Season 1 - 6 episodes (2017)
Developed by: Aaron Mahnke, Gale Anne Hurd, Ben Silverman, Howard Owens
Starring: Aaron Mahnke, Colm Feore, Adam Goldberg
Rated: TV-MA
Plot
Inspired by the Aaron Mahnke's podcast, this series uncovers the real-life events that spawned our darkest nightmares. Blending dramatic scenes, animation, archive, and narration, Lore reveals how our horror legends are rooted in truth.
Verdict
The first episode just didn't work. It seemed like animation and silent acting were added to a podcast episode. Subsequent episodes did get better, embracing the visual medium and decreasing the amount of narration. Like the podcast, it just didn't hook me. The stories are interesting and horrifying, but I don't feel compelled to keep watching. It's a ghost story meant to horrify or scare. It's great as an audio story, but the translation to video doesn't quite make the leap.
It depends.
Review
I listened to the podcast when it first came out, but got bored and quit. The stories are interesting, but not enough for me to continue listening. I feel the same about the series, though many people do love the podcast.
The first episode was very much a podcast with animation. It just wasn't using the full medium of television. The first episode made it seems like Manhke would be the only voice. I wold have rather just listened instead of watching. You don't need to see anything as the narration conveys everything. It started as animation before transitioning into the main story that is live action though devoid of dialog, favoring narration. The two unrelated stories seemed a bit odd. I suppose the first episode was trying to do a little bit of everything to hook you. It would have been better served to focus on just one story and making it good. The story occurs before medicine, where superstition was used as a cure. The first episode went on a bit long, losing punch with frequent unrelated diatribes about the time, culture, and medicine. It robbed the story of momentum, thought it does provide context. I did like the ending of episode one, as far as what classic horror stories it later spawned, but it was a journey getting there. We're in a medium that doesn't have to hit a time mark. This should have been twenty minutes.
I liked the subsequent episodes much more. It was more focused with the second episode featuring a doctor who popularized the lobotomy. That's horrifying in it's own right. The narration is minimized and the story is primarily told through what's happening on screen. The second episode made it seem like the first was a rough draft.
The third episode was on par with the second. A man believes his wife is a changeling.
I made it through three of the six episodes. While I would describe the first episode as bad, the second and third were much better. My problem might just be the narration, Mahnke has a certain cadence. Maybe that's what turned me off the podcast, and also leads to my disinterest of this series despite my fondness for anthology series. I thought Room 104 was great, check out my review, but this just didn't connect with me.
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