Is it worth watching the TV series "Epidemic", which was praised by Stephen King himself

The Russian TV series "Epidemic" by director Pavel Kostomarov was released in 2019 and even then made a lot of noise. Spectators and critics were delighted with the unusually high-quality filming and tough plot. Even more attention was attracted Online cinema Premier removed an episode of the series "Epidemic" about the riots scandal: in one of the episodes, representatives of the authorities were shown shooting civilians. The streak was soon removed from the Premier online platform and the remainder of the season was postponed. The broadcast was continued only after the plot was slightly tweaked, replacing the security forces with bandits.

In 2020, "Epidemic" is again at the center of discussions. To begin with, the theme of a dangerous and highly contagious virus played, which echoes the real situation in the world. In addition, the project was purchased by the streaming giant Netflix, after which they started talking about the series not only in Russia, but also in the West. Even Stephen King spoke positively about the "Epidemic".

"Epidemic" is really a very good series, especially for Russian production. But, alas, there were some drawbacks too.

A tough story about ordinary people

A deadly virus is spreading in Russia: the infected cough up blood, their eyes turn white, and after four days the sick die. Chaos begins in the country, everyone is fighting for gas and food, gangs of marauders appear.

In the center of the plot is a group of people who leave Moscow in search of a quiet place to live. The main character can be considered Sergei (Kirill Kyaro), who is accompanied by an ex-wife with a son, a new lover with her child, a father and a neighbor's family. That is, instead of one character, they represent a dozen, so that the viewer can immediately choose with whom to associate themselves and whom not to love.

Unlike many projects that talk about global problems and the fight against the virus, Epidemic focuses on ordinary people. This approach allows us to look at events not from the position of the military or the authorities, but exactly as each of us will feel them. For all the grotesque nature of what is happening, it is difficult not to notice the parallels with today's realities.

The heroes are trying to get to a secluded island on a lake in Karelia, and therefore they travel the country throughout the series. Each episode shows a new location, new challenges stand in the way, which keeps the viewer interested.

But many of the plot details were simply forgotten

Even the first episode of the series has a strange haste. At first, the viewer is gradually introduced to the characters and told about the beginning of the epidemic. And then they abruptly jump to further events.

They haven't really talked about the changes in life yet, but the heroes are already being attacked by some bandits. Moreover, these are not just random hooligans, but a certain organized group with machine guns. The villains even tried to prescribe the characters and conflicts within the group. But who they are and where they came from, they did not tell.

In subsequent episodes, in the same way, out of nowhere, new characters will appear - to fulfill their function and disappear forever. And the main characters are in trouble for the most far-fetched reasons. You can still believe in individual coincidences, but if you put everything together, it seems that Sergei and his friends are the most unlucky people in the world. They always break everything, and every second person they meet is a maniac.

This approach reaches its apotheosis in the fifth episode - a scandal flared up around it. In fact, this is generally a filler episode dedicated to other heroes. And the main characters get into the plot only because one of the children suddenly ran away from the car.

When watching one episode a week, this can work. But if you try to master the whole season at once, the gaps are striking. As a result, those who like not only to watch the plot twists, but also to immerse themselves in the on-screen world, will surely be disappointed - the series is very sketchy.

Excellent work with picture and sound

Western TV shows have long been as good as big cinema in terms of visual quality. But Russian projects were filmed for a long time with solid medium shots. Only in the last couple of years, directors have begun to delight viewers with an interesting approach to the picture.

"Epidemic" stands out even among such works. Firstly, this is not a chamber series: there are a lot of locations and outdoor filming. And the general plans are simply mesmerizing. This is a truly ambitious project.

Secondly, the camera work is witty. Many scenes were filmed by a dynamic and subjective camera with foreshortenings even from the trunk of a car, even from the eyes of a person in a gas mask. This, of course, is not something original and breakthrough, but still exciting. In addition, color correction was used quite well. Depending on the mood and location, the tones change from cold to warm and vice versa.

The soundtrack sometimes seems too deliberate, especially for retro music, which is regularly played from tape recorders. It seems that the authors just decided not to forget about the fashionable theme of nostalgia. This only makes sense in a scene where a middle-aged woman is dancing alone in a provincial cafe. Well, the discordant choral singing of "Birch" by the Lube group is very impressive.

But with background compositions, everything is much better. The romantic melody Teach Me Tiger, accompanying the development of relations between young Polina (Victoria Agalakova) and Misha (Eldar Kalimulin), is sometimes too intrusive. But it creates additional comedicism, immediately showing the mood of the characters.

"Epidemic" can be considered an example of atmospheric, quality filming. And even not only among Russian manufacturers. Many of the budget Netflix shows are much weaker. And this is a real success.

But too clichéd heroes

If the unwritten villains and episodic characters can still be attributed to the format, then the stereotypes in the images of the main characters will certainly annoy everyone. Of the ten main characters, the authors came up with full-fledged characters for only half.

Sergey looks interesting and controversial. His girlfriend Anna (Victoria Isakova) is too kind, but also alive.

Sergei's father (Yuri Kuznetsov) appears out of nowhere to take the heroes out of a dangerous situation and give the first impetus to the plot. He talks about the development of the epidemic, brings a gun for protection, explains where you can go, and more. A real god from the car. Fortunately, then he has the opportunity to open up.

But Irina (Maryana Spivak), as initially appears as an "evil ex," and remains to her throughout the season, even though the heroine is given a romantic line. She swears at the child, ex-husband, his new girlfriend and always repeats that she never had a normal man in her life. And he does it at the most inopportune moments. It is hard to believe that in a threatening situation, a woman thinks exclusively about what her husband has annoyed her with. Of course, the fight between the heroines is only a matter of time.

Neighbor Leonid (Alexander Robak) and his pregnant wife Marina (Natalya Zemtsova) are walking stereotypes. The first makes vulgar jokes, discusses exclusively sex and childbirth, as if they forgot to give him at least some meaningful remarks. Marina, on the other hand, just suffers from the whole series because of the inconvenience on the road. Against their background, even slightly clichéd Misha and Polina seem incredibly charming and lively.

The new heroes who appear in the middle of the season simply do not have enough time to reveal themselves. Although they acted ironically with the character of Alexander Yatsenko: the actor, whom everyone remembers from the role of a doctor in "Arrhythmia", again plays a doctor.

Many Russian TV series suffer from stereotypes: the authors do not prescribe full-fledged characters, limiting themselves to only a couple of main features. The same spoiled the impression of the projects "Survival Game", "Just Imagine What We Know" and even half of the heroes of "Chick". Unfortunately, the work of Pavel Kostomarov did not escape this problem.

For all its shortcomings, it is impossible not to admit that "Epidemic" is a really bright and successful series. And not only for Russian cinema. But since the authors managed to reach a new level of filming and tell an interesting story, I would like them to move away from genre clichés and learn how to work out not only one storyline, but the whole world of the project.