The Grudge review: A series that darkly satirizes modern vanity

Emma Stone could win an Oscar on March 10 next year during the Academy Awards ceremony. But if she doesn’t, she even presented two anthology plays on the big and small screen that will go down in entertainment history. His Bella Baxter, under the direction of Yorgos Lanthimos, surprised audiences and critics. But the interpretation he offers in the series Damn from skyshowtime, it is not only full of many nuances. At the same time, it’s an unsettling look at celebrity, the pursuit of fame, and even the invisible threads that tie a marriage together.

All of the above happens in the middle of a seemingly calm scenario. Whitney (Stone) and Asher Siegel (Nathan Fielder) are newlyweds trying to secure their lives in the short term by any means available to them. She is charismatic, determined, and much more determined to succeed than her timid and often timid husband. In fact, much of the script by Nathan Fielder, Ben Safdie, Carmen Christopher and Alex Huggins takes special care to highlight the difference. Not because he wants to create a story through contrasts, but because his interest is in explaining the dynamics of this young marriage. They don’t get along well or bad. And the line dividing this warmth is a fierce and restrained competition between them.

Particularly because the story will use this dual perspective of the world to analyze several things at once. While the Siegels are trying to film a pilot for a reenactment show, they are also fighting among themselves. As a result, the grand overall project is actually a battle of loyalties and ambitions, which the plot treats not as parody but through suspense. While this story makes you laugh—and further demonstrates what a great comedic actress Emma Stone is—its core is creepy. So much so that conversations and arguments between the couple, be more a study of obsession than a relationship dynamic between two people who love each other.

A rare way to succeed

Whitney desperately wants to be recognized. She doesn’t say it or show it right away, but for her, everything related to her future should lead to success. This is despite the fact that his ideas – turning homes into buildings that help the environment – seem deeply well-intentioned. This argument does not clarify whether there really is anything more than altruistic ideas, but it does suggest that there is not. Which makes the first episodes of the series a challenging game. One that leads to an understanding of what is happening between two very different people who also want to leave a mark on the culture.

Asher on the other end of the line doesn’t know what he wants. Dougie (Benny Safdie), the producer of the potential series, puts a lot of pressure on him, turning the sore loser into an enemy. But secretive, who tries to satisfy his insecurities in failure, which he builds from the bottom up. The plot is skillful enough to tell all these scenarios without losing the tension and purpose of critiquing modern futility. As Whitney and Asher discover the worst parts of their relationship, the story moves closer to possible failure.

Prospective home buyers who only want to fill the huge old property with luxury are ignoring the couple’s instructions. At the same time, the Siegels discover that success, which comes with pain, is a difficult step in their relationship. They are both uncomfortable together and the camera notices this. In fact, creators Nathan Fielder and Ben Safdie aim to make metafiction—the show within the show—a suffocating space. So much so that by the time the plot reveals its secrets – and there is more to it than just the internal war between the characters – the worst problem is the progressive lack of love.

Pain, fear and satirical laughter

Of course, there is a supernatural element (or apparently there is one) and that is what gives the program its name. But it’s more than a curse placed on the terrified Asher by a Somali girl – it’s the fear of the unseen and the supernatural. The way fear – senseless and relentless – It is born when Asher becomes convinced that something really influences his decisions and his life.

Something dangerous, potentially violent and frightening. Of course, this may be a figment of your imagination. But the show’s superb visual staging – between mirrors and close-ups – suggests that this is not the case. Or, at worst, whatever it is, it turns the marriage project into a dark, darker and darker disaster.

The ten-episode series dedicates the first five (the rest will be released on February 16, 2024) to exploring the atmosphere of fear and indoctrination. He does this so skillfully that he leaves open the question of whether an unknown element really destroys Whitney and Usher. Or, in the worst case scenario, the greed of a crazy and essentially self-indulgent project makes it happen instead. Given such questions, the production leaves some unanswered. But, no matter how strange it may seem,this enhances the atmosphere of mild horror. This is the most interesting and noteworthy element.