Castlevania Season 1 Netflix Series Review

Castlevania (2017-)
Season 1 - 4 episodes (2017)

Watch Castlevania Season 1 on Netflix
Written by: Warren Ellis
Directed by: Sam Deats
Starring: Richard Armitage, James Callis, Alejandra Reynoso
Rating: TV-MA

Plot
Based on the video game, the last member of the Belmont clan must save Eastern Europe from Vlad Dracula in this animated series. Episodes are a half hour in length.

Verdict
It's a quick watch, leaving you wanting more before it overstays its welcome. While it sets a fantastic mood and the voice acting is solid, can it entertain for more than just an hour? We'll find out in season two, but this felt like just an introduction. I really like Dracula and the mood it sets, but the last of the Belmont clan is a cliched character.
It depends.

Review
It may be animated to pay homage to the video games, but this is not for kids. From blood to language, you get a good idea of what this is early on. The mood is fantastic and the voice acting is notable.

This season is over way too quickly. This was planned to be a trilogy of movies. Season 1 consists of the first movie broken into four episodes, and season two will be the remaining two movies split into eight episodes.
Being so short, this is a very easy watch. The opening scene is great with skulls on spikes. The grim mood of this story is every present, and it quickly humanizes Dracula. He becomes more human for a woman. When she's burned at the stake, all bets are off. The hook is great, but I wish the other characters had their motives similarly detailed.

Trevor Belmont didn't seem quite as intriguing as Dracula, but part of it is that this season seems like a prologue. It ends on a bit of a cliff hanger which makes it feel like just an introduction all the more. The final scene is Trevor, Sypha, and Alucard setting out on the real adventure.

It was interesting enough to keep me watching, from Dracula and Trevor to the corrupt church and the speakers, this just needs more time to set up these plot lines so we can see what it can really accomplish. This was a preview. Even in a season this short, the story was lacking. More than a few times Trevor falls through the floor. It's an abrupt way to transition a scene.