Katla: Season 1 – Netflix Review

KATLA on Netflix is a Sci-Fi Thriller series from Iceland. From the very beginning, I was hooked on this series which reminded me of DARK. Yes, the German sci-fi mystery about time travel. This series isn’t about time travel in the same sense, though. Read our full Katla season 1 review here!

KATLA is a new Netflix sci-fi, thriller, mystery series from Iceland. For me, the series reminded me of the German megahit Dark which I absolutely adored. This new series doesn’t reach the same level of adoration from me, but I was definitely hooked from the beginning.

YOU MIGHT LIKE

Our season 1 review of the German sci-fi series Dark which is also a Netflix production >

Continue reading our Katla season 1 review below. We’ve watched the first four (out of eight) episodes of the season for this review.

The wonders of nature

As already mentioned, the entire style and vibe of Katla reminded me of Dark. However, while the Dark plot revolved around time travel and atomic waste, Katla is about a volcanic event and people who come back from the dead.

Or actually, sometimes the people aren’t even dead and they just show up as they were twenty years ago. It’s all very mysterious and mindboggling in all kinds of good ways.

The story plays out in the small town of Vik which has been all but abandoned. The volcano “Katla” has been erupting for a year and there is volcanic ash everywhere. Obviously, many people have opted to leave and the people left are, quite frankly, a bunch of sad people for the most part.

Mostly, they’re people who stay behind because they lost someone in the town and can’t move on.

Watch Katla season 1 on Netflix!

The new Icelandic Netflix series Katla was created by Sigurjón Kjartansson and Baltasar Kormákur. Both have worked on various TV series productions prior to this one. Including the crime mystery Trapped (created by Baltasar Kormákur) which has 28 episodes so far and an IMDb rating of 8.1 with almost 17,000 votes. It even screened at TIFF back in 2015.

We’ve already reviewed one Icelandic Netflix series here on Heaven of Horror. The first one was The Valhalla Murders which we loved. Both series have an impressive level of production quality and wonderful writing and acting. Also, both series have Björn Thors in the cast, so you’ll see at least one familiar face if you’ve watched The Valhalla Murders.

DON’T MISS OUT ON

Our review of the Icelandic crime thriller series The Valhalla Murders which is also on Netflix >

If you enjoy a good mystery with supernatural elements (bound in Mother Nature’s will), then definitely check out Katla on Netflix.

All eight episodes of KATLA season 1 is out on Netflix globally from June 17, 2021.

Details

Creators: Sigurjón Kjartansson, Baltasar Kormákur
Writers: Baltasar Kormákur, Sigurjón Kjartansson, Davíð Már Stefánsson, Lilja Sigurðardóttir
Directors: Baltasar Kormákur, Börkur Sigthorsson, Thora Hilmarsdóttir
Stars: Ingvar Sigurðsson (Thor), Guðrún Ýr Eyfjörð (Grima), Íris Tanja Flygenring (Asa), Björn Thors (Darri), Aliette Opheim (Gunhild), Haraldur Ari Stefánsson (Einar), Þorsteinn Bachmann (Gisli), Baltasar Breki Samper (Kjartan), Guðrún Gísladóttir (Bergrun), Helga Braga Jónsdóttir (Vigdis), Valter Skarsgård (Björn), Sólveig Arnarsdóttir (Magnea), Birgitta Birgisdóttir (Rakel).