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[Nemesis_]

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SEASON PREMIERE:
Friday April 19th on Netflix.
The entire season of Hemlock Grove will be thirteen episodes with all of them available on Netflix Instant Watch on April 19th

• The series is being executively produced by Eli Roth (who will also be directing the pilot).
• It is primarily being developed by Brian McGreevy (author of the original novel) and Lee Shipman.
• Deran Sarafian (LOST, Nikita, Fringe, House MD) has directed six of the episodes.
• The budget is estimated to be at approximately $40 million. For comparison, Walking Dead's second season had a $36.4 million budget.
• The score is composed by Nathan Barr, who has previously worked on Cabin Fever, Hostel, Grindhouse and True Blood.

Hemlock Grove is based on the 2012 novel by Brian McGreevy. Two sequels to the novels are already in production. Roth claims the TV series is like "Twin Peaks with a monstrous twist" (though I personally wouldn't take this comparison too seriously)

Below is the book synopsis

The body of a young girl is found mangled and murdered in the woods of Hemlock Grove, Pennsylvania, in the shadow of the abandoned Godfrey Steel mill. A manhunt ensues—though the authorities aren’t sure if it’s a man they should be looking for.

Some suspect an escapee from the White Tower, a foreboding biotech facility owned by the Godfrey family—their personal fortune and the local economy having moved on from Pittsburgh steel—where, if rumors are true, biological experiments of the most unethical kind take place. Others turn to Peter Rumancek, a Gypsy trailer-trash kid who has told impressionable high school classmates that he’s a werewolf. Or perhaps it’s Roman, the son of the late JR Godfrey, who rules the adolescent social scene with the casual arrogance of a cold-blooded aristocrat, his superior status unquestioned despite his decidedly freakish sister, Shelley, whose monstrous medical conditions belie a sweet intelligence, and his otherworldly control freak of a mother, Olivia.

REGARDING SPOILERS

• Spoilers to be tagged during the first month of availability.
• Be sure to label whichever episode you are talking about.
• e.g. Ep 3:
  Spoiler

  I can't believe Famke Janssen's character was a post-op transsexual all along
• This means you can safely browse the thread spoiler free until May 19th, 2013.

• Famke Janssen (Goldeneye, X-Men, Nip/TucK)
  as Olivia Godfrey - Matriarch of the Godfrey family and mother to Shelley and Roman.
  ---
• Bill Skarsgård (Simple Simon, Behind Blue Skies)
  as Roman Godfrey - The heir of the Godfrey estate.
  ---
• Landon Liboiron (Degrassi: TNG, Terra Nova)
  as Peter Rumancek - A trailer park gypsy boy rumoured to be a werewolf by the townspeople

• Penelope Mitchell (6 Plots, The Joe Manifesto, Offspring)
  as Letha Godfrey - A rich, crazy cousin to the Godfrey family who is obsessed with the occult and supernatural.
  ---
• Lili Taylor (Six Feet Under, The Haunting, High Fidelity)
  as Lynda Rumancek - The transient mother of Peter
  ---
• Dougray Scott (Desperate Housewives, Mission Impossible 2, Enigma)
  as Dr. Norman Godfrey - Down to earth uncle of Roman and Shelley whose brother married Olivia and has since passed. He often clashes with his sister-in-law, Olivia, for their differences in lifestyles

• Freya Tingley (X, Cloudstreet)
  as Christina Wendall - A young and aspiring writer who has relocated to Hemlock Grove.
  ---
• Kandyse McClure (Battlestar Galactica, Carrie, Children of the Corn)
  as Dr. Chausser - A self destructive animal behaviourist.
  ---
• Aaron Douglas (Battlestar Galactica, White Noise)
  as Aaron Douglas - The sheriff of the town investigating the murder of the young girl in Hemlock Grove

Don Francks, Ron Mustaga and Kaniehtiio Horn will also appear in recurring roles.

Will be updated with blurbs and such when they are available, for now everything we know is below. If it is at all possible, I might even try to get ratings in here like I did for my AHS Asylum topic.

#1 Jellyfish in the Sky
#2 The Angel
#3 The Order of the Dragon
#4 In Poor Taste
#5 Hello Handsome
#6 The Crucible
#7 Measure of Disorder
#8 Catabasis
#9 Peter's Hierachy of Shit He Can Live Without
#10 God Doesn't Want You to Be Happy, He Wants You to Be Strong
#11 The Price
#12 Children of the Night
#13 Forever Howl​

TRAILERS & VIDEO

TRAILERS​

• Debut Trailer
• Transformation Trailer
• Gypsy Teaser
• Suspects Teaser
• Grisly Teaser
• Blood Angel Teaser
• IGN Exclusive Trailer
  
  INTERVIEWS​
  [*]Interview with Eli Roth & Famke Janssen
  [*]WonderCon Roundtable with Dougray Scott & Famke Janssen
  [*]WonderCon Roundtable with Penelope Mitchell & Bill Skarsgard
  [*]Bill Skarsgard WonderCon Interview
  [*]Kandyse McClure WonderCon Interview
  [*]Dougray Scott & Famke Janssen WonderCon Interview
  [*]Freya Tingley WonderCon Interview
  [*]Penelope Mitchell WonderCon Interview
  [*]Landon Liboiron WonderCon Interview
  [*]Eli Roth WonderCon Interview​

PROMOTIONAL POSTERS / PUBLICITY SHOTS

PROMOTIONAL SCREENS

People Weekly

The acting is good, especially Bill Skarskgard and Landon Liboiron as two teens who function as Hemlock Grove's hardy Boys. I like the show's languid, dreamlike beauty, but horror fans may be less patient. Imagine True Blood directed by Sofia Coppola.

Hollywood Reporter

Hemlock is stiff where it needs to be fluid in its creative fearlessness. There’s a disconnect to it that is jarring -- as if it was once a puzzle that got dropped on the floor. But the missing pieces don’t create a mystery about their absence. Instead the show just feels haphazardly glued together.

Post Gazette

Anyone expecting sparkling vamps or loyal, lovesick weres had better change the channel, quickly. Based on Pittsburgh native Brian McGreevy's goth horror novel of the same name, "Hemlock Grove" is a twisting, gruesome, often darkly funny journey.

 

[ahoyhoy]

I'll probably watch after enjoying House of Cards (and waiting on Arrested Development), but I'm not sure it'll end up being my cup of tea.

Hopefully it doesn't screen so poor as to discourage Netflix from doing future series.

 

[GK86]

Looking forward to it. Going in with the modest expectations. Has anyone read the books?

Kudos on a nice OP.

 

[Dennis]

Famke Janssen is just too hot.

 

[Nemesis_]

Famke Janssen is just too hot.

Only reason I am going to persevere with it.

I tried to grab a few promo shots with all of the cast but almost all of them are of her. I assume she is going to feature a lot in the series.

 

[NotTheGuyYouKill]

I'll check it out, but I'm keeping my expectations low after the reviews I read in the other thread.

 

[Tokubetsu]

Really fucking excited for this. Watching for Femke Jansen and ultra violence, will be staying for both.

 

[Nemesis_]

I'll check it out, but I'm keeping my expectations low after the reviews I read in the other thread.

Which reviews? I tried to include everything to be transparent but most of the quotes appeared to come from that same Hollywood Reporter review

 

[NotTheGuyYouKill]

Which reviews? I tried to include everything to be transparent but most of the quotes appeared to come from that same Hollywood Reporter review

The ones Cornballer posted. At least, I think it was him

 

[RatskyWatsky]

My favorite quote from Tim Goodman's review:

Outside of Liboiron and probably young Skarsgard, this is an effort that likely won’t pop up on a lot of résumés. Hemlock isn’t scary. It isn’t creepy. It barely makes sense, much less sense you want to decode. The mutant giant does a voiceover that sounds like it’s from an elementary school play. There’s a girl who maybe got pregnant by a spooky angel. Roman asks whether it was a real angel. The girl says, “How do you explain dancing to a person who has no legs?” And Roman says, “I have legs that won’t quit.”

Is there a bong big enough for this show?

If the entire show is on this level, I think we're in for a treat!

 

[Bladenic]

Will marathon next weekend probably.

 

[Macmanus]

Hemlock Grove is based on the 2012 novel by Brian McGreevy. Two sequels to the novels are already in production. Roth claims the TV series is like "Twin Peaks with a monstrous twist" (though I personally wouldn't take this comparison too seriously)

Unless I'm mistaken, it is literally the exact same plot - at least from this description:

A teenage girl is brutally murdered, sparking a hunt for her killer. But in a town where everyone hides a secret, will they find the monster among them?

Edit: I read more about it and apparently its a love story featuring werewolves or something. Twin Peaks meets Twilight. This sounds vile.

 

[Discotheque]

yes, i don't like eli roth at all but this sounds like it will be fun.

also dee and chief from bsg! and bad guy from mi2

 

[Funky Papa]

I'm not a big fan of Roth (quite the contrary, actually) but I need something vaguely sci-fi and truculent, not to mention that Famke is like catnip to me.

 

[Nemesis_]

Twin Peaks meets Twilight. This sounds vile.

Let me just hope that they mean "Romeo + Juliet" esque romances rather than Twilight.

>______________>

I never saw that comparison.

 

[Cornballer]

The only other review I've seen so far is this one:

- Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Eye-popping effects, solid mystery make for entertaining 'Hemlock Grove'

Anyone expecting sparkling vamps or loyal, lovesick weres had better change the channel, quickly. Based on Pittsburgh native Brian McGreevy's goth horror novel of the same name, "Hemlock Grove" is a twisting, gruesome, often darkly funny journey.

There's a fair amount of commentary coming out of the MipTV conference, too.

 

[Emerson]

Well this looks like it'll be a letdown after House of Cards.

 

[Imm0rt4l]

I don't care for Eli Roth at all, but I hope this is good.

 

[Dali]

I don't understand the way Netflix does their series releases. I know all their other stuff is all at once a season at a time, but for a new series no one has seen it kind of makes all the work fizzle really quickly. All at once makes it hard to build a frothing viewership eager to see the next episode. It prevents talk and speculation in the week-long wait for the next episode. It prevents cliffhangers from one episode to the next. It makes it a flash in the pan basically. You're not seeing or hearing people talk about it every week so the buzz dies quick considering the investment.

 

[Heart Attack]

Will watch for Famke Janssen.

 

[Nemesis_]

I don't understand the way Netflix does their series releases. I know all their other stuff is all at once a season at a time, but for a new series no one has seen it kind of makes all the work fizzle really quickly. All at once makes it hard to build a frothing viewership eager to see the next episode. It prevents talk and speculation in the week-long wait for the next episode. It prevents cliffhangers from one episode to the next. It makes it a flash in the pan basically. You're not seeing or hearing people talk about it every week so the buzz dies quick considering the investment.

House of Cards had a lot of buzz, though not necessarily the buzz you describe.

It confuses me too. :/

 

[Bladenic]

I don't understand the way Netflix does their series releases. I know all their other stuff is all at once a season at a time, but for a new series no one has seen it kind of makes all the work fizzle really quickly. All at once makes it hard to build a frothing viewership eager to see the next episode. It prevents talk and speculation in the week-long wait for the next episode. It prevents cliffhangers from one episode to the next. It makes it a flash in the pan basically. You're not seeing or hearing people talk about it every week so the buzz dies quick considering the investment.

I kind of agree, but House of Cards became Netflix's most watched series, so their method seemed to work. I doubt Hemlock Grove will be anywhere near as popular or well-received though.

 

[Stet]

Eli Roth is acclaimed?

 

[GK86]

I don't understand the way Netflix does their series releases. I know all their other stuff is all at once a season at a time, but for a new series no one has seen it kind of makes all the work fizzle really quickly. All at once makes it hard to build a frothing viewership eager to see the next episode. It prevents talk and speculation in the week-long wait for the next episode. It prevents cliffhangers from one episode to the next. It makes it a flash in the pan basically. You're not seeing or hearing people talk about it every week so the buzz dies quick considering the investment.

That is a bad thing? The fact that I don't have to sit through a stupid ass cliffhanger, for the sake of pimping ratings/the next episode, is glorious. And the fact that I don't have to wait a week, or a mid-season break, is amazing. If Hemlock Grove(or House of Cards, heck even Arrested Development) were on tv, I wouldn't be interested at all.

For those reasons I don't watch The Walking Dead/Breaking Bad as it airs, I wait for it to hit Netflix, and then marathon. Even though I love those shows.

 

[Nemesis_]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVjmXNGkZng

About 1:00 into this interview, Roth talks about some of the benefits of the Netflix format. I kind of understand what he is saying - he doesn't have to throw in a contrived twist / plot point in every episode JUST COS is his general gist.

Famke is so great ;_; But she looks tense as fuck

 

[Salsa]

guess i'll give it a watch but man

this poster has to be a joke

specially compared to the other one

 

[Napoleonthechimp]

guess i'll give it a watch but man

this poster has to be a joke

specially compared to the other one

Eli Roth probably had a hand in that one himself.

 

[Nemesis_]

It was the original one that was first revealed about three months ago, I guess it was just a placeholder

 

[faceless007]

That lead guy looks so much like Tim Gutterson from Justified.

For the curious, here's a werewolf transformation scene. I like the concept but the execution and editing is pretty bad.

 

[Fantastical]

I was really hoping this would be good. We'll see, but I'm not hopeful after the early impressions.

 

[Napoleonthechimp]

That lead guy looks so much like Tim Gutterson from Justified.

For the curious, here's a werewolf transformation scene. I like the concept but the execution and editing is pretty bad.

I've got to lol at that actor's terrible reaction to a man's eyes falling out and his body literally tearing itself apart. His last line sums up my thoughts to the entire thing.

 

[Lactose_Intolerant]

Someone will get Guttersoned by the end of the 1st episode probably.

 

[msdstc]

Sounds heavily influenced by twin peaks... but not necassarily in a good way.

 

[markatisu]

I don't understand the way Netflix does their series releases. I know all their other stuff is all at once a season at a time, but for a new series no one has seen it kind of makes all the work fizzle really quickly. All at once makes it hard to build a frothing viewership eager to see the next episode. It prevents talk and speculation in the week-long wait for the next episode. It prevents cliffhangers from one episode to the next. It makes it a flash in the pan basically. You're not seeing or hearing people talk about it every week so the buzz dies quick considering the investment.

What is hard to understand, its unproven so you shit it all out and receive acclaim (as with House of Cards) then once there is a bar set and expectation you can adapt a more slow rollout of episodes to keep the month to month subs going. Also not sure why people are shitting on this show, HBO and Showtime had a bunch of failures before they go to the point where they have their Sopranos, Game of Thrones, and Dexters

Let me put it this way, if House of Cards stunk and you had to wait for future episodes what is the incentive in waiting? More people are likely to watch a bad show if its all available because at least they can see a resolution to the story. There are many horrible shows on network tv that develop fanbases and then go canceled, this is sorta the antidote to that problem

 

[Cornballer]

- Red Band trailer from Netflix (NSFW)

 

[B-Dex]

Famke looks stunning as usual.

 

[Tim the Wiz]

I don't understand the way Netflix does their series releases. I know all their other stuff is all at once a season at a time, but for a new series no one has seen it kind of makes all the work fizzle really quickly. All at once makes it hard to build a frothing viewership eager to see the next episode. It prevents talk and speculation in the week-long wait for the next episode. It prevents cliffhangers from one episode to the next. It makes it a flash in the pan basically. You're not seeing or hearing people talk about it every week so the buzz dies quick considering the investment.

Perhaps long-term viewership is more important than weekly buzz for them? House of Cards certainly seems to be proving them right. I know I encountered a number of my favourite shows (The Wire, The Shield, etc.) on DVD boxsets - and isn't that the quiet (and highly lucrative) majority of viewers? This is just the logical next step.

 

[wenis]

4/20 is gunna be pretty good... All day of this and other products

 

[smr00]

I don't understand the way Netflix does their series releases. I know all their other stuff is all at once a season at a time, but for a new series no one has seen it kind of makes all the work fizzle really quickly. All at once makes it hard to build a frothing viewership eager to see the next episode. It prevents talk and speculation in the week-long wait for the next episode. It prevents cliffhangers from one episode to the next. It makes it a flash in the pan basically. You're not seeing or hearing people talk about it every week so the buzz dies quick considering the investment.

I am glad Netflix does this.

It's 2013 not 1999. It's streaming not cable. They don't have to try and dominate certain days, get certain ratings. This is how TV should be. I don't know about you but i don't enjoy waiting 3 months for a tv show to finish, i end up just not watching 99% of shows until the season is over because i lose excitement and don't want to wait a week for a new episode.

 

[Cornballer]

- Sepinwall Review: Netflix tries horror with shaky 'Hemlock Grove'

It's a supernatural thriller larded with teen angst, which has value in the age of "Twilight" and "The Vampire Diaries." And it has a movie pedigree as well: Eli Roth is an executive producer and directed the pilot, and the cast includes Famke Janssen and Dougray Scott. But it's also a mess: a horror series with a weirdly slow build, a mix of campy performances and competent ones, and just enough intriguing ideas to make me wish the entire thing was a lot better than it is.

 

[Bladenic]

What time will they put the show up?

 

[Cornballer]

What time will they put the show up?

I was wondering the same thing. What time did House of Cards go up?

EDIT: Looks like House of Cards went up at 12am PT.

 

[Bladenic]

I was wondering the same thing. What time did House of Cards go up?

EDIT: Looks like House of Cards went up at 12am PT.

Yeah, expected the same here but nothing yet.

 

[Cornballer]

Yeah, expected the same here but nothing yet.

Got a couple hours to go and it should be up.

 

[Tokubetsu]

Staying for the gore. Definitely. That nail rip plus her selling those terror screams. Tokubetsu is all in. Some of the acting and cinematography is spotty though. Acting feels like it could be better if they had some better director/dp though. At least in this first ep.

 

[maxheadwound]

Might give this a go... looks interesting

 

[Tokubetsu]

Absolutely nothing about this show makes sense. Imagine if Twin Peaks was just batshit crazy constantly. 80% of the dialog barely even makes sense with context. I am loving it. Direction seems to have improved slightly outside of the first ep.

 

[smr00]

Absolutely nothing about this show makes sense. Imagine if Twin Peaks was just batshit crazy constantly. 80% of the dialog barely even makes sense with context. I am loving it. Direction seems to have improved slightly outside of the first ep.

On a Eli Roth gore scale of 1-10 what would you give it?

That's the biggest reason i am watching. I don't watch anything Eli Roth for the coherent dialogue.

 

[Tokubetsu]

On a Eli Roth gore scale of 1-10 what would you give it?

That's the biggest reason i am watching. I don't watch anything Eli Roth for the coherent dialogue.

It's a bit tame for Roth. Some spotty CGI usage but they're not afraid to go full practical for corpses etc. I'm only on ep four but so far they haven't delivered a lot of violence or action. Just corpses after the fact mainly but the first death had pretty good shock value. Not a lot was shown but what was, had good effect sfx and visual fx in consideration.

Right now it's definitely trying to build some kinda Twin Peaks atmosphere but with more of a physicla pay off (tits, corpses etc). Props for having the werewolf eat it's shed human skin after changing.

 

[The Last Wizard]

Enjoying it so far, but famke's accent is annoying.