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Yellowjackets (2021)

2021 · Drama,Horror,Mystery · survival-horror, coming-of-age, crime-psychological-profiler

Yellowjackets poster

Yellowjackets is a US prestige drama built around a dual-timeline mystery: in 1996, a teenage girls' soccer team survives a plane crash in remote wilderness and descends into something dark and ritualistic; in the present day, the adult survivors are haunted by what they did to make it out. Equal parts psychological horror, survival thriller, and trauma drama, it draws on Lord of the Flies energy while grounding the horror in specific, well-acted female characters. Season 1 is widely praised as gripping and original; Seasons 2 and 3 attract increasing criticism for narrative wheel-spinning and character inconsistency. Best suited for viewers who enjoy slow-burn mystery, ensemble casts, and shows willing to sit in moral ambiguity.

From the reviewers

The acting is what really carries the show though. Melanie Lynskey deserves every bit of praise that she's been getting for her role. She's so good that it's the type of performance that's going to lead to even bigger things for her.
All the twists and turns will keep on the edge of your seat every episode to the point it becomes addicting.
Part survival epic, part psychological horror and part coming-of-age drama. Its about not dealing with your past and what happens years later when it comes back to haunt you.
What it does most successfully (possibly better than any other similar show), is the deep study of complex decades-long trauma. I love how the intense trauma experienced by the teenage characters is so finely woven into the present day (25 years later) psyche of their adult versions.
The tone is also very varied: from dark comedy to very heavy drama and everything in between, with ample genre mixing (horror, supernatural, realism, coming-of-age, psychological drama).

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