The Fades - Season 1 - DVD

Content: For most teenagers, pimples, heartbreak, annoying parents or mean classmates are the biggest problems, which at times seem like the end of the world. Misfit Paul (Iain de Caestecker) wishes those were his only problems. For the 17-year-old boy has a rare gift that makes him the last hope for the actual end of the world. What first begins as nocturnal visions soon becomes a terrifying reality for the teenager: Paul is one of the Angelics, a small group of people who can see the dead who have been denied ascension. Called Fades, these beings are trapped on Earth but can no longer interact with their environment. But now the Fades seem to have found a way to become human again, which could become a real danger to humanity. Angelic Neil Valentine (Johnny Harris), who becomes a mentor of sorts to Paul, quickly realizes that the boy has the potential to banish this danger forever. But as Paul's visions become increasingly apocalyptic and the arrival of a particularly powerful Fade looms, the fate of the world seems to be in the completely out of his depth hands of the unassuming student...

The Fades expertly mixes mystery, fantasy and horror elements with set pieces from contemporary youth series. The very gloomy beginning of the first episode is then lightened up by some humorous moments a short time later, especially the little arguments between Paul and his twin sister Anna (Lily Loveless), as well as Paul's buddy Mac (Daniel Kaluuya), who has the perfect movie/series quote ready for almost every situation. Thus, there are always direct or somewhat hidden references to other genre representatives, which significantly increases the entertainment value, especially for connoisseurs of the subject.

Inasmuch as series creator and writer Jack Thorne, who had already worked on the acclaimed youth series Skins, skillfully incorporates quite normal problems of teenagers into the fantasy plot, The Fades is somewhat reminiscent of series like Misfits. Here and there one also feels reminded of Buffy or the series Hex with Michael Fassbender, which has unfortunately not yet been released in this country. Despite these emerging comparisons, The Fades quickly manages to find its own tone. Elements of ghost myths, zombie movies and gritty end-time horror are skillfully blended into a coherent whole. Convincing actors and some surprising plot twists especially in the last two episodes increase the viewing pleasure as well as the absolutely decent effects considering the rather low budget.

Even though the end of the series is concluded in itself, there is a little cliffhanger that would have made you want a sequel. However, after much back and forth, it was recently confirmed that there will unfortunately not be a second season. Given the high quality of these six episodes, that's a real shame - especially considering how many significantly weaker series are easily renewed year after year. So viewers will have to make do with these six episodes. But since these have been staged in such an exciting and entertaining way, genre fans should not let the not fully completed ending keep them from picking this one up. Because The Fades is a really good fantasy horror series, which should please not only, but especially the young target audience between 16 and 25. Recommendable!!!

Picture + Sound: The image of the DVD is clean and has a decent overall sharpness, whose positive impression is marred only in the dark scenes a little. The reduced, sometimes a little undercooled color scheme provides a coherent atmosphere, which is especially good in the apocalyptic visions, by which Paul is repeatedly haunted. The sound is in 2.0 stereo, which is perfectly adequate for the rather dialogue-heavy scenes. With the occasional audible sound effects, a 5.1 surround mix would certainly have been more effective. But even if the full potential is not exploited here, the pleasure of the series is only marginally diminished by it. Good!

Extras: There is plenty of bonus material worth discovering on the third DVD. It starts with twelve minutes of extra scenes to the individual episodes. These are a few amusing moments between Paul and Mac in a diner. These scenes are mainly for the amusement of the viewers and have little to do with the actual episodes. It continues with Mac explains, some short clips (altogether 6 min.), in which Mac explains important secrets of the series.

To this still the point Behind the Scenes joins, where the viewer finds two interviews and 6 mini Dokus to different aspects of the series (approx. 22 min.). Finally, the DVD has 12 minutes of cut scenes with explanatory introduction, as well as 3 minutes of amusing outtakes to offer.

ACHTUNG: All extras are in English original version without subtitles!

Conclusion: The Fades is an exciting and superbly directed blend of mystery, fantasy and horror. In six entertaining episodes, it tells an apocalyptic story cleverly interspersed with ordinary teenage problems. With some surprising twists and an increasingly dark undertone, the series knows perfectly how to captivate until the finale. And since the DVD box not only has a good technical realization, but also some bonus material (without subtitles), there's really no reason for genre fans not to pick this one up. Recommendable

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp