From the wonderful Orange is the New Black to the sensational Stranger Things, everyone knows Netflix originals tend to be the creme de la creme of the television world.
What they’re generally not is horrific and yet The Sinner – the newest crime-drama from Netflix – has left those watching so frightened, they’re sleeping with the lights on.
The Sinner tells the story of Cora Tannetti, portrayed by Jesica Biel, a seemingly normal woman who, while on a family trip to the beach, brutally stabs a man to death.
What triggered her violent outburst? Well nobody really knows but Detective Harry Ambrose, (Bill Pullman), is going to do his utmost to work out what brought on Cora’s vicious attack.
The show then follows Harry’s attempts to get to the bottom of Cora’s murky past and the community’s reaction to such a violent and startling murder.
Check out the trailer below:
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Ever since it aired in the US, (before coming to Netflix), fans have been raving about the show:
The Sinner is an adaption of the 1999 novel of the same name by German crime writer, Petra Hammesfahr.
Critic Brian Tallerico, writing for website Roger Ebert, said of the show:
At the beginning of every summer, outlets like Entertainment Weekly try to offer a selection of books that fall under the often-escapist banner of ‘Beach Reads’.
You know the kind of book they mean — something you buy in an airport gift shop and leave in the cabana before you head back to reality.
They’re often critically derided but harder to pull off successfully than they’re given credit for. They require a delicate balance of plot and character, with twists that keep the pages turning and people you want to find out more about.
They’re often easy to read in a day or two because you can’t put them down. If I had all eight episodes of The Sinner, I would have watched them consecutively.
It’s the television version of a page-turner, as you inch forward in your seat, waiting to see where it goes next.
Critics have been raving about The Sinner as well, with the show boasting an impressive 94 per cent on Rotten Tomatoes.
Stuart Heritage, of The Guardian, called it a mystery that’s satisfying and horrible while Time magazine described it as ‘strikingly filmed, gratifyingly smarter than it needs to be’.
Not everyone’s convinced though, Kelly Lawler of USA Today thought the show’s central mystery wasn’t quite enough to sustain a full series.
The Sinner is available on Netflix now.
More of a concept than a journalist, Tom Percival was forged in the bowels of Salford University from which he emerged grasping a Masters in journalism.
Since then his rise has been described by himself as ‘meteoric’ rising to the esteemed rank of Social Editor at UNILAD as well as working at the BBC, Manchester Evening News, and ITV.
He credits his success to three core techniques, name repetition, personality mirroring, and never breaking off a handshake.