Criticism of Alma, the new supernatural horror series that lands on Netflix

Nine episodes make up the first season of Soula series that blends teen drama with supernatural horror bringing us immediately to mind Fair. the darkest lightanother fiction Netflix Very similar in cut, although broadly speaking that one is much more morbid and less round.

It is the debut of the screenwriter of films such as The orphanage, The end, The impossible, palm trees in the snow Y The Secret of Marrowbone Sergio G. Sanchez in the serial world. He does it appearing as creator and screenwriter, but also as director together with Kike Maillowho has milestones in his filmography such as Eve either Enemy Cosmetic.

The series takes its time to create its own fantastic universe that drinks from Celtic mythology and borrow some elements, among which we will find symbols such as the water flower. From there he creates an imaginary around a deity that has the ability to reincarnate following a series of ritual steps.

Soul It is set in Asturias and begins by introducing us to a group of teenagers who see how a trip comes to an end. We still don’t know very well “who is who” at the beginning of the fiction, but the tensions that exist between them are clear: both dramatic and romantic.

Once reunited to return to the town, the fog hangs over the bus to the point of making it impossible to drive. When a car offers to guide the bus, it resumes its journey, but soon there is a spectacular accident in which most of the students lose their lives.

Our protagonist, Alicia, however, manages to come out on top. She soon begins to experience strange situations: anomalies that only she seems to perceive, such as a ghostly presence that looms before her eyes, stalking her in the dark. This is particularly frightening to her because she has lost her memory: she doesn’t remember her family or her friends and she feels trapped.

Over time you will discover that your accident was not the result of a moment of fatal mistake by the driver, but caused, and that there is very old supernatural forces struggling to carry out a diabolical plan.

Elegance and attention to detail

It is clear to Sergio G. Sánchez that he is passionate about the fantastic genre and specifically he is crazy about ectoplasms. Here we find them of two types: what we could call souls in pain that remain in a plane that is beyond reality and leads them to wander between memories and animal shadowswho seek to possess bodies that are on a razor’s edge, between life and death.

One of the most remarkable aspects of SoulIt’s the quality of the special effects: those shadows are created using rudimentary animation techniques, making their movement feel menacing and visceral, just as the plot requires.

But also there is in this series a lot of love for classic horror movies and ghost movies that have marked us for decades with references to movies like At the end of the stairs. We found several sequences that, if they had been framed in another type of product, with a more marked target, could have been part of an excellent scary movie.

Although it gets a bit tangled up during its middle stretch causing some characters to contradict each other, the plot falls into a reasonably satisfying way at the end. Too bad that the dialogues lack freshness and that some interpretations are perceived as forced, because the story really ends up hooking and leaving a more than likely second season on the air.

It is not difficult to predict at what point the plot will be for that to happen (at this point it is a carbon copy of Fair) and that suspicion that ends up being confirmed, also reduces the impact of the outcome, but along the way themes such as guilt, mourning, legacy, identity, the strength of friendship and the obsession with transcendence or overcoming death are explored.

Although there are underexploited performers like Milena Smit (you will not kill), Nacho Fresneda (The Ministry of Time) and others who lack boards, we also have strong pillars that give the series an essential verisimilitude to reach port: this is the case of Mireia Oriol, Claudia Roset or Marta Belaustegui, in addition to the actors we saw in Homeland Elena Irureta and Josean Bengoetxea.

In short: you have to have some patience with Soul, but it ends up taking off and has all the ingredients to continue expanding and improving. At the very least, it has aroused our curiosity.