Self Sacrifice (I watched it all so you don't have to)

lekavalio

I give the series the worst score possible, mostly because of the disappointing end.

The show was plagued with inconsistency from the very beginning but as any thriller fun, I was willing to oversee that till it got REALLY annoying. The series is a test of the viewer's tolerance with the awful dialogues, the lack of any reason behind the behavior of the characters and the emotional depth of a teaspoon. Should you choose to watch this (I strongly recommend against it)expect to be astounded with the sheer number of times that people will put down their weapons only to say something incoherent (like a wedding proposal while a murderer is after you is simply the best thing to do) and then find their death from a pen knife. The characters are so gullible that they simply don't deserve to live. In Harper's Island world you only need to write something in paper (like John is the MURDERER) and everyone believes it. In such a pathetic fashion the writers tried to create twists in the plot.

The final blow to this marathon of lameness came with the finale. Should the explanation be missing, the series would still be watchable but no, they had to go all the way with this masterpiece of awfulness. Is really breaking up with someone reason enough to make you a serial killer? NO! Is finding out that you are adopted any better of a reason? I DON'T THINK SO! For me sticking to lame reasoning is the worst sin a thriller can commit. I would be far more willing to watch this if the motives were supernatural or simply unexplained. Not all thrillers need psychological depth. If the psycho was simply a psycho it would be all well (although the apparent omnipotence of this middle-aged man would still need some explaining) but they had to go all the way and provide us with a lame excuse that in their feeble minds seemed to bind it all together.

After wasting many good hours of my life watching this patchwork of human stupidity I can say it was not worth it. Sometimes flicks like that are so bad that they are good but Harper's Island goes all the way to infuriating. Makes you want to kill off every screenwriter and then pick their brains to see what's wrong with them.

If I didn't have such a compulsive persona, I would have stopped watching Harper's Island after third episode and do something more intense like origami. At least paper-cuts are a real threat...

score 1/10

lekavalio 1 June 2010

Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw2258127/