On January 27, the series “Lockwood and company” was released on Netflix, which touches on the topic of something supernatural and sinister. It is an adaptation of the very successful and popular series of books of the same name (or rather, the first two) by the British writer Jonathan Stroud. In total, the series consists of five volumes, the first of which was published in 2013. In this review, we tell you what this agency is, and whether it is worth your attention.
Lockwood & Co
Genre teenage detective, thriller, supernatural
Directors William McGregor, Catherine Morshed, Joe Cornish
In roles Ruby Stokes, Cameron Chapman, Ali-Haji Heshmati, Ivanno Jeremiah, Luke Treadaway
Premiere Netflix
Graduation year 2023
Site IMDb
The action of the series, as in the original source, unfolds in an alternative London. Half a century ago, the country experienced an invasion of ghosts that pose a mortal danger to all living things. This event was aptly called a problem. Only teenagers can fight the otherworldly enemy, because they are the ones who have the ability to hear and see ghosts.
Thus, adults have created special agencies specializing in the fight against uninvited guests. A young girl, Lucy Carlisle, arrives in the capital of Great Britain in search of a new job. She has a unique gift of hearing ghosts, even the strongest ones.
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After a number of unsuccessful attempts to get a job in one of the agencies, the heroine gets an interview at Lockwood & Co., where she makes a good impression on its founder, Anthony Lockwood. This agency differs from others in that it is not managed by adults and has only three employees: Lockwood himself, his friend George, and now Lucy. Very dangerous adventures await them ahead.
Well, Netflix has replenished its video library with another young-adult content, from which you can feel a certain overdose. While social networks literally went crazy over the teenage hit “Wednesday”, the streaming giant was already preparing a new story about the young and gifted, which will claim the audience’s love.
The universe of the series has absorbed some archaicness inherent in the original source. Both telephone booths and rapiers, which have become more or less the main weapon against ghosts, appear here with equal success.
And although the events take place in a more or less modern city, local locations are filled with the atmosphere of the Victorian era. And with the arrival of the problem came the end of the development of technologies. That’s why there are no laptops, smartphones, or other gadgets that are common today. Instead of searching for the necessary information on the network, the heroes should visit the good old archive from time to time, and record voice messages on audio tapes.
In everything else, Lockwood and Company looks like a typical Netflix product aimed primarily at a teenage audience. At some point, the main threat for the main characters is not an otherworldly disaster, but adults. They often turn out to be negative characters. Good adults can be counted on the fingers of one hand.
There is a certain decline after the equator of the series. That is, the story begins as a rather exciting plot about the confrontation of children with ghosts. The first part has more dynamics, it is trivially more interesting and effective. In some scenes, the creators allow themselves to add quality horror elements, and they look cool.
But after people begin to be responsible for the villainy, the plot loses its initial ardor, sinks significantly and loses in terms of intrigue. This process takes place from the fifth episode and becomes inevitable. Boredom spoils the overall impression, watching the next adventures is no longer so interesting.
However, from the technical side, “Lockwood and Company” was performed at a very high level. Starting with the stylized opening credits, where the viewer can get acquainted with the background from newspaper headlines, and ending with the chemistry between the young actors. The special effects are also in perfect order, although the ghosts in the frame are unlikely to surprise anyone.
As a result, “Lockwood and Company” looks like a good project for teenagers, so it has every chance to become a new Netflix hit, make real stars out of young actors and conquer TikTok. Ruby Stokes’ resemblance to Florence Pugh will definitely be compared on social networks. Only in the eyes of the audience in 30 all these gains will look very dubious.
Pros:
cool content for teenagers, good works of young actors, decent special effects, really cool horror moments, good atmosphere, interesting musical accompaniment, competent combination of genres
Cons:
the general typicality of the plot, as well as a noticeable decrease in the pace in the second half, due to the change in the story, because this is an adaptation of the second book in the series
Conclusion:
“Lockwood and company” will obviously add to the series of successful teenage projects of Netflix. The series tries not to get lost in their background and even stand out somehow among them. This is a normal option from the “look and forget” category, but for a more mature and demanding audience, the entertainment is too simple and uncomplicated
