IN AN ERA WHERE ACTION THRILLERS OFTEN RELY ON EXPLOSIONS AND CGI SPECTACLES, MANTIS ARRIVES AS A REFRESHING REMINDER THAT TENSION CAN BE BUILT THROUGH ATMOSPHERE, CHARACTER, AND CALCULATED STORYTELLING. LIKE ITS NAMESAKE PREDATOR THAT WAITS IN PERFECT STILLNESS BEFORE STRIKING, THIS FILM KNOWS EXACTLY WHEN TO HOLD BACK AND WHEN TO UNLEASH ITS FURY.
MANTIS, DIRECTED BY EMERGING FILMMAKER SARAH CHEN, HIT THEATERS IN EARLY 2024 WITH A RUNTIME OF 118 MINUTES. THIS PSYCHOLOGICAL ACTION THRILLER STARS MICHAEL B. JORDAN AS ALEX CARTER, A FORMER INTELLIGENCE OPERATIVE FORCED BACK INTO THE SHADOWS, WITH COMPELLING SUPPORT FROM TESSA THOMPSON AND OSCAR ISAAC. THE FILM IS PRODUCED BY A24 AND REPRESENTS CHEN'S AMBITIOUS TRANSITION FROM INDIE DARAMAS TO MAINSTREAM GENRE FILMMAKING.
COMING OFF THE HEELS OF SUCCESSFUL SPY THRILLERS LIKE THE GRAY MAN AND MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE SEQUELS, MANTIS ENTERED A CROWDED MARKETPLACE WITH HIGH EXPECTATIONS. CHEN'S PREVIOUS WORK ON CHARACTER-DRIVEN NARRATIVES LIKE WHISPER VALLEY CREATED ANTICIPATION FOR HOW SHE'D BLEND INTIMATE STORYTELLING WITH ACTION SEQUENCES. THE FILM PREMIERED AT THE TORONTO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL TO POSITIVE BUZZ BEFORE ITS WIDE RELEASE.
WHILE MANTIS OCCASIONALLY STUMBLES WITH PACING IN ITS SECOND ACT, IT ULTIMATELY DELIVERS A TAUT, INTELLIGENT THRILLER THAT PRIORITIZES CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT OVER MINDLESS ACTION, PROVING THAT PATIENCE AND PRECISION CAN BE JUST AS THRILLING AS CHAOS AND CARNAGE.
THE HUNT BEGINS: PLOT OVERVIEW
ALEX CARTER HAS SPENT FIVE YEARS TRYING TO FORGET HIS PAST AS ONE OF THE CIA'S MOST EFFECTIVE FIELD OPERATIVES. NOW WORKING AS A SECURITY CONSULTANT IN SEATTLE, HE'S BUILT A QUIET LIFE WITH HIS DAUGHTER EMMA, CAREFULLY AVOIDING ANYTHING THAT MIGHT PULL HIM BACK INTO THE WORLD OF ESPIONAGE AND VIOLENCE. HIS DAYS OF TRACKING TARGETS AND ELIMINATING THREATS ARE BEHIND HIM, OR SO HE BELIEVES.
THAT CAREFULLY CONSTRUCTED PEACE SHATTERS WHEN MAYA RODRIGUEZ, HIS FORMER HANDLER PLAYED BRILLIANTLY BY TESSA THOMPSON, APPEARS AT HIS DOORSTEP WITH DEVASTATING NEWS. A ROGUE OPERATIVE KNOWN ONLY AS "THE COLLECTOR" HAS OBTAINED A LIST OF EVERY UNDERCOVER AGENT ALEX EVER WORKED WITH, AND THEY'RE BEING SYSTEMATICALLY ELIMINATED. THE COLLECTOR ISN'T JUST KILLING THEM; HE'S STAGING THEIR DEATHS TO LOOK LIKE ACCIDENTS, MAKING EACH ELIMINATION A TWISTED WORK OF ART.
ALEX INITIALLY REFUSES TO GET INVOLVED, BUT WHEN THE COLLECTOR MURDERS HIS FORMER PARTNER IN BROAD DAYLIGHT AND FRAMES IT AS A SUICIDE, THE MESSAGE BECOMES CLEAR: ALEX IS NOT JUST BEING WARNED, HE'S BEING HUNTED. WITH EMMA'S SAFETY AT STAKE AND HIS FORMER TEAM MEMBERS DROPPING LIKE FLIES, CARTER MUST DUST OFF HIS SKILLS AND BECOME THE PREDATOR ONCE MORE. THE FILM'S TITLE BECOMES INCREASINGLY RELEVANT AS WE WATCH ALEX ADOPT THE MANTIS'S HUNTING STRATEGY, USING PATIENCE, OBSERVATION, AND SURGICAL PRECISION TO TURN THE TABLES ON HIS PURSUER.
THE SETUP BRILLIANTLY ESTABLISHES STAKES WITHOUT REVEALING THE DEEPER CONSPIRACY AT PLAY. WE LEARN THAT THE COLLECTOR HAS INSIDER KNOWLEDGE THAT SHOULDN'T BE POSSIBLE, SUGGESTING A BETRAYAL WITHIN THE AGENCY ITSELF. AS ALEX BEGINS HIS INVESTIGATION, THE FILM TRANSITIONS FROM REACTIVE SURVIVAL TO PROACTIVE HUNTING, WITH OUR PROTAGONIST FORCED TO CONFRONT NOT JUST AN EXTERNAL ENEMY, BUT THE DARKNESS HE THOUGHT HE'D LEFT BEHIND.
VISUAL POETRY AND TECHNICAL EXCELLENCE
CINEMATOGRAPHER JAMES LAXTON, KNOWN FOR HIS WORK ON MOONLIGHT, BRINGS AN UNEXPECTED VISUAL SOPHISTICATION TO THE THRILLER GENRE. RATHER THAN RELYING ON THE SHAKY-CAM AESTHETIC THAT HAS DOMINATED ACTION CINEMA, LAXTON EMPLOYS SMOOTH, DELIBERATE CAMERA MOVEMENTS THAT MIRROR THE PROTAGONIST'S CALCULATED APPROACH. WIDE SHOTS ESTABLISH ALEX AS A CAREFUL OBSERVER, OFTEN POSITIONING HIM AT THE EDGES OF FRAMES, WATCHING AND WAITING. WHEN VIOLENCE ERUPTS, THE CAMERA REMAINS STEADY AND UNFLINCHING, MAKING EACH CONFRONTATION FEEL VISCERAL AND CONSEQUENTIAL RATHER THAN CHOREOGRAPHED SPECTACLE.
THE COLOR PALETTE SHIFTS DRAMATICALLY THROUGHOUT THE FILM, SERVING AS A VISUAL REPRESENTATION OF ALEX'S PSYCHOLOGICAL STATE. HIS CIVILIAN LIFE IN SEATTLE IS BATHED IN COOL BLUES AND GRAYS, REFLECTING THE EMOTIONAL DISTANCE HE'S CREATED FROM HIS PAST. AS HE'S PULLED BACK INTO THE WORLD OF ESPIONAGE, WARMER TONES OF AMBER AND RED BEGIN TO DOMINATE, SUGGESTING BOTH DANGER AND A REKINDLING OF HIS DORMANT INSTINCTS. THE FILM'S CLIMACTIC SEQUENCE TAKES PLACE IN AN ABANDONED GREENHOUSE, WHERE CHEN AND LAXTON USE THE INTERPLAY OF NATURAL LIGHT THROUGH BROKEN GLASS TO CREATE A STUNNING VISUAL METAPHOR FOR FRACTURED IDENTITY AND MORAL AMBIGUITY.
COMPOSER NICHOLAS BRITELL DELIVERS A SCORE THAT UNDERSTANDS THE POWER OF RESTRAINT. RATHER THAN OVERWHELMING EMOTIONAL MOMENTS WITH SWELLING ORCHESTRAS, BRITELL EMPLOYS MINIMALIST ELECTRONIC PULSES THAT CREATE MOUNTING TENSION. THE MAIN THEME, BUILT AROUND A REPETITIVE STRING MOTIF THAT GRADUALLY INTENSIFIES, PERFECTLY CAPTURES THE MANTIS'S PATIENT APPROACH TO HUNTING. SOUND DESIGN IS EQUALLY IMPRESSIVE, WITH ACUTE ATTENTION TO ENVIRONMENTAL AUDIO THAT MAKES QUIET SCENES CRACKLE WITH TENSION. THE FILM MAKES EXCEPTIONAL USE OF SILENCE, ALLOWING MOMENTS TO BREATHE AND FORCING AUDIENCES TO LEAN IN RATHER THAN SIT BACK.
CHEN'S DIRECTION DEMONSTRATES REMARKABLE MATURITY FOR SOMEONE MAKING THEIR GENRE DEBUT. SHE UNDERSTANDS THAT ACTION SEQUENCES ARE ONLY AS COMPELLING AS OUR INVESTMENT IN THE CHARACTERS, SO SHE TAKES TIME TO ESTABLISH RELATIONSHIPS AND STAKES BEFORE THE BULLETS FLY. THE PACING OCCASIONALLY DRAGS DURING THE FILM'S MIDDLE SECTION AS ALEX INVESTIGATES THE COLLECTOR'S IDENTITY, BUT THIS DELIBERATE APPROACH PAYS DIVIDENDS IN THE THIRD ACT. AT 118 MINUTES, THE FILM FEELS APPROPRIATELY LEAN, THOUGH SOME SUBPLOTS INVOLVING ALEX'S DAUGHTER COULD HAVE BEEN TRIMMED WITHOUT LOSING EMOTIONAL IMPACT.
PERFORMANCES THAT STRIKE DEEP
MICHAEL B. JORDAN DELIVERS HIS MOST NUANCED PERFORMANCE TO DATE, SHEDDING THE CHARISMATIC SWAGGER THAT HAS DEFINED MANY OF HIS ROLES FOR SOMETHING QUIETER AND MORE HAUNTED. HIS ALEX CARTER IS A MAN DESPERATELY TRYING TO SUPPRESS INSTINCTS THAT COME AS NATURALLY AS BREATHING, AND JORDAN CONVEYS THIS INTERNAL CONFLICT THROUGH SUBTLE PHYSICAL CHOICES. WATCH HOW HIS POSTURE CHANGES THROUGHOUT THE FILM: STOOPED AND GUARDED IN CIVILIAN LIFE, GRADUALLY STRAIGHTENING AS HE RECLAIMS HIS OPERATIVE MINDSET. JORDAN EXCELS IN SCENES REQUIRING STILLNESS, ALLOWING MICRO-EXPRESSIONS TO CONVEY VOLUMES ABOUT CARTER'S STRATEGIC THINKING. WHEN VIOLENCE ERUPTS, IT'S SHOCKING PRECISELY BECAUSE JORDAN HAS SHOWN US A MAN WHO WOULD DO ANYTHING TO AVOID IT.
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN JORDAN AND THOMPSON CRACKLES WITH HISTORY AND UNSPOKEN TENSION. THOMPSON'S MAYA RODRIGUEZ IS PRAGMATIC AND CALCULATING, BUT THOMPSON FINDS MOMENTS OF VULNERABILITY THAT SUGGEST THE TOLL THIS LIFE HAS TAKEN ON HER. A SCENE IN WHICH MAYA TRIES TO JUSTIFY RECRUITING ALEX BACK INTO SERVICE BECOMES A MASTERCLASS IN SUBTEXT, WITH BOTH ACTORS COMMUNICATING YEARS OF SHARED TRAUMA, GUILT, AND COMPLICATED LOYALTY WITHOUT MELODRAMA. THEIR CHEMISTRY MAKES US BELIEVE THESE ARE TWO PEOPLE BONDED BY EXPERIENCES CIVILIANS COULD NEVER UNDERSTAND, ADDING GENUINE STAKES TO THEIR MISSION.
OSCAR ISAAC APPEARS IN A LIMITED BUT MEMORABLE ROLE AS DANIEL PARK, ALEX'S FORMER PARTNER WHO BECOMES THE COLLECTOR'S FIRST VICTIM IN THE PRESENT TIMELINE. THROUGH FLASHBACKS, ISAAC BRINGS HIS TRADEMARK INTENSITY TO A CHARACTER STRUGGLING WITH MORAL COMPROMISE. THE SUPPORTING CAST, INCLUDING ETHAN HAWKE IN A SURPRISING LATE APPEARANCE AS A SENIOR CIA OFFICIAL AND DANIELLE DEADWYLER AS AN FBI AGENT PURSUING HER OWN INVESTIGATION, ELEVATE EVERY SCENE THEY'RE IN. HAWKE PARTICULARLY SHINES IN A CONFRONTATION SCENE THAT RECONTEXTUALIZES EVERYTHING WE'VE WATCHED, PROVING ONCE AGAIN WHY HE'S ONE OF OUR MOST RELIABLE CHARACTER ACTORS.
BENEATH THE SURFACE: THEMATIC DEPTH
AT ITS CORE, MANTIS IS A MEDITATION ON IDENTITY AND THE IMPOSSIBILITY OF TRULY LEAVING VIOLENCE BEHIND ONCE YOU'VE EMBRACED IT. ALEX'S ARC MIRRORS THE CLASSIC WARRIOR RETIREMENT NARRATIVE, BUT CHEN ADDS COMPLEXITY BY QUESTIONING WHETHER SOMEONE WHO WAS THAT EFFECTIVE AT KILLING EVER HAD A CHOICE TO BEGIN WITH. THE FILM ASKS UNCOMFORTABLE QUESTIONS ABOUT NATURE VERSUS NURTURE: WAS ALEX SHAPED INTO A WEAPON BY HIS TRAINING, OR DID THE AGENCY SIMPLY RECOGNIZE AND WEAPONIZE SOMETHING ALREADY WITHIN HIM?
THE MANTIS METAPHOR OPERATES ON MULTIPLE LEVELS THROUGHOUT THE FILM. OBVIOUSLY, IT REFERS TO ALEX'S HUNTING METHODOLOGY—PATIENT OBSERVATION FOLLOWED BY PRECISE, LETHAL STRIKES. BUT CHEN ALSO INVOKES THE FEMALE MANTIS'S NOTORIOUS HABIT OF CONSUMING HER MATE AFTER REPRODUCTION, USING THIS AS A SYMBOL FOR HOW INTELLIGENCE AGENCIES CONSUME THEIR OPERATIVES. MAYA EXPLICITLY REFERENCES THIS IN A PIVOTAL SCENE, NOTING THAT THE AGENCY HAS ALWAYS BEEN WILLING TO SACRIFICE ITS ASSETS ONCE THEY'VE SERVED THEIR PURPOSE. ALEX HIMSELF BECOMES BOTH PREDATOR AND PREY, HUNTING THE COLLECTOR WHILE BEING HUNTED BY HIS OWN PAST.
THE FILM ALSO EXPLORES THE GENERATIONAL TRAUMA OF VIOLENCE AND SECRETS. ALEX'S RELATIONSHIP WITH HIS DAUGHTER EMMA SERVES AS THE EMOTIONAL ANCHOR, AND THEIR SCENES TOGETHER REVEAL A FATHER TERRIFIED OF PASSING ON HIS CAPACITY FOR VIOLENCE. WHEN EMMA DISCOVERS WHO HER FATHER REALLY IS, THE FILM DOESN'T OFFER EASY RECONCILIATION OR UNDERSTANDING. INSTEAD, CHEN ALLOWS FOR THE COMPLEXITY OF A CHILD GRAPPLING WITH THE FACT THAT HER LOVING PARENT IS ALSO SOMEONE CAPABLE OF EXTRAORDINARY VIOLENCE. THIS THREAD COULD HAVE BEEN DEVELOPED FURTHER, BUT IT ADDS GENUINE EMOTIONAL WEIGHT TO ALEX'S MISSION.
PERHAPS MOST INTRIGUINGLY, MANTIS QUESTIONS THE NOTION OF JUSTIFIED VIOLENCE. ALEX REPEATEDLY INSISTS HE ONLY KILLED WHEN NECESSARY, BUT AS THE FILM PROGRESSES AND WE SEE FLASHBACKS TO HIS OPERATIONS, THE LINE BETWEEN NECESSARY AND CONVENIENT BECOMES INCREASINGLY BLURRED. THE COLLECTOR, WHEN FINALLY REVEALED, ARGUES THAT HE AND ALEX ARE FUNDAMENTALLY THE SAME—BOTH KILLERS WHO'VE CONVINCED THEMSELVES THEIR VIOLENCE SERVES A HIGHER PURPOSE. THE FILM DOESN'T DEFINITIVELY ANSWER WHO'S RIGHT, LEAVING AUDIENCES TO WRESTLE WITH THEIR OWN MORAL CALCULATIONS.
HITS AND MISSES
WHERE MANTIS TRULY EXCELS IS IN ITS COMMITMENT TO SHOWING RATHER THAN TELLING. CHEN TRUSTS HER AUDIENCE TO FOLLOW COMPLEX NARRATIVE THREADS WITHOUT HAND-HOLDING EXPOSITION DUMPS. THE INVESTIGATION SEQUENCES THAT DOMINATE THE SECOND ACT ARE REFRESHINGLY INTELLIGENT, REQUIRING ALEX (AND VIEWERS) TO PIECE TOGETHER CLUES THROUGH CAREFUL OBSERVATION AND DEDUCTION. THE ACTION SEQUENCES, WHEN THEY ARRIVE, ARE BRUTAL AND CONSEQUENTIAL. A FIGHT IN A PARKING GARAGE STANDS OUT AS PARTICULARLY VISCERAL, WITH EVERY PUNCH AND GUNSHOT FEELING EARNED AND PAINFUL. THE FILM'S CLIMACTIC CONFRONTATION SUBVERTS EXPECTATIONS BY PRIORITIZING PSYCHOLOGICAL WARFARE OVER PHYSICAL COMBAT, RESULTING IN A FINALE THAT'S MORE UNSETTLING THAN CATHARTIC.
JORDAN'S PERFORMANCE IS COMPLEMENTED BY CHEN'S WILLINGNESS TO LET SCENES BREATHE. A SEQUENCE IN WHICH ALEX REVISITS HIS OLD APARTMENT, CAREFULLY EXAMINING HIS PAST LIFE THROUGH OLD PHOTOGRAPHS AND EQUIPMENT, PLAYS OUT IN NEAR-SILENCE AND SPEAKS VOLUMES ABOUT REGRET AND IDENTITY. THE FILM ALSO DESERVES CREDIT FOR ITS DIVERSE CASTING WITHOUT MAKING A SPECTACLE OF IT—THIS IS SIMPLY THE WORLD THESE CHARACTERS INHABIT, RENDERED WITHOUT COMMENT OR CONGRATULATION.
HOWEVER, THE FILM ISN'T WITHOUT FLAWS. THE MIDDLE SECTION DRAGS AS ALEX CONDUCTS HIS INVESTIGATION, WITH SEVERAL SCENES OF HIM STARING AT COMPUTER SCREENS AND DOCUMENTS THAT COULD HAVE BEEN CONDENSED. WHILE THE DELIBERATE PACING IS GENERALLY A STRENGTH, CHEN OCCASIONALLY MISTAKES SLOWNESS FOR TENSION. THE SUBPLOT INVOLVING THE FBI INVESTIGATION, LED BY DEADWYLER'S AGENT, PROMISES TO COMPLICATE THE NARRATIVE BUT ULTIMATELY GOES NOWHERE, FEELING LIKE A VESTIGE OF AN EARLIER SCRIPT DRAFT THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN EXCISED.
SOME CHARACTER MOTIVATIONS, PARTICULARLY IN THE THIRD ACT, REQUIRE LOGICAL LEAPS THAT STRAIN CREDIBILITY. WITHOUT SPOILING SPECIFICS, THE COLLECTOR'S ULTIMATE PLAN IS REVEALED TO BE UNNECESSARILY CONVOLUTED WHEN SIMPLER APPROACHES WOULD HAVE ACHIEVED THE SAME GOALS. THE FILM ALSO SUFFERS FROM "ANTAGONIST EXPOSITION SYNDROME" IN ITS FINAL CONFRONTATION, WITH TOO MUCH EXPLAINING WHEN SHOWING WOULD HAVE BEEN MORE EFFECTIVE. ADDITIONALLY, WHILE THE FILM GENERALLY AVOIDS GENRE CLICHÉS, ALEX'S DAUGHTER EMMA IS UNDERWRITTEN AND EXISTS PRIMARILY AS A MOTIVATION DEVICE RATHER THAN A FULLY REALIZED CHARACTER IN HER OWN RIGHT.
STANDING AMONG GIANTS
IN THE CROWDED LANDSCAPE OF SPY THRILLERS, MANTIS CARVES OUT ITS OWN IDENTITY BY PRIORITIZING PSYCHOLOGY OVER PYROTECHNICS. IT SHARES DNA WITH FILMS LIKE THE AMERICAN AND A MOST WANTED MAN—THOUGHTFUL, CHARACTER-DRIVEN THRILLERS THAT VALUE ATMOSPHERE AND TENSION OVER SPECTACLE. WHERE IT DIFFERS FROM THE BOURNE FILMS OR RECENT MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE ENTRIES IS IN ITS WILLINGNESS TO INTERROGATE RATHER THAN CELEBRATE THE SPY FANTASY. THERE'S NO GLAMOUR IN THIS VERSION OF ESPIONAGE, ONLY TRAUMA AND MORAL COMPROMISE.
THE FILM ALSO RECALLS THE PARANOID THRILLERS OF THE 1970S, PARTICULARLY THREE DAYS OF THE CONDOR, IN ITS EXPLORATION OF INSTITUTIONAL BETRAYAL AND THE EXPENDABILITY OF INTELLIGENCE ASSETS. CHEN HAS CITED MICHAEL MANN'S THIEF AS AN INFLUENCE, AND THAT FILM'S FOCUS ON A PROFESSIONAL CRIMINAL TRYING TO GO STRAIGHT CLEARLY INFORMED ALEX'S ARC. HOWEVER, WHERE MANTIS DISTINGUISHES ITSELF IS IN BRINGING MODERN SENSIBILITIES ABOUT TRAUMA AND IDENTITY TO THESE CLASSIC THRILLER FRAMEWORKS, CREATING SOMETHING THAT FEELS BOTH FAMILIAR AND FRESH.
FINAL VERDICT
MANTIS REPRESENTS AN IMPRESSIVE GENRE DEBUT FROM SARAH CHEN AND A CAREER-BEST PERFORMANCE FROM MICHAEL B. JORDAN. WHILE IT STUMBLES OCCASIONALLY WITH PACING AND SUBPLOT MANAGEMENT, THE FILM SUCCEEDS IN DELIVERING AN INTELLIGENT, ATMOSPHERIC THRILLER THAT RESPECTS ITS AUDIENCE'S INTELLIGENCE. CHEN'S DIRECTION DEMONSTRATES THAT ACTION AND CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT AREN'T MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE, AND THAT TENSION CAN BE CULTIVATED THROUGH PATIENCE AS EFFECTIVELY AS THROUGH CHAOS.
THIS IS ESSENTIAL VIEWING FOR FANS OF THOUGHTFUL THRILLERS WHO APPRECIATE FILMS THAT PRIORITIZE PSYCHOLOGY AND ATMOSPHERE OVER EMPTY SPECTACLE. VIEWERS SEEKING NON-STOP ACTION MAY FIND THE DELIBERATE PACING FRUSTRATING, BUT THOSE WILLING TO INVEST IN ITS METHODICAL APPROACH WILL BE REWARDED WITH A GRIPPING EXPERIENCE THAT LINGERS LONG AFTER THE CREDITS ROLL. MANTIS PROVES THAT SOMETIMES THE MOST EFFECTIVE STRIKE COMES FROM THOSE WHO WAIT IN STILLNESS, OBSERVING THEIR MOMENT BEFORE UNLEASHING PRECISELY CALIBRATED FORCE.
THE FILM LEAVES YOU QUESTIONING NOT JUST THE MORALITY OF ITS CHARACTERS, BUT YOUR OWN COMPLICITY IN CELEBRATING CINEMATIC VIOLENCE. IT'S A RARE THRILLER THAT ENTERTAINS WHILE ALSO CHALLENGING, DELIVERING BOTH VISCERAL SATISFACTION AND GENUINE FOOD FOR THOUGHT. IN A GENRE OFTEN CONTENT WITH SURFACE-LEVEL THRILLS, MANTIS DARES TO DIG DEEPER, AND EMERGES WITH SOMETHING MEANINGFUL TO SAY.
RATING√ 4 OUT OF 5 STARS - A SMART, ATMOSPHERIC THRILLER THAT STRIKES WITH PRECISION, EVEN IF IT OCCASIONALLY LOSES ITS GRIP ON PACING. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED FOR VIEWERS SEEKING SUBSTANCE ALONGSIDE THEIR SUSPENSE.
