Arriving on Netflix is a new eight-part comic book adaptation with great writing and top performances.
Meet teenagers James and Alyssa, it says, hes a monster and shes angry.
You wont like them.
You will though, youll even come to love them.
With a bit of murder.
Seventeen-year-old James has a plan.
Testing out his self-diagnosed status as a psychopath, he wants to graduate from killing pets to murdering humans.
Shed started that term, says James voiceover.
I thought she could be interesting to kill.
(Showing willing was the best approach with Alyssa.).
She probably should have been says James.
In 2014, Entwistle made short filmTWOTFWstarringSubmarines Craig Roberts andTamara Drewes Jessica Barden as James and Alyssa.
Barden is back for the series, withBlack Mirrors Alex Lawther as James.
However strong the original pairing may have been, its hard to imagine these two being bettered.
One minute, James seems irrevocably damaged, then blink, and hes a child in pain.
The emotional side is meticulously handled, never compromising its cool tone or threatening to turn into mawkishness.
Sentimentality is repeatedly undercut with a gag.
The adolescent voice also opens the door to expression that seems naive but is satisfying and meaningful.
(Sometimes you realize youve had a thing keeping you going that might be a lie.
You swallowed it years ago.)
James laconic voiceover is comically understated.
It moves from entertainingly caustic to movingly bathetic, and James and Alyssas voiceovers are used to excellent effect.
As well as the script, the characterization is worthy of praise.
James and Alyssas depth and progression announce themselves gently through their macabre adventure.
Even the minor characters have an arc.
The episodes are short, around 20 minutes a pop, and they whirl by in a flash.
Like slices of perfect pop, nothing outstays its welcome.
Their journey features a series of encounters with some great comedy cameos.
The feel is a bitBadlands, a bitTrue Romance, a bitPulp Fiction.
Most of all though, its the music that carries the those references through.
The soundtrack by Blurs Graham Coxon, is terrific and merits its own release.
The End Of The F***ing Worldmight be referential, but it isnt glib.
It borrows style ideas, but has plenty of its own to add.
This review originally ran onDen of Geek UK.
