TV Show Review

TV Review: HEMLOCK GROVE: Season 1, Episode 1: Jellyfish in the Sky

Bill Skarsgard Hemlock Grove Jellyfish in the Sky

Hemlock Grove Jellyfish in the Sky Review. Hemlock Grove: Season 1, Episode 1: Jellyfish in the Sky ushered in the fourth best horror TV show on the airwaves, behind The Walking Dead, Falling Skies, and American Horror Story. Like American Horror Story, Hemlock Grove is not afraid to take risks with its content or to exude its graphic nature. Unlike many of the recent horror films that I have seen, Jellyfish in the Sky achieved real terror through the performances of its actors

When Brooke Bluebell (Lorenza Izzo) was running from whatever was chasing her and subsequently hid, she completely sold her terror.

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The dark yet lit playground she ran across and the camera angle was also a nice touch by director Eli Roth.

The attack and disembowelment was surprising effective in the fact that they did not show either of them. It was a reactionary scene: Bluebell’s reaction to teeth ripping into her and the teacher (Jennifer Gibson) Bluebell was involved with hearing her getting torn apart but being powerless to do anything about it.

The eventual dead stare and jostling of Bluebell’s corpse as the teeth continued about their macabre business was magnificent, the lens trying to unnerve rather than gross out the viewer.

The Frankenstein’s monster character Shelley Godfrey (Amazon Eve) – her first name a possible nod to Mary Shelley, the author of Frankenstein – stole every scene she was in because of her height, size, her movements, and the fact that she doesn’t seem able to speak. The lights flickering and her own blue light – unexplained yet intriguing – made her the most curious “creature” in this Hemlock Grove episode.

The lab scene with Dr. Johann Pryce (Joel de la Fuente) was better than most of the other scenes in the episode. Norman Godfrey (Dougray Scott) and Dr. Pryce’s disdain for each other was palpable but it was Pryce’s dialogue and de la Fuente’s acting that was the showcase of the scene.

The Godfrey cousins’ relationship is dubious but one of those continuous Hemlock Grove elements that will build as the series continues: they are best friends and their interactions ride the line between playful friends and two people that have known each other for a long time. If the viewer did not know they were cousins, they would have assumed they were boyfriend and girlfriend.

For more Hemlock Grove reviews, videos, photos, and information, visit our Hemlock Grove Page, subscribe to us by Email, “follow” us on Twitter or “like” us on Facebook.

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Rollo Tomasi

Rollo Tomasi is a Connecticut-based film critic, TV show critic, news, and editorial writer. He will have a MFA in Creative Writing from Columbia University in 2025. Rollo has written over 700 film, TV show, short film, Blu-ray, and 4K-Ultra reviews. His reviews are published in IMDb's External Reviews and in Google News. Previously you could find his work at Empire Movies, Blogcritics, and AltFilmGuide. Now you can find his work at FilmBook.
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