Forgotten Television: Hemlock Grove

Peter Rumancek (Landon Liboiron) and his mother Lynda (Lili Taylor) arrive in Hemlock Grove, a small town in Pennsylvania, after inheriting a family member’s property with a small mobile home on it.  Soon after they arrive, a young girl is brutally murdered by what appears to be an animal and the town suspects Peter of being the murderer and a werewolf, which technically he is.  Roman Godfrey (Bill Skarsgard), the heir to the Godfrey fortune and also a Upir, a vampire like being, is unaware of his true nature when the pair meet.  Roman’s mother Olivia (Famke Janssen) is not pleased that a Rumancek is back in town and both Roman and Peter’s mother warn them not to have anything to do with the other, but of course, after the pair meet, they become friends and attempt to solve the mystery of the killings within their town, while also coming to terms with their true natures.

Hemlock Grove

Hemlock Grove is an American horror mystery series developed by Brian McGreevy and Lee Shipman and based on McGreevy’s 2012 novel of the same name.  It was produced by Eli Roth and premiered on Netflix on April 19, 2013.  The series ran for three seasons, with the first consisting of 13 episodes and seasons two and three consisting of 10 each.  The music for seasons 1 and 2 was composed by Nathan Barr and Todd Haberman joined Nathan to help with season 3 with the main title theme music was nominated for an Emmy. The series was met with mixed reviews with most critics calling it “a mess” with poor acting, slow plot development and a style that is off-key.  There were some positive reviews like David Hiltbrand of the Philadelphia Inquirer believing that the show “manages to be lush, gross, frightening, and ridiculous—all at the same time”.  And Tom Glatto of People Weekly saying, “The acting is good, especially Bill Skarsgard and Landon Liboiro…I like the show’s languid, dreamlike beauty, but horror fans may be less patient.”

I remember watching the first few episodes of the series and not sure why I ever stopped, in rewatching the pilot again in preparation for this article, I really did enjoy this show.  I love murder mysteries and throw in werewolves and vampires and other supernatural creatures, and you got me hooked. I do think the acting, especially Landon Liboiron was quite good, there is a kind of free-spirited energy that he produces that was perfect for a gypsy werewolf character.  Famke Janssen, is both creepy and sensual and plays the part of Olivia perfectly.  Bill Skarsgard is also good as the brooding Roman, but I feel like they were trying to make him a bit too much like Edward from the Twilight series.  Overall, this is exactly the type of show I love and seemed quite enjoyable.