A serial killer, John Wakefield, murdered six individuals on Harper’s Island in 2003, with Abby’s mom being one of many victims. Severely traumatized by the incident and the reminiscence of the island in itself, Abby strikes away, solely to return seven years later for a marriage. Nevertheless, bother is already brewing: the parents aboard the ferry on the best way to the island are unaware that the bride’s cousin, Ben (Clint Carleton), has been tied to and dismembered on the ferry’s propeller (!), one of many company secretly has an inordinate sum of cash and a gun on their particular person, and the bride’s ex covertly arrives with the intention to interrupt off the wedding. One would suppose that issues couldn’t get extra ominous, however they do, because the groom’s uncle, Marty (Harry Hamlin), falls to his dying after somebody cuts a footbridge in half, making it very clear {that a} killer is on the free.
The kills had been typically creative and gory, continually pushing the boundaries of what was anticipated from a CBS present that aired on Sundays — I imply, at one level, a head spade mounted atop a chandelier drops down and pierces a personality’s cranium in a public setting, and plunges the island in chaos. There are “Noticed”-esque traps employed at sure junctures, resulting in extraordinarily bloody outcomes, and these deaths by no means really feel predictable, as each character is fleshed out with equal care and nuance, making it tough to mark anybody as “expendable.” There are clues strewn throughout the episodes that assist piece the puzzle collectively, however these reveals are measured sufficient to not be too blatant or obtuse, protecting the whodunnit guessing recreation alive each week when it aired.
After some extent, it turns into clear that the murders are about Abby, and that her connection to the island is a seminal a part of the killer’s motivations, including much more layers of trauma to her headspace, with the island already being submerged in grief and fully reduce off from the remainder of the world. Even when violent murders are usually not happening, the interpersonal dynamics among the many islanders are decidedly dramatic: secret liaisons, messy affairs, and unsavory secrets and techniques make it simpler to level fingers and shift blame, creating the right alternative for the killer to maneuver round, unscathed. Effectively, till they’re unmasked, after all.
Solely a choose few make it out alive in “Harper’s Island” — an expertise that’s meant to be savored and relished — as few horror anthologies have concluded on such a flawlessly bleak, cathartic word.
