S01E01 - The Calling (2009)

Director	Peter Burger
Writers	David Brechin-Smith
Starring	Renato Bartolomei, Latham Gaines, Gareth Reeves, Kate Elliott, Danielle Cormack, Scott Wills, Sara Wiseman, Rachel Nash, Andrew Grainger, William Wallace
Genre	Thriller
Tagline	None Listed
Country

Review

The Cult is an ambitious thirteen part effort from New Zealand that has unfortunately not extended beyond it's first season. Looking at the production values this one must have been expensive and without major returns not sustainable for the fragile Kiwi industry that really has other fish to fry. The gauntlet has been thrown down by beyondscary.com, I'm hitting an episode guide of a series I've never actually heard of before, let's head bush with the first episode and see if we can't decipher the message.

Michael Lewis is a Lawyer who has some pretty despicable people as clients. Shortly before being shoot by an enraged mother of one of the victims of a client Michael receives a strange envelope in a magazine at the local supermarket. How exactly anyone knew he would pick up that magazine in that store remains a mystery. Seems Michael's two missing Sons have joined a cult in the remote Northland of New Zealand. A number of other people are also receiving envelopes with details of their missing loved ones. Michael travels to Northland where he hooks up with a number of other people concerned over family members, not everyone would appear to be who they claim to be.

We soon learn the Cult compound in Northland, Two Gardens, is off limits to the public and family members as opposed to Cult compounds in other parts of the world. There's something very wrong happening in the wilds of Northland and more than Michael's group are intent on discovering exactly what that might be. Who can Michael trust and what are the Cult's motives?

Episode One retains a current of menace throughout and takes itself very seriously. There is a heavy foreboding going down that regular viewers of New Zealand cinema will be used to. Pakehas are not entirely comfortable in the bush, Director Peter Burger utilises this to great effect.

The Calling showed exceptionally strong production values for a New Zealand series and was clearly aimed squarely at the sort of demographics who enjoy The X-Files or Lost. The pilot episode got The Cult out of the door in some style, introduced the major characters, and got the Audience thinking about the mysteries lying just below the surface of the action. While it could be argued the episode was on a slow simmer, this was a requirement to get the series into the matrix that will sustain it through season one. I was definitely grooving to discovering exactly what was going down and how these apparent strangers were related. There would appear, at least on the surface, to be a hell of a lot more happening than simple cult indoctrination so the season is set up for what one hopes is a wild and woolly ride.

While the production values were strong throughout the forty odd minute opening gambit a few things did stick in my claw that could have been fixed very simply with an additional edit, hey it's a thirteen episode first season, and while this might be a major undertaking for a local Production house that's not a lot to get things right in. Michael's journey to the compound saw his car leaving major roads, to hit some time travelled roads, to finally hit dirt tracks. Director Peter Burger has successfully conveyed just how isolated the Cult compound is without resorting to the same overhead shot used again and again throughout the episode. It's almost like the advert break is meant to fit in right there without detracting from the drama unfolding on our screens. On DVD it quite frankly looks shoddy and stands out like dog balls given the high values being maintained elsewhere in the episode. Equally Michael's hookup with other folks trying to extract loved ones is never fully explored, it just happens, without Michael seemingly booking a room or having any contact with these people.

If The Calling is any indication then the Producers of The Cult are being pretty ambitious. There are already multiple plot arcs, major plot questions to be answered, and a feeling that there are going to be more twists in the tale than turns on a road to Two Gardens. Exemplary stuff that should have most viewers pinned to their chair as the series unfolds.

There was definitely enough going down in the pilot episode to peek my interest and I'm looking forward to diving into the rest of the first season. It remains to be seen if The Cult can keep doing the right stuff, in a gritty realistic way, or will opt for the easy way out and turn into mush by about episode seven. So far so good, this is intriguing stuff, can they keep it up? And who the hell was grizzly Adams, and how do you get a naked chick to turn up at your remote cabin?

ScaryMinds Rates this episode as ...