Our weekly guide to new and noteworthy indie and international genre fare this week encompasses two new international series on Netflix and a gothic psychological drama on Shudder.
How to Get to Heaven From Belfast
All eight episodes are now streaming on Netflix. I've watched the first two episodes.
Official synopsis: "Three lifelong pals embark on a chaotic quest to solve the mystery of their old friend's suspicious death and keep their own dark secret under wraps."
Lisa McGee (Derry Girls) created and wrote; Roísín Gallagher, Sinéad Keenan, and Caoilfhionn Dunne as the "lifelong pals." If you've seen the great Derry Girls, then you know the humor is rude, rowdy, and piercingly honest. McGee adds welcome depth to the characters, which features much looking back 20 years in the past to their youth in Donegal, located in the northwest region of Ireland.
As a native of Northern Ireland, McGee is familiar with the territory and the characters -- the first episode even features an off-handed swipe at people from Derry -- and she also creates authentic dialogue and convincing situations for the three friends, now in their late 30s, as they look into the death of their youthful friend.
It bounces between sharp humor and dark secrets, remaining engaging throughout. And you can't beat the beauty of the landscapes, either. I can't wait to finish watching.
Million-Follower Detective
All eight episodes are now streaming on Netflix. I've seen the first two episodes.
Official synopsis: "In this crime thriller, Detective Chen Chia-jen races to unmask Baba the Witch, the viral tarot reader who accurately predicts the deaths of influencers."
It's been a long time (the late 90s) since Ekin Cheng starred in the Young and Dangerous films as a rising Hong Kong gangster. In a new series, set in Taiwan, he's a veteran police detective who's lost touch with the young and dangerous ... Influencers?
The first 15 minutes of the first episode are a frontal assault upon the viewer, with a dizzying array of social media images careening across the screen. Things slow down after that, however, and it becomes a meat-and-potatoes procedural, after Detective Chen Chia-jen (Ekin Cheng) shoots a threatening influencer outside a police station, thinking that the kid had a handgun, which is soon revealed to be only a BB gun.
Detective Chen grumbles like an old man when he is assigned to work with a new young female recruit in the Hi-Tech unit, and then doggedly investigates the death of two young people who may be connected in some way. As part of his investigation, he seeks to uncover the identity of the mysterious influencer "Baba Witch," whose popular video predictions are eerily accurate. As the body count rises, so does the intensity of his search.
Through two episodes, I found the show to be well-made and moderately interesting, if not yet compulsively propelling. But I plan to finish watching the show, just to see if it gets better as it goes.
Honey Bunch
The film is now streaming on Shudder.
Official synopsis: "Diana's husband is taking her to an experimental trauma facility deep in the wilderness, but she can't remember why.... As her memories begin to creep back in, so do some unwelcome sinister truths about her marriage."
Our review by Shelagh Rowan-Legg: "The cast are terrific, and carry this film so well. The characters all feel slightly out of synch, as the story and time is out of synch. But each in a different way, that makes sense as we slowly understand what is happening, how each person has come to be there, and what the power of love has done to inform their choices."
Now Streaming celebrates independent and international genre films and television shows that are newly available on legal streaming services.