Dr. Luther Swann’s child. You may recognize him from the Netflix horror movie The Silence.

Also, we have Kimberly-Sue Murray and Jacky Lai who have both been on several episodes of Shadowhunters: The Mortal Instruments TV series.

FINAL THOUGHTS:

All in all, V Wars is a thrilling ride that offers its own unique contribution to the somewhat overcrowded vampire genre, and though not everything is perfect, (the show’s pacing is a bit off with regards to the structure of time being played out in real-time), yet, it’s damn good fun that compels you to keep watching.

And the last episode is a cracker and hopefully sets up season two to be totally different from the first season. Hopefully, season two will be a little faster,, maybe a touch of #Van Helsing or #The Strain which at the moment is and were the pinnacle of gory, vampire drama.

3.5/5 STARS