REVIEW #234 Servant (Season 3)

Servant follows a grieving couple who tragically lost their new born baby, the loss created a rift in their marriage but opens the door to a mysterious force to enter their lives.

Servant season 3 really is trademark M. Night Shyamalan, with a constant sense of dread that ultimately doesn’t come to fruition until the finale episode. The latest season really focuses on Leanne and her state of mind after the events of season 2 and although it had its slow moments, it certainly highlighted her power. The writing for her character was great and I particularly enjoyed how, by the final episode, she becomes a version of the cult leader that she was so afraid of. The entire cast continue to perform brilliantly, they all help create a sense of unstable chaos in the Turner household and that really unnerves the audience. I always felt uncomfortable and on the edge of my seat, waiting for the final penny to drop and that is definitely intentional from Shyamalan who is famous for that in his projects. He insinuates but never explains and we all feel uneasy when witnessing the unexplainable. He also utilised a magnificent score from Trevor Gureckis, which really complimented each episode and was vital in making each scene really affect the viewer. 

The cinematography is never too flashy, it’s kept small in scale and often confined to the Turner household, only venturing outside a few times in a season. I think that smaller scale almost feels claustrophobic at times and it’s like we are witnessing the characters being effected by this in real time. They all end up getting in each others way, playing on one and others last nerve and clashing heavily, especially in this latest season because Julian pretty much moves into the house as well. But it is evident that each frame serves a purpose, a combination of angles, lighting and camera movement all work towards highlighting a characters frame of mine and then the scariness follows almost automatically thereafter. As I mentioned earlier, the season does start quite slowly but it really hits its stride in the middle and finishes really well. It’s made me incredibly excited for the final season that’s out this week and I can’t wait to see how it all ends! I recommend the show to anyone who likes horror inspired thrillers and I say that because it certainly wouldn’t fit directly into the horror genre but it’s a really nice blend of the two. 

Overall (8.5/10)

Thanks for reading.

Callan