“The Devil in Ohio”: to see or not to see the horror series that is sweeping Netflix? | REVIEW

The delicate state of Mae (Madeleine Arthur), a patient who arrived badly injured at her hospital, makes Dr. Suzanne (Emily Deschanel) feel empathy for her, to the point of deciding to take her home, a space that already seems full of small and complex stories. There, the doctor lives with her husband Peter (Sam Jaeger) and her daughters Jules (Xaria Dotson), Helen (Alisha Newton) and adopted girl Dani (Naomi Tan). Nobody imagines that the arrival of this new member at home will unleash dramatic and even terrifying situations.

So we could briefly summarize the initial idea of ​​”The Devil in Ohio”, an eight-episode mini-series based on the book of the same title written by Daria Polatin, which is now available on Netflix. This is a production that, using the fundamental resources offered by cinematographic genres such as drama, thriller or mystery, delves into a topic that has already been discussed, but perhaps not enough: religious sects and the effects of their ‘customs’. ‘ in society.

Noticing how affected her protégé Mae is, Dr. Suzanne will try to extract as much information as possible from her about those responsible for her ills (physical, but also emotional). The teenager, who bears a huge scar on her back, as a result of a ritual carried out in the sect to which she belongs, seems aware that, except for Suzanne, no one in this new house generates absolute confidence in her. The reason is simple: everyone lives trapped in their own conflicts.

It happens with Peter, for example, the father of the home, a professional who tries to make his way by renovating old buildings, but he is not doing well at all. So, as the days go by, he will end up stuck in new debts with the bank, even risking his own house with a mortgage that is impossible for him to pay.

The same goes for Helen, the eldest of the sisters. About to leave school, this young woman is torn between love and her great concerns. She has a handsome boyfriend, but an old fling with a school friend has left a scar on her. In that sense, her social bubble is reduced to those other two people, so she won’t hesitate to ignore her own sister Jules in the hallways of the school.

But being ignored by her older sister isn’t Jules’ only problem. The teenager suffers the consequences of the lack of ‘school popularity’ at a key moment on her way to maturity. Unable to feel satisfied with her few friends, she discovers a way of escape in photography. That’s why she maybe so enjoys going into a dark room to develop the photos she took on her school day.

Perhaps the most inconsequential character throughout “The Devil in Ohio” is little Dani, an adopted girl who brings a touch of candor and good feelings to what we might call ‘family life.’ Everyone has accepted her mainly because she doesn’t seem to cause anyone any trouble.

Quite the opposite, we could well say that it happens with Mae. Bearer of an absolutely dark past, the teenager gradually begins to let go at home and outside of it. Her huge scar on her back quickly goes from being a stigma to a sign of bravery, so she quickly becomes popular at school, making Jules first happy and then envious.

This Netflix series is not just family dramas. It is, as we said lines above, a mystery story and fundamentally horror. Having escaped from the center of a cult led by her biological father (Malachi / Tahmoh Penikett), Mae is the target of a ‘forced return’ operation to Amontown, the place where the worst things imaginable happened to her. .

As usually happens in this type of story, good is confronted by evil, represented by Suzanne and also by detective López (Gerardo Celasco) and his assistant. Both will search, he with her police knowledge, and she using her persuasion in her relationship and her dialogues with Mae, to reach the very heart of the sect located in Amontown. The objective of disrupting it, however, will be much more complex than expected.

In the eight episodes of “The Devil in Ohio” the family dramas inside Suzanne’s house are correctly interspersed with the macabre discoveries behind the sect from which Mae tries to escape. It will not be easy and almost everyone will suffer consequences. She walks by with Peter, when she sees how the luxurious house that she managed to renovate is consumed by fire on Halloween night. The same with Jules, who ends up exposed to death because of Mae’s brother. None of this, however, is less petrifying than the sect’s own history.

The Netflix series portrays a group of fans willing to do almost anything to preserve damnable traditions. In the same way, it shows us how a town is capable of abstracting itself almost voluntarily from the rule of law. Only under these circumstances is the self-absorption shown by Mae in much of the story explained. When she decides to speak, the dark house of cards set up behind her begins to come crashing down.

Finally, and as if that were not enough already described, “The Devil in Ohio” explores the personal side of Suzanne (brilliantly played by Deschanel), this kind of heroine who, deep down, what she is trying to save Mae is to destroy her own memories relatives, those who have her as a child witness countless domestic abuses by her stepfather on her mother. Only this could explain how she never hesitated to set aside her husband and three daughters to embark on such a dark undertaking. Whether or not she succeeds, and what consequences that result has for her, is something that viewers will judge if it was worth it.

The Devil in Ohio/ Netflix

Director: Steven A. Adelson, Brad Anderson, Leslie Hope, John Fawcett

Synopsis: Determined to protect a patient who escaped from a mysterious cult, a psychiatrist takes the girl in, but puts her life and family at risk.

Cast: Emily Deschanel, Madeleine Arthur, Sam Jaeger, Gerardo Celasco

Gender: Drama, horror, mystery.