October Faction is the latest supernatural drama to premiere on Netflix. It combines a wide variety of vampires, zombies, and monsters alongside a family trying to hide secrets in a small town.
The show feels like something that could’ve been great but instead was hit-and-miss. The show, which was a part of Netflix’s partnership with indie comic press IDW, has been canceled along with V Wars, another child of this partnership.
1. Quick Review
October Faction
Air Date: January 23, 2020 Status: Finished Studio: High Park Entertainment, IDW Entertainment, Plastic Hallway, Productions West No. of Seasons: 1 No. of Episodes: 10
Based on the comic series with the same name, October Faction revolves around the family tensions and monster hunting adventures of the Allen family.
While the show was able to generate a small cult following, without a good script and charismatic characters, the show was unable to make a global impact and has been axed.
2. Is It Worth Watching?
The partnership between IDW and Netflix spawned three shows, V Wars, October Faction, and Locke and Key.
The runaway success of Locke and Key and its comparison to the other two comic book adaptations is considered the primary reason behind the show’s cancellation.
Faction took some time to find its groove with some boring and dull initial episodes and the later spike was not enough to save the show for a second season.
I. Plot
The story revolves around globetrotting monster-hunting couple Fred and Deloris Allen. They work for a secret organization named Presidio in-charge of killing monstrous beings all over the Earth. Their twin children Viv and Geoff, are unaware of their parents’ lifestyle and think that they are insurance salesmen.
When the death of Fred’s father, Samuel, who was also a member of Presidio, forces him to go back to his hometown, the family opens up a lot of buried secrets. When they find out that Samuel has left the entire estate to Fred, it opens up a dirty inheritance battle between Fred and his sister Maggie.
With several flashbacks throughout the first couple of episodes, we get an insight into the past tensions in the family and Fred and Deloris’s monster hunting escapades. Their children also start experiencing visions and start developing powers of their own.
Battling monsters at work and a monstrous family at home and trying to keep his children’s abilities a secret give the show a similar vibe to Supernatural and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
II. Cast & Characters
The family of Fred ( J.C. MacKenzie), Deloris (Tamara Taylor), Vivian (Aurora Burghart), and Geoff (Gabriel Darku) comprises the Allen household.
Mackenzie, a veteran soap-opera star having previously worked on Dark Angel and Hemlock Grove, tries to give his best to the character but is hindered by a clunky script. The chemistry between the couple is what makes the show worth watching. They are comfortable around each other and appear naturally at ease.
The bi-racial twins Viv and Geoff are intellectually bright and have no desire to mix with the local kids. They feel out of place in a school dominated by cliques and do a good job depicting the struggle to hide their powers.
Their performances give the show a traditional CW drama vibe. Because the show focuses on the family and monster dramas equally, it makes for a unique watching experience.
3. Final Thoughts & Grade
Story: B+
Cinematography/Animation: B
Acting: B
Music: C+
Direction: B-
The pilot and the initial episodes have some really corny humor, and the boring and clunky script makes the show feel like a drag. However, once one gets past the first three episodes, things pick up as the plot unravels in the fifth episode.
It is a guilty pleasure perfect for your quarantine blues if you find the genre appealing and doesn’t require much commitment. It is a show that could have been a great one if it had featured better writing and direction. The family’s past secrets and the dark history don’t bubble up to the surface but instead fizzled out, just like the show.
The show is a great diversion for fans of CW dramas or ones looking for a supernatural story. It was popular among the fans of the original comic book and received positive reviews from them.
It’s a shame that the cliff-hanger ending will not be explored further due to the show’s cancellation, but if you like how the show is made, Locke and Key might be right down your alley.
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