The Longest Night (2022) focuses on the events that take place within a psychiatric correctional facility after a serial killer is arrested and transferred there to spend the night. The series is streaming on Netflix.
Story
Simón Lago is the serial killer known as ‘The Alligator’. He’s arrested and taken to the Baruca Psychiatric Correctional facility where he’s meant to stay the night and go before a judge the next day.
Hugo Roca is the director of this facility that serves as a hospital and a prison with two doctors and several guards. He has to go in on Christmas to handle Simón’s arrival but little does he know, all this was orchestrated.
Someone connected to Simón has Hugo’s eldest daughter kidnapped so that he’ll cooperate with them. Meanwhile, some influential people have hired a small group of mercenaries to storm the facility and get Simón out so that he doesn’t testify.
Chaos rains within the facility as inmates are set free and conflict arises between the people inside on what to do with Simón. Someone else has been pulling the strings and assisting Simón which makes life difficult for Hugo who just wants to see his daughter safe.
Performances
Alberto Ammann is at the forefront of the series as the conflicted director who has to choose between his daughter’s life or the safety of the inmates under his care. Ammann does a decent job without really shining in what could have been a great character.
Luis Callejo is a sociopathic killer who manipulates every one around him and has no real emotion. Callejo pulls off the cold demeanour but doesn’t come across as menacing enough and yet seems too powerful opposite Ammann’s Hugo.
Daniel Albaladejo plays Cherokee, one of the key inmates inside the facility and he’s one of the more colourful characters on display. He should play an important role in the story going forward and could just earn himself the love of the audience.
The rest of the cast supports the series in the best way that they can although they don’t get enough time to really showcase all the sides of their characters.
Positives
The story has a good mysterious element to it that leaves the audience wondering where the next curveball is going to be thrown from. It’s one of the few high points in the series.
There are several characters whose motivations and stories can be explored if more time is devoted going forward. The concept of revealing a different character’s past in each episode is a device they can stick to.
Negatives
Despite having sufficient intrigue and disorder, at no point does the series have you at the edge of your seat or chewing on fingernails. The pace of the episodes does not move adequately.
In fact, adding another 2 episodes and maybe exploring certain plotlines could have been better. At the moment it feels a bit rushed with much held back for the following season.
The director hasn’t been able to bring out the performances from his cast that are required for a series of high calibre. They have definitely made the effort but struggle to surpass the threshold.
Verdict
The Longest Night (2022) is a mini-series that has an interesting story on paper but struggles upon execution. There are many promising aspects that may be improved upon in upcoming seasons but as it stands, this series can only be considered bang average.
Rating: 2.5/5
Also Read: The Longest Night (2022) ending explained: Does Hugo hand over Simón?