Potential. So much wasted potential. That’s what I feel Netflix did with Archive 81, a psychological sci-fi horror series. It would seem the series did okay, but it got the axe nonetheless after only the first season. After having watched it, while I felt it deserved at least a second season, there were many things that could have been done better.

First off, I am a huge and avid found footage fan. Yes, found footage movies usually get rated very low in terms of movie scores, and many times, the movie is a huge embarrassment and, worse, very cringe. But fans like myself know that found footage is generally one of the scarier types of horror movies when done correctly. While I knew going in that Archive 81 was not a series that focused primarily on this type of shooting, the little found footage scenes that there were throughout the series were very disappointing, to say the least. It added very little to the overall horror atmosphere. The footage we see obtained via Melody’s interviews with her camera and the various Vissar apartment tenants yielded very little in terms of scares or gasps. In a series about discovering a weird occult in a creepy building, you’d think that more firsthand camera footage would have lent a lot more to the mysterious and horror elements surrounding this topic. Yet, I believe in the entire series, there was only one scene that lived up to my expectations. Fans of the found footage genre need not apply here.

In terms of the characters themselves, while I like Mamoudou Athie and am obviously glad he got a chance to star in this series, I don’t believe he has what it takes to carry this series as the main star. He has a very stoic look and presence throughout the movie. While there were times we see him rage a bit, it didn’t feel genuine enough in my opinion. With all the shit that he has been finding out as the episodes progress, I expected to see his character show a wider range of emotions, but his character, Dan, remains about the same throughout. Throwing in various “What the fuck?” along with a squint of the eyebrows is hardly dramatic. It could be said that Melody, played by Dina Shihabi, stole the show instead, but not by much. She likely has the same or maybe even more screentime than Dan. At least with her being put in many different situations, it allows us to see her as a more dynamic character.

In terms of the story, this is where the most potential was wasted, as mentioned earlier. The story just took too damn long to get set up. I felt this was a wasted opportunity, and instead, they should have dropped in more occult-like stuff. It really isn’t until the final two episodes that things finally turn around and pick up speed. The explaining of the whole Vissar apartment thing was dedicated to episode 7, with the last episode having Dan going to The Otherworld to try and save Melody. Two inconsistencies I found are when Melody helped Jess escape from her apartment through the windows. Melody could have followed right behind her and gone to the police, but no, they had her play the hero by standing in front of the window to buy her more time for her escape. The thing is, the dude was still stuck outside the door trying to bash his way in. When he does burst through, he went right through Melody and knocked her out cold when she could have been on the streets already if she had followed Jess. The second is when we discover Melody’s mother performing the ritual to open the gate to Kalego. I’m pretty sure a human sacrifice was required, but somehow none was needed this time? Anyways, the eerie ending of Dan being left behind in 1994 with the view of, I believe, the Twin Towers was spooky. However, how was it that Samuel was able to drag Melody back to the present? Where is Samuel himself? Guess we’ll never know with the series canceled.