The Rig review TV series of David Macpherson with Iain Glen, EmilyHampshire, Martin Compston, Owen Teale, Mark Addy, Calvin Demba And Rochenda Sandall
The Rig follows the story of Magnus MacMillan (Iain Glen) and its crew on the oil rig Kinloch Bravo located off the coast of Scotland in the treacherous waters of the North Sea. As the date of their return to the mainland approaches, they are engulfed in a mysterious mist. The event seems to cut off all communication and, even worse, the fog seems to bring something else with it.
The crew struggles to find out what drives this unknown force and inevitably clashing groups begin to form. Ties are broken, alliances are outlined and generational faults come to a head. Platform members Good boy they will be pushed to the limit of both their loyalty and their endurance.
In the 80s Stephen King And John Carpenter showed the first works with the fog as the protagonist, in which the hidden horror was much more frightening than the one perceptible to the eye. We are talking about The Mist by King E The Fog by Carpenter. Both have influenced both literary and cinematographic production and their atmospheres are still used today to create the perfect climate for a mysterious story. Dark entities that find a place to hide – in the fog, in fact – terrorizing people who are forced to face a race for survival.
The rig created by David Macpherson and directed by John Stricklandavailable at Amazon Prime Videosfits into this well-known line of stories.
Fog is a supernatural event that defies any kind of logical explanation. A perfect scenario to explore the characters, their interactions and, above all, how they react to extreme situations. In the first episodes the personalities are characterized on the basis of clichés and only later are the fears, traumas and secrets explored.
While the setting isn’t particularly original, the claustrophobic element of the platform sets it apart from other similar stories; the location in fact increases the tension and makes the episodes interesting.
The disquieting atmosphere and the ploy of taking place in a closed and remote place – here too, any reference to The thing Of Carpenter we don’t think it’s random – they shape the growing state of anxiety and dismay to which a handful of people are subjected. People at the mercy of nature and a mysterious force but, perhaps, above all of themselves.
Technically, however, this title doesn’t push itself beyond its limits. The visuals stand out when it comes to the interiors and the feeling of being trapped in a heavily inhabited structure. Other aspects, such as the overwhelming immensity of the sea, are weaker. But not all productions can have a billion dollar budget.
However, the series has a good cast made up of both veterans and new actors including EmilyHampshire, Martin Compston, Owen Teale And Mark Addy.
In the end The Rig it sounds like “I would like to but I can’t”. Something that maybe could have gone a little further plot-wise. The story doesn’t seem to take a clear direction on what kind of series to be, oscillating between the predictability of a thriller and the reflective wave of an ecological kind.
Despite the lack of originality the creation of David Macpherson And John Strickland it raises probing questions about nature, the environment, and what it takes to survive, which feels very much in line for the world we live in now.