Tag Archives: The Following

Kevin Bacon and the Evil Cult! The Following (Eps. 7 review)

Posted by Steven Lewis on

Joe Carroll is out! The killer has made his dramatic escape by using his scared to death prey. Ryan Hardy can’t keep up with Carroll and his following, always being one, sometimes to one, behind. Unlike the previous episode, episode seven omits the twists and turns; instead, the focus on death, escape, and incarceration – and not just by Carroll.

We’re exposed to more of Carroll’s connections who, like him, are deeply disturbed and very calm about their whole mentally distraught situation. We’re also discovering that each follower has a specific skill set – Charlie expert in covert recon or Linda who can slice you up without you even knowing – and each have this part to play as I mentioned before in previous reviews.

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I expect that the next episode will contain more chaos under uncontrolled circumstances. Now with Carroll out of the federal prison system, he’ll wreak more havoc and sure put Hardy in the hot seat. The next episode seems to have the followers and Carroll put the FBI in their sights. Will one of the main characters bite it? We’ll see!

Kevin Bacon and the Evil Cult! The Following (Eps. 6 review)

Posted by Steven Lewis on

Got around finally to watching the sixth episode of Kevin Williamson’s The Following last night on On Demand and we’re back to ground zero with how The Following should play out as a suspenseful horror thriller with numerous twists, baffling betrayals, and many hooks to keep the audience intrigued and drooling until next Monday. Ryan Hardy, when back into a corner, transforms into possum as his curls his lip revealing his vicious teeth – a side of Hardy we have yet to experience.

Paul: “Tie him up!”
Ryan: Yes, tie me up, but if you get within two feet of me I will break your neck and crack your spine.”
Paul: “Then I will shoot you!”
Ryan: “And his neck will be broken and his spine will be cracked.”
Paul: “And you’ll be dead!”
Ryan: “And his neck will be broken and his spine will be cracked.”

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This episode drives in the last nail making certain that we, the audience, can’t trust a single soul – who is in this cult and/or who will betray who within a group – and that distrust amongst the factions will keep life in this show. Also, the mysterious Rodrigo who orchestrates behind the scenes has me starting to wonder that we may know already who this person is and that the other cult followers perhaps don’t know as Charlie, Claire’s ‘follower,’ had stated in his own words that each member of Carroll’s crew doesn’t know who each other and that their roles were specific. If I had to take a wild guess, Rodrigo is Agent Debra Parker and this episodes leave a little taste of my hypothesis. However, my theory could be dead wrong which is hard to believe, I know.

Our killer threesome has for now disbanded into a massive betrayal by Emma’s character as she leaves her two male companions to fend for themselves against the closing in FBI. What’s Emma’s plan with Joey? Most likely her specific role is to be the protector of Joey as she displayed in the later half of the episode as a human bullet shield. Rodrigo had likely instructed Emma to escape from Paul and Jacob while friends of Rodrigo infiltrate and kill a couple of the FBI Swat team and extract Paul and Jacob from the clutches of the FBI.

Lots going on and the next episode shapes up to be thrilling as well. Let’s all hope.

Kevin Bacon and the Evil Cult! The Following (Episode 5 review!)

Posted by Steven Lewis on

Come the hell on FOX! The first four episodes were great setting up characters and deploying a whole game constructed by the Poe inspired killer Joe Carroll, but the fifth episode was stagnate and boring that I nearly wanted to drop the show like a bad habit. I was on the edge every week wanting to know what kind of bizarre turn the show will take, but with episode five, I waited and waited and waited. Deceived we were! Subjected to soap opera drama and given less blood than a PG horror movie. Where was the edge? Where was the thrill?

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Hell, even Kevin Bacon’s character Ryan Hardy made some non-sense choices. The show begins to feel forced and I worry about the writing and where the show might be heading. What might have redeeming factor in me wanting to see the next episode was the finale of episode five where Hardy is captured by the Emma, Paul, and Jacob – the twisted threesome. Kevin Bacon gave off some interesting lines such as if he gets near me, “I’ll break his spine.” Hardy holds his ground and I like a little feistiness!

Other than that little taste of aggression, episode five seemed a bit tamed and lacked grit that has been instilled in the series from the beginning. The teasing of murder, the implied death, and the roundabout way of explaining to us how great their exploits had give them were painstakingly aggravating. Please FOX, Please – lets be a bit more risque next week!

Kevin Bacon and the Evil Cult! The Following (Eps. 4 review)

Posted by Steven Lewis on

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Good morning My Acolytes!

I finally had the opportunity to watch the fourth episode of The Following last night on On Demand – trying to catch up is harder to do when there are a billion other shows on your plate. Anyway, enough of my problems and lets move on to Ryan Hardy’s issues. Episode four was probably my least favorite so far because the majority of the episode was the focus on Ryan Hardy’s past – his off and on relationship with his sister Jenny, his deadly cursed family, and his inner morality battles in being with Claire (Joe’s Carroll’s ex-wife). Though knowing more about Hardy’s tragic and sad personal background is important for the premises is key and the way Hardy’s life comes to light is executed well with heart pounding emotion.

Unlike the last three episodes, the blood hardly flows in this one – no gruesome deaths. Instead, one victim receives a flesh wound and the other victim dies of a fatal gunshot, but we are subjected to neat form of torture by the use of magnets! The human body, especially Ryan Hardy’s, is a unique machine and that scene will makes us all feel a little bit weaker.

Like I’ve been writing about, this episode is all about emotions and especially between the three kidnappers of little Joey Carroll. After some deceptions and tensions, the three stick with each other and decide to “share” each other, if you know what I mean. The two who have killed before will not give up on the one who lied about killing before and this will make for some interesting dynamic.

Lets all hope that the next episode can fulfill the body quota the first three had while continuing to be studded down with a heavy heart! Until next Monday, or for me, next Thursday, keep watching!

Kevin Bacon and the Evil Cult! The Following (Ep. 3 review)

Posted by Steven Lewis on

The Following is the new hit horror thriller that audiences can’t get enough of and I see why!  With every twist in the story, the anticipation grows until you find yourself on the edge of the soft, neck arched toward the screen, and your mind with racing with what will happen next?  Episode three had a couple of betrayal, a couple of big deaths (already!) and another couple of the homosexual kind.  Every character is likable because every character has an interesting disposition about themselves.

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In this episode, Ryan Hardy (Kevin Bacon) and his Debra Parker (Annie Parisse) find that being duped sucks and can cost lives.  With these two main characters on the fence about who to trust, who can the audience trust?  I still don’t trust Debra Parker nor do I trust golden boy FBI agent Mike Weston (Shawn Ashmore).  There something about these two characters that seems off, but this could be the result of the way the story is unfolding and perhaps intentional by the writers to have the audience second guessing your judgement.  The jury is still deliberating on these two.

I’m craving to see more of Joel Matthews son, Joey Matthews, being taught how to kill by starting with animals.  The ultimate Charles Darwin theory – nature versus nurture.  Will Kevin Williamson play on that and see if nurture over comes nature because Joey is an innocent kind with his action figures and his affection for mom, but his kidnappers are teaching him that death is okay, that you should embrace death and treat death as a constant reminder of how precious our lives are to ourselves.  My gut feeling is yelling at me telling me that Joey’s mother Claire will be more than just a bystander and will go to the extreme in finding her boy.  After years of watching horror and thriller movies, I’ve come to the conclusion that I have years of experience in deciphering what might happen next.  This sounds a bit presumptuous on my part, but one can only speculate on how the writers will take this series.

The fake gay couple next door to Joey’s first victim Sarah on in the first episode are actually, and secretly, hot for each other creating turmoil and deceptiveness among the three homicidal individuals.  When you mix in a menage a trois with killer instincts, you have a recipe for a good episode next Monday night!  Until then, keep watching!