You have to watch the first two episodes of the newNetflix seriesChambers.
And you maybe shouldnt watch anything after that.
The tense horror drama (streaming now) casts an immediate spell.
Credit: Ursula Coyote/Netflix
But Sasha and TJ are in love, so nothing else matters.
The opening sequence of theChamberspilot draws you into their rapture.
They drive through the desert, horizon visible out the window.
The song on the radio is Still Ill by the Smiths.
Rain starts to fall, they dont care.
They make out, and go further.
Its her first time.
Sashas heart explodes, not in the good way.
Cardiac arrest ensues and a desperate last-minute organ transplant.
Months later, Sashas got a scar across her torso and a new heart beating bad blood.
Now Beckys heart is in Sashas body and Sashas experiencing strange Becky-dreams and bloody Becky-visions.
Beckys parents reach out, seeking a connection with the girl who lives because their daughter died.
Ben (Tony Goldwyn) and Nancy (Uma Thurman) wear their grief like form-fitted athleisure.
The Lefevres have created a scholarship in Beckys name, and they want Sasha to have it.
Shes a fish out of water in Crystal Valleys high school.
On her first day, she meets her life coach.
The schools nap room has Wi-Fi.
These first two episodes are directed by Alfonso Gomez-Rejon, a boldface name for anyone who enjoys visual-treat TV.
Theres not a wasted shot in the opening episodes.
The most casual scenes are filmed with minor-key horror.
Dinner at the Lefevres cuts between extreme close-ups, until the actors are almost staring right at you.
But the overall stylistic effect is less David Lynch than Nicolas Roeg with just a dash of Georgia OKeeffe.
Yes, theres something weird about Beckys heart.
Actually,Chambersrepresents a minor step forward in the depiction of the supernatural.
You know somethings off at the Annex immediately.
Lili Taylor plays the eerily cheerful boss and the foundations spring equinox party has a Moby soundtrack.
Witness contemporary Caucasian woo-woo, spotless and succulent and (maybe?)
ThenChambershas to become an actual TV show, and it never recovers.
But it turns repetitive, and then just plain boring.
In a long ten-episode season, she never gets todoanything except freak out about her horror heart.
SoChambersis a mixed bag, maybe best experienced in a skip-around weekend binge.
Thurman is very good in a part that variously calls for sensitive indie-movie grief and horror-queen freakouts.
When you cant take anymore, skip to the twist ending, and pray season 2 can follow through.
First two episodes: A-
Everything Else: C-
Average, Lets Say: B-
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