Reviews
‘Castlevania: Nocturne’ Review – A Gory, Gorgeous Vampire Revolution Story
Castlevania: Nocturne quickly finds a fast-paced, blood-soaked rhythm in this satisfying sequel to the Netflix animated horror series.
“Warriors in arms. Family in hearts.”
Castlevania: Nocturne becomes another prolonged pursuit between skilled and sullen vampire hunters and the dark creatures that go bump in the night. This basic plot may not be groundbreaking and if anything it leans into the predictable premise of each Castlevania game. That being said, the first scene–an extended cold open that runs for a third of the episode–is really the perfect distillation of why Castlevania: Nocturne is worth watching. A stunning battle between Julia Belmont and Orlox, a 250-year-old vampire, plays out while multiple forms of magic release supernatural spectacles as the two battle to the bitter end. In a single scene, Richter Belmont’s entire purpose gets crystalized and sets him–and the series–off on a strong, confident note. Castlevania: Nocturne taps a rich vein that draws just as much fresh blood as its predecessor.
There’s such kinetic movement to all of the show’s combat and battle choreography where flowing spells, magical creatures, and spinning cameras keep these fights in constant motion and add a dizzying quality to these histrionics. Each fight is truly a visual marvel that combines incredible animation with vicious carnage. The series’ opening shot is the picturesque reflection of fireworks going off in water, which slowly ripples and separates as a boat passes through. It’s so beautiful and effortless as if Castlevania: Nocturne wants to immediately prove to the audience that its animation is immaculate and beyond criticism.
Castlevania: Nocturne gets just as creative with its night creatures, which are demons that are forged from human corpses. These episodes have fun with the limitless nature of what a demon can be. There are countless vampires and generic demons present, but also some inventive designs like multi-armed monsters, dragons, and medusa-like serpents. In fact, there’s a very Guillermo del Toro-esque quality to the series’ night creatures where none of these demons would feel out of place in Pan’s Labyrinth or Hellboy. The Vampire Messiah, in particular, manages to make Dracula look remarkably boring in comparison. Castlevania: Nocturne conjures some truly ghoulish images for its monsters and victims. The series embraces its horror influences just as much as it celebrates heightened action sequences.
Alternatively, there’s also such a sweet, sensitive beating heart to the series that reminds audiences that these are hurt people and not just grandiose action heroes and demon slayers. One of the series’ best sequences doesn’t involve any confrontations with demons and instead is a more muted moment of grief and reflection. Maria buries one of her magical familiars as she mourns the loss of part of herself while Eoudard immortalizes the memory through a melancholy aria (an aria of sorrow, if you will). It’s a beautiful scene about dedication and sacrifice where this group of heroes collectively expose their open wounds to each other. It’d be easy to remove such a moment in favor of more demonic duels, but these emotional scenes are as important as anything else in Castlevania: Nocturne. It’s not just about some war between good and evil, but the human cost of such conflict and how mounting losses can even make the living feel like they’re hollow and dead.
At Castlevania’s core, this is a story about revolution, power, and freedom, albeit one with vampires. Set in Western France on the cusp of the 19th century, crooked Kings, monarchies, and the aristocracy are a constant problem to this subjugated society. However, the Vampire Messiah–Countess Erzsebet Bathory–is also aligned with the old regime and pledges to make vampires masters of their own domains rather than a deadly extension of the aristocracy. This turns both the living and the undead into threats for Richter, Maria, and thier scrappy cabal of warriors as they fight against zealous monsters who strive to block out the moon and trigger eternal twilight so that demons can freely roam the Earth.
Castlevania: Nocturne finds a fun, effortless dynamic between Richter and Maria that’s not dissimilar to the banter that was present between Trevor Belmont and Sypha in the original Castlevania. Their riffing is often just as strong as their fighting. This duo naturally grows into a quartet as two more demon hunters, Annette and Edouard, become allies who are all united through similar trauma. Castlevania: Nocturne also makes sure to develop its vampire villains and their mysterious endgame goal just as well as it does Richter, Maria, and those who strive to end them. Every character, dead or alive, is rich in depth.
“I thought I was supposed to fight evil. I thought that was the whole point,” is the first line of dialogue that’s spoken in Castlevania: Nocturne, but this pledge also quickly becomes the series’ mission statement and guiding mantra across these eight episodes as the line between good and wicked gets increasingly blurred. Castlevania: Nocturne tells a satisfying story, but not necessarily a complete one. These episodes neatly set up what’s destined to be a deeper sophomore season, but Nocturne also feels more substantial than the original Castlevania’s first season, which functioned almost like an extended prologue. Kevin Kolde, Clive Bradley, Sam and Adam Deats, and executive producer Adi Shankar have created something special through this extension of the franchise.
Castlevania: Nocturne digs deeper and accomplishes much more than its predecessor. It doesn’t just feel like a tease, but rather the first act to a much greater war that can finally be properly tackled now that a certain familiar face has shown up. Nocturne goes out on an exceptional cliffhanger that should keep fans pleased until season two. The series is confident enough that it doesn’t need to stoop to such theatrics, but it certainly doesn’t hurt to cast the world in darkness and prepare for the next stage of this unholy war.
When I previously wrote my review of Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin, I mentioned that I was optimistic for the series to be renewed for another season, but questioned how the showrunners would be able to introduce a fresh batch of conflicts for our Millwood liars to tackle. After all, “A” had been apprehended! The main characters seemed to have found closure, and the future seemed bright and unobstructed for each of them.
And then came the summer. Summer School, that is.
As expected in any iteration of Pretty Little Liars, a new A has emerged to torment our five final girls who are stuck in Millwood attending summer school; this time in the form of Bloody Rose–a crimson soaked, knife brandishing antagonist that I would argue is much scarier than our season 1 stalker, Archie Waters. As things heat up with Bloody Rose, the summer brings a slew of new tribulations for the liars to face, including a mysterious new church group, and Milwood residents with nefarious intentions. It’s fresh, it’s campy, and while I wasn’t as blown away by the first half of Pretty Little Liars: Summer School as I was Original Sin, it still feels like a satisfying and seamless continuation of everything the first season had set up.
Editor’s Note: This review covers the first five episodes of ‘Summer School.’
For anyone craving a summer slasher romp in the vein of Fear Street or a Scream film, Summer School will satisfy. The new season feels like a love letter to horror classics similar to how Original Sin was–from a pool setting that looks straight out of the iconic scene from The Strangers: Prey At Night, to a Chuck E. Cheese-esque parlor full of animatronics that look straight from the recent Five Nights At Freddy’s movie. It continues the trend from season 1 of pivoting Pretty Little Liars completely into horror territory and proves that it can stand tall in the genre.
As previously mentioned, the new main antagonist donning the A moniker is Bloody Rose–a mysterious pursuer who lurks in the shadows of Millwood. Her design feels much more inspired than her predecessor: perpetually soaked in blood, donning what appears to be a crown of thorns, typically one eye exposed through what look like bandages on her face, the sight of her sends a chill down my spine as she pursues the liars. While her antics appear to be similar to Archie’s in terms of tormenting the girls, her influence seems to stretch further than just the five main characters, acting as a sort of Boogeyman in Millwood as its residents discuss the lore of who she is on “Spooky Spaghetti,” the PLL’s in-universe Creepypasta.
While the girls come to grips with the fact that a new stalker has emerged, they’re also still reconciling with the hurdles that they just surmounted. Having already come face-to-face with A–and on the brink of death by extension–they’ve each become hardened and cautious, embracing their identities as final girls. Without sounding too much like the meme of Jamie Lee Curtis, Summer School is an exploration of the baggage that comes with being a survivor of trauma. It’s a much more present story–Original Sin would often jump to flashbacks to show the mistakes of each of the girls’ mothers, whereas in Summer School, the mothers are essentially absent. This is now the girls’ story, and theirs alone.
The girls are constantly watching their backs and questioning the intentions of everyone around them, but have also toughened up and learned to lean on each other. It’s a refreshing expansion of what Original Sin had built–while the 1st season was tasked with providing exposition and introducing us to each character, Summer School settles in quickly and gives the characters much more breathing room. One of my critiques of Original Sin was that it felt like we didn’t get enough time with Mouse (Malia Pyles), Noa (Maia Reficco), and Faran (Zaria). We were treated to a lot of focus on Imogen (Bailee Madison) and Tabby (Chandler Kinney), who acted as the main duo of the group in that season while the others were a bit more on the backburner. Summer School quickly rectifies this: each of the main cast are given more time in the spotlight and come across as more dynamic characters as a result.
On the flipside, the pacing doesn’t feel quite as tight as the previous season. In the scenes where Bloody Rose is wreaking havoc on her chosen liar, the tension is palpable and gripping. But at times, the tension is weighed down by scenes that heavily detract from the main plot. I couldn’t help but think at times during the five episodes that I’ve watched that Mouse was the only character trying to get to the bottom of who Bloody Rose is while the focus of every other character was spending multiple scenes cozying up with their romantic interest. Romance is obviously an important facet of a summer slasher vibe, but more often than not I found my attention span wandering as the romance subplots seemed to take precedence over the murderer that was stalking the characters. Original Sin was effective at maintaining focus while knowing when to pump the brakes, while Summer School feels a bit bogged down at times.
Despite this, the mystery surrounding Bloody Rose has sunk its hook in me. Without spoiling too much, she clearly has some sort of vendetta against the liars that’s causing her to torture the group in a way specific to each of them. The introduction of a handful of new characters has me constantly rearranging my suspect list–by episode 5, I found that my main suspect up until that point had fallen completely off my radar of who the one stalking the girls could be. The essence of Pretty Little Liars has always been the audience’s participation in identifying clues throughout the show that indicate who the culprit is, and Summer School succeeds in beckoning you to do so episode by episode.
I’m also eager to see how a couple of subplots, specifically one that hints at religious fanaticism and the occult, will end up tying into the larger picture as well. Kelly Beasley (Mallory Bechtel) is a standout character–the unofficial 6th member of the main group, she’s undergone an intense character transformation and seems to be harboring some of the most complex secrets of the cast that I’m excited to see revealed. The predatory movie theater manager, Wes (Derek Klena), has also returned with seemingly nefarious ulterior motives, and it’s satisfying to see Tabby disillusioned with his friendly persona and butt heads with him.
While I don’t think the first five episodes pack as much of a punch as Original Sin, Summer School straddles the volatile line of a worthy slasher sequel for the most part. The characters feel like real teenagers (albeit with some clunky Gen-Z slang sprinkled in here and there); they’re fallible, act rashly, and make mistakes, and are endearing as a result. It’s a testament to the cast’s ability to embody final girls that are easy to root for, and I’ll be intently staying tuned to see how the mystery of Bloody Rose unfolds.
The first 2 episodes of Pretty Little Liars: Summer School will debut on Thursday, May 9, streaming on Max, with a new episode premiering weekly until June 20.
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