42 Days of Darkness is a Chilean crime thriller series based on the search for the lady of the Montes household, who goes missing, causing ripples in the lives of those around her. It is now streaming on Netflix.
Story
The Montes family is an ordinary family of four who live in the affluent neighborhood of Altos del Lagos.
Their life is overturned when one seemingly regular day, Veronica, the lady of the house, fails to pick up her daughter, Kari from school. She opens the door to someone after which she follows them outside and is never seen again.
Mario Medina, her husband, receives an anonymous call threatening to hurt his wife. He claims to dismiss it as a hoax until he gets a call from his eldest daughter, Kari, who tells him that her mom didn’t pick her up from school.
He reports Veronica’s disappearance to the police who begin an investigation immediately. Veronica’s sister, Cecilia, employs Victor Pizarro to look into the case after being unsure of the police’s capabilities in handling the case.
With his team consisting of Nora and Braulio, Pizarro begins his own investigation of the disappearance. Drama ensues as the case captures the attention of the media after the family themselves become suspects causing theories to surface.
Performances
Despite not having a star-studded cast, the well-casted actors in 42 Days of Darkness impress the viewers with their talent.
Claudia di Girolamo nails the performance of Cecilia, Veronica’s sister, uncertain of who to trust and determined to find her sister.
Pablo Maccaya charms the audience with his portrayal of the eccentric Victor Pizarro, deeply involved in the investigation. Although not directly related to the case at first, his character gets intensely involved in the happenings of the case. Maccaya manages to depict his emotions brilliantly.
Positives
Loosely based on the true story of Viviana Haeger who vanished in 2010, the story manages to capture the audience’s attention by focusing on building interest in the characters.
Like most true-crime series, this show picks a horrifying yet captivating crime as the basis for the story. It succeeds in creating suspense in the thriller, inviting the viewers to solve the mystery using their own judgement.
They give each character a deep emotional investment in the case that aligns with their background well enough to make the audience build their own theories.
With cinematography that works wonders to increase appeal, the filming locations and costumes add to the show’s suspenseful tone and are enhanced by the haunting music used.
The powerful script is complemented by well-written characters with deep emotions that can be observed at every turn in the plotline.
Negatives
The series follows the disappearance of Victoria Montes and is based on a true story. However, it might fail to do justice to the actual case itself as, like most true crime shows, it dramatises the progression of the story and focuses more on the characters than the details of the case.
Verdict
An exciting addition to any true crime fan’s list, 42 Days of Darkness is an engaging series with a talented cast and an immersive story.
Rating: 4/5