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A review by beaconatnight
Monster 1983: Die komplette 1. Staffel by Raimon Weber, Anette Strohmeyer, Ivar Leon Menger
4.0
The audio play 1983 is fully committed to the ongoing trend of Stephen King and 1980s inspired horror in the vein of Stranger Things and It. Since I don't tire of this at the moment, I thought this was going to be good fun. Due to spot-on writing and a stellar voice cast, Ivar Leon Menger's 1983 was actually much better than I would have expected. Beginning with Day 1, the plot fully captivated my attention until the much revealing yet quite cliffhanger-y final act.
There had been surprisingly many deaths in the small town of Harmony Bay. Sheriff Cody, who only recently relocated to the backwater village, soon finds that there must be a serial killer on the lose. He kills his victim in a particularly gruesome manner, though his killing pattern or the connection between the victims is far from obvious. Suits from the government make their appearance, a Russian spy master of disguise is on the run, and the mayor and his brother-in-law, the owner of the local sawmill, are involved in some sort of conspiracy, too. Yet the real secret may be much darker than that.
You may say that we had this small-town, kids on BMX bikes setting way to often in the past few years, but for me this still somehow stood out. And not only because this is an audio play, as opposed to a TV show or the big screen. It's amazing how tastefully it spins its mysteries over the course of the entire season (and beyond). Personally, I often really couldn't tell where this would be going. Though the reveals may not always be awesome, there are always twists and spins that add a surprising punch to the outcomes.
To enter spoiler territory, I loved how more supernatural elements were introduced only very late in the stories. Because of this, I actually rooted with more down-to-earth explanations for quite some time. Even when the fortuneteller begins to talk of this Nachtmahr, I thought it must be a distraction. The ending, with the foreboding mystery about the cave, the recurring dreams, and Amy's shocking involvement in the killings, was oh so very satisfying. I wouldn't have thought that this would end with me longing for more.
The production value of this show is absolutely phenomenal, too. There were some moments that quite disturbed me, like when Amy suddenly shoots Mr Briggs, it almost gave me a heart-attack! The voice of every single character is well-chosen, including the kids. What I loved is how they actually felt like kids from the 80s. It's not only the mention of Nike, Sony's Walkman, The Fog, or the A-Team, they say things like "Mückenpisse" or are a bit rough in their friendship (like when they are pushing around the fat kid). It's only very rarely that it's too much on-the-nose. Nice touches, like the discussion of the ethical trolley problem, well round off the genuinely strong dialogs.
If you are not yet fed up with this kind of horror material and you enjoy audio plays, I can only very much recommend this! I'll get into Season 2 soon, I hope it can keep up its high quality. When it comes to audio plays, it probably doesn't get much better than this.
Rating: 4/5
There had been surprisingly many deaths in the small town of Harmony Bay. Sheriff Cody, who only recently relocated to the backwater village, soon finds that there must be a serial killer on the lose. He kills his victim in a particularly gruesome manner, though his killing pattern or the connection between the victims is far from obvious. Suits from the government make their appearance, a Russian spy master of disguise is on the run, and the mayor and his brother-in-law, the owner of the local sawmill, are involved in some sort of conspiracy, too. Yet the real secret may be much darker than that.
You may say that we had this small-town, kids on BMX bikes setting way to often in the past few years, but for me this still somehow stood out. And not only because this is an audio play, as opposed to a TV show or the big screen. It's amazing how tastefully it spins its mysteries over the course of the entire season (and beyond). Personally, I often really couldn't tell where this would be going. Though the reveals may not always be awesome, there are always twists and spins that add a surprising punch to the outcomes.
To enter spoiler territory, I loved how more supernatural elements were introduced only very late in the stories. Because of this, I actually rooted with more down-to-earth explanations for quite some time. Even when the fortuneteller begins to talk of this Nachtmahr, I thought it must be a distraction. The ending, with the foreboding mystery about the cave, the recurring dreams, and Amy's shocking involvement in the killings, was oh so very satisfying. I wouldn't have thought that this would end with me longing for more.
The production value of this show is absolutely phenomenal, too. There were some moments that quite disturbed me, like when Amy suddenly shoots Mr Briggs, it almost gave me a heart-attack! The voice of every single character is well-chosen, including the kids. What I loved is how they actually felt like kids from the 80s. It's not only the mention of Nike, Sony's Walkman, The Fog, or the A-Team, they say things like "Mückenpisse" or are a bit rough in their friendship (like when they are pushing around the fat kid). It's only very rarely that it's too much on-the-nose. Nice touches, like the discussion of the ethical trolley problem, well round off the genuinely strong dialogs.
If you are not yet fed up with this kind of horror material and you enjoy audio plays, I can only very much recommend this! I'll get into Season 2 soon, I hope it can keep up its high quality. When it comes to audio plays, it probably doesn't get much better than this.
Rating: 4/5