Netflix’s ‘Lockwood and Co.’ review: A YA ghost-hunting mystery made for deep, dark winter

If you’re in the northern hemisphere, we know that going out seems like a silly errand, and when more glamorous activities sink our teeth into spooky mystery, it’s boring and chilling. I’m at that time of the year on a cold night. , and revenge. YA fiction, of course, provides.

Based on Jonathan Stroud’s young adult paranormal novels, Netflix’s Lockwood and CompanyBringing the ghostly haunted energy teens need in the deep, dark winters. attack the block Director Joe Cornish. As seen in his favorite alien invasion, Cornish’s series once again puts young people at the forefront of threats and the best chance to fight malevolent forces.

Lockwood and Company It’s a mix of ghostbusting and some murder mysteries.

Netflix builds on the idea that teens love spooky mysteries and boasts a recent string of YA detective releases: Irregulars Also Enola Holmes.

Thanks to Nancy Drew, The Hardy Boys and the Scooby-Doo Gang for their long-loved mystery-solving, Lockwood and Company Take part in a series of releases that see teens thrown into adult investigative work.

Set in a world ravaged by “The Problem”, a global crisis in which ghosts can (and do) kill people with just a touch. Lockwood and CompanyYoung psychic investigator Anthony Lockwood (Cameron Chapman) runs a wraith-hunting agency in London and fights ghosts with his trusted sidekick George Karim (Ali Haji Heshmati). .

When Lucy Carlisle (Ruby Stokes), a teen with supernatural powers, joins a small agency, the three work together to take down Scooby-Doo.(opens in new window)However, there are several skeletons in Lockwood’s closet (literally, perhaps), and it’s possible that Lucy’s powers are greater than any of them can handle.

But why all ghosts? The show’s context is spelled out in the opening credits through news headlines. Millions of deaths caused by ghosts, curfews enacted, ‘economic shocks’ ensue, materials containing iron, silver and salt deemed ‘our best way’ . defense. Technology stocks have plummeted and electronics have become obsolete. Meanwhile, young people have been found to be more susceptible to ghosts than adults, and specialized And it’s this world that Cornish enjoys enough time to build.

Lockwood and Company Build a world that ghost hunters really need.

Lockwood and Company We have an overarching job of building a world amidst the global ghost crisis.Set in England, the series draws on Britain’s long history of haunted places, pub upper floors, country castles and spider-webbed mansions in the more sophisticated parts of town. something Irregulars The real streets of London are filled with grisly true stories of murder and death, and it has long been fascinating for authors to spin many ghostly tales.

A series rather than a movie, Cornish goes into more detail, including what happens at the Ghost Hunting Training Academy, the different ghost types, the gadgets and tools needed to fight ghosts, and why certain industries like iron flourished. You can spend some time on the details, and which ghost hunting agencies are top tier.

But Cornish is also able to layer Lockwood, Lucy, and George’s investigations and entangle them with other mysteries that at first seem unrelated. witcher side quest.

Despite being at the forefront of fighting the problem, young people are constantly dismissed by the adults in the series as “little shit” and refusing to pay any respect. , says Sanders, owner of a surly grave-digging company. But young people, despite being overseen by the infiltrated government’s Department of Psychiatric Research and Control (DEPRAC), which is actually led by Inspector Barnes (Ivanno Jeremiah), a rational adult, are extremely shy about their currency. I am aware of

“Honestly, adults are useless anyway,” Lucy tells adult clients.

But as a director, Cornish absolutely believes young people are well-prepared to fight their impending doom. Children in this reality are forced to own businesses, act as true warriors, interrogate adult criminal suspects, and perhaps reach adulthood sooner than they should. It’s in their language, their manners and their oddly Victorian interior decoration. They use archaic techniques to study evidence and house ghostly items in glass museum cases. Newspapers are used for job ads instead of websites, everyone uses his 80s-style landline phone instead of a smartphone, and VHS tapes are actually still useful.

Lockwood and Company However, it does more than plunge audiences into post-pandemic realities without dragging out systemic inequalities.Like a fellow teenage British detective story Irregulars When Enola Holmesthe series holds class examination at its core, with privilege and power in hand, even as the world is overrun by murderous ghosts (it never ends). Outcasts, rogues and relic hunters like the river’s finest Flow Bones (a true highlight played by Haley Konadu) rake up life in the city.

“We all make a living by dealing with the dead,” says Flo. A slave to a system run by the rich. At least I’m free ”

Cemeteries are an industry in their own right, with newly created jobs including Nightwatch (“lowest wages, lowest life expectancy in the business”) developed to keep visitors on the ground, and ghosts Tuned and sensitive people are “too scary to pick up.” No, but perhaps their owners have more coins to drop.

Lockwood and Company Brings the core trio of ghost hunting to life.

in the center of Lockwood and Company is a titular agency whose only employees are eponymous owner Anthony Lockwood (Cameron Chapman), trusted 2IC George Karim (Ali Haji Heshmati), and newcomer Lucy Carlisle (Ruby Stokes). There’s a touch of Harry/Hermione/Ron energy in our core trio. In particular, there’s the burgeoning chemistry between Lucy and Lockwood and George’s claim to third his wheel. Within the creaky walls of the agency, they happily ghostbust their roommates and revel in all the awkwardness that comes with sharing a home. Doodle ideas on tea or beer bottles and tablecloths.

Constantly haunted by ghosts in her past and in her head, Lucy is a complicated protagonist and one of the best. Ghost ~ Whispering from Heaven(opens in new window) of the crew, and Stokes gives her a no-nonsense attitude to gorgeous stings while allowing her to battle her developmental powers. Joining the tradition of television media, taking on the constant challenging task of a psychic who convinces audiences that literally everything is in their heads Charmed Patricia Arquette’s Alison DuBois ModerateIt’s no easy task, but Stokes is confident about it, aided by Cornish’s smart noise-cancelling style of sound design. Last of Us“Listening Mode”.

George is Lockwood’s Dr. Watson, his Rupert Giles, the group’s genius scholar. Playing with nerdy deadpan delights by Hadji-Heshmati, George guesses the solution with his Jonathan Creek energy authentic. Meanwhile, their boss Lockwood, played by Chapman as a grown-up entrepreneur in a teenager’s body, is an old rich mysterious young man, despite his attempts to appear otherwise. I am practically a serf. Lockwood steers the series to rely on an age-old emotional investment in its viewers. But to keep things interesting, the series plays Mr. Rochester’s cards, including the forbidden locked door on the second floor of Lockwood.

Lockwood and Company Seemingly positioned for a very specific target age demographic, it reclaims the teen-and-up terrifying space in a way that would please Wednesday Addams. One thing I would like to note is that Lockwood and Company It’s pretty intense for a teenager, as it’s haunted by many dark causes of death. Lockwood and Company It’s the kind of show that even useless adults can enjoy. A ghost-hunting detective story involving supernatural powers and personal secrets to be revealed. Grab a big cup of tea and a blanket and settle in.

Lockwood and Company Streaming on Netflix from January 27th.(opens in new window)(opens in new tab)