The Third Day – HBO Review (4/5)

THE THIRD DAY is a new HBO mini-series. It’s a thriller-mystery that also includes quite a bit of horror as the story progresses. Read our full The Third Day review here!

THE THIRD DAY is a new HBO mini-series. It’s a thriller-mystery that also includes quite a bit of horror as the story progresses. It’s bound to get lots of buzz as soon as it begins.

However, the story does take a few episodes to really get into.

Continue reading our The Third Day review below.

Eerie and creepy mind games

The Third Day is best described as a creepy psychological thriller with eerie and very distinct horror elements. The first episode will probably leave you pretty confused, but by the second episode, things really pick up. Not so much in terms of answers, but certainly in terms of horror.

Comparisons to The Wicker Man are obvious, but The Third Day is definitely its own story.

From the very beginning of this series, the story is all about the Jude Law character named Sam. And Jude Law (Contagion) does portray this troubled, hurting, and very confused character. Everything we experience, we see through his eyes. Since he tends to drink and get high, we see a lot of weird stuff.

Another key character is portrayed by Katherine Waterston of Alien: Covenant and the Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them franchise. This is perhaps my favorite Katherine Waterston character so far since it shows lots of charm, guts, and wittiness while also being quite vulnerable.

Episode 2 of The Third Day especially highlights the more vulnerable sides of her character.

In other key supporting roles are Emily Watson (Chernobyl), Paddy Considine (The Girl with All the Gifts, The Outsider), and Mark Lewis Jones (Apostle).

A mini-series in two parts

This mini-series is essentially divided into two parts. One segment (“Summer”) shows from the side of Jude Law’s character, which covers the first three episodes. The second part (“Winter”) is an outside look at the events, so it does really change style and tone from this point on.

The episodes also have very saying titles about the key plot element for each of them.

Summer:

“Friday – The Father” is episode 1

“Saturday – The Son” is episode 2

“Sunday – The Ghost” is episode 3

Winter:

“Monday – The Mother” is episode 4

“Tuesday – The Daughter” is episode 5

“Last Day – The Dark” is episode 6

Also, the lead character changes after three episodes. From episode 4, we experience the events through a woman portrayed by the always wonderful Naomie Harris (Moonlight, 28 Days Later).

Watch The Third Day on HBO

The Third Day is an HBO series which means you’ll get one episode at a time. In one way, it’s a damn shame, since this is definitely a binge-worthy series. And also, a story that would probably improve from being watched in one go. There is a lot to keep track of.

The first three episodes are directed by Marc Munden (Black Sails) with cinematographer Benjamin Kracun (Promising Young Woman). The final three are directed by Philippa Lowthorpe (The Crown) with cinematographer David Chizallet (Mustang).

The difference in style is obvious as is the overall tone. And it’s supposed to be. Both work perfectly for the intended purpose. Even if the sometimes very shaky camera of the first three episodes drives me crazy at times. On the other hand, the intense close-ups and differences in focus tend to work really well.

We’ve watched the first five (out of six!) episodes for this review and are very excited and intrigued about the final episode. This mini-series is well worth your time, but you will need to be patient for the story to unfold. Also, I adored Emily Watson as the always foul-mouthed and ball-busting Mrs. Martin. Simply brilliant!

The Third Day will premiere on HBO on Monday, September 14 at 9 p.m. EST and will be available to stream on HBO Max​. In the UK the series will start September 15, 2020, on Sky Atlantic.

Details

Creators: Felix Barrett, Dennis Kelly
Writer: Dennis Kelly
Directors: Marc Munden, Philippa Lowthorpe
Stars: Jude Law, Katherine Waterston, Paddy Considine, Emily Watson, Naomie Harris, John Dagleish, Nico Parker, Freya Allan