Why The HBO’s The Head Is Probably A More Realistically Thriller You Could Ever Imagine
In the last 2020, we had spent almost all of our time to be inside in quarantine. We have lazily binge-watched any good shows they had on air. Covid-19 has brought a new life for us: the life of streaming. All of a sudden Netflix, HBO, Amazon Prime, and Apple Movies have aired many movies and series and we pay the subscription. It was only to fulfill our desire for the activity that prevents us to go outside and meet new people.
But it’s not so bad, because quarantine is necessary for this catastrophe time. Yet, what was the extravagant lifestyle has changed into something we need, it was sad to think.
Anyway since 2021 I began to subscribe to Netflix. It was because of my boredom and the urge to have any entertainment in a time of quarantine. I started to binge Friends, my classic favorite show, and then I began to watch some of Netflix’s original.
But it began to disappoint me a little.
Netflix’s original are mostly boring and has no engaging plot. I began to compare it with HBO’s, the production house I had been following ever since my family installed a cable TV since I was a child. Some of my favorite HBO’s original are Chernobyl, Game of Thrones, Succession, The Newsroom, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Entourage, and True Detective. Even though Game of Thrones has a disappointing ending, we cannot forget that it is a good show with a breath-taking plot, interesting arcs, and insightful characters with good development. I only think that I never find it from Netflix’s original.
Even so, HBO has started to develop its streaming app in a more serious direction. With HBO GO, they have opened their market so wide so people could enjoy their show even more. But here is the thing: I could not afford another streaming app at that time due to the money problem. I do not find a good time to subscribe to both of the streaming apps.
This was quite sad because I want to enjoy some of HBO’s new series, but I don’t have any time to watch them. One of the shows I wanted to watch since it has aired was The Head.
The Head
Genre: Mistery, Thriller
Created by: David Pastor, Alex Pastor, David Troncoso
Directed by: Jorge Dorado
Country of origin: Spain, Japan
Original Languages: English, Danish, Swedish
No. of episodes: 6
Original network: HBO Asia, Hulu Japan
Production locations: Tenerife, Canary Islands, Iceland
‘The Head’ was directed by a Spanish director, Jorge Dorado. David Troncoso was the one who wrote the original idea. The cast is some well-known actors and actresses from various countries. John Lynch from Ireland and Katharine O’Donelly from England are the main characters and, although John Lynch had landed several notable roles, the name of Katharine O’Donelly is still quite new.
The cast list is getting interesting because it has Richard Sammel, a German actor that is known for his antagonistic role in Inglourious Bastards (2009), or his other act in Casino Royale (2006), 3 Days to Kill (2014), and Disney Movie Beauty and the Beast. There is also Alvaro Morte, a Spanish actor. People might know him better from Money Heist (2017), one of the popular and anticipated Netflix’s original.
But from the cast list, I was interested most in Tomohisa Yamashita, one leading actor from Japan with several notable works from his country land. I love his act, and he’s popular within his country and in Asia due to his beautiful face. But ‘The Head’ is surely a breakthrough for his career because finally, Tomohisa Yamashita could land a serious role in the Western series.
The fascinating part about this series is the cast. The Head brings innumerable casts from various countries. It was a bit confusing at first but when I watched I knew for an instant why they had to use actors from different countries: it had to do with the plot.
According to IMDb, the story was started when:
As the long Antarctic winter falls, most of the staff evacuate the Polaris VI Antarctic Research Station. A small team stays on to continue their innovative research, a crucial part in the fight against climate change, led by renowned biologist Arthur Wilde (John Lynch). But when spring comes, summer commander Johan Berg (Alexander Willaume) returns to find the entire team is either dead or missing. A killer is on the loose and Annika (Laura Bach), Johan’s wife, is missing. If he wants to find her alive, he will have to trust Maggie (Katharine O’Donnell), the young doctor who is traumatized and apparently the sole survivor of the group.
And the shows were shown as back and forth, with one time it shows the time when the winter team, known as the Winterers, had to continue the research in the most freezing and catastrophe place on the Earth, and the next time it shows how the summer team had entered the Polaris VI Antarctic Research Station and face the enigma there.
Crucial breakthrough points
I tried as much as I could to keep this article spoiler-free. Hence, I wanted to share some captivating ideas I found in this series.
For the whole series, the audience has been shown a thrilling aura. Since the Winterer was working in a time of winter in the Antarctic, it was all dark with no sunshine and short eyesight. But in the summertime, the tension was never been gone too even though there was light everywhere.
Second, I like how they use various actors and actresses from different countries because the idea of the show is about international innovative research. It is important to use diversity in this story, with spoken language is not only English.
The next one is I want to talk about the research idea. I thought that it was a barbaric story about people in the South Pole surviving from cold winter and wild creatures or demons. But it turns out to bring a good and anticipated story about being on a competitive research team: the ambition, the desire to be the best, and is well known in the world until they could do anything to their friend or their college. Then the irony is they do their research to stop global warming, but the enigma has been untangled by global warming.
It seems like a bit fantasy at first but the more we realize what are we facing right now, the more this series gets realistic.
Personally, as a fan of Tomohisa Yamashita, this project is the leap project for him to be known internationally, and he deserves to have it because he is a superb actor and his English is fluent.
As for the cinematography, I think this series has nailed decently. Surely, to capture a dreadful atmosphere of desperation without lights is one thing. Then to change that into survival and chilling aura, the tension must be built to maintain the audience’s curiosity. And that is how the cinematography of this series has given to us.
So that is my short review about The Head. I hope you enjoy this short review and if you haven’t watched it yet, I hope this would make you to choose whether to watch it or not.
