New Netflix series Ares may not have dropped last month with a huge amount of hype behind it, but the Dutch horror drama is beginning to develop a reputation as a show that’s almost too scary to finish.
Created and executive produced by Pieter Kuijpers, Iris Otten and Sander van Meurs, the first season of Ares tells the story of Rosa Steenwijk (Jade Olieberg), a first-year medical student who joins a sinister, secretive society in Amsterdam that’s been around since the Dutch Golden Age of the 1600s. As she slowly begins to realize exactly what she’s become a part of, Rosa must decide how far she’s willing to go rise up the ranks.
The eight-episode first season was released last month to generally favorable reviews, drawing comparisons to Ari Aster’s Midsommar and the Suspiria movies. Forbes, for instance, included Ares on their list of the five best Netflix original horror shows, and praised the series for deviating from the predictable path taken by previous secret society stories.
Over on Twitter, meanwhile, the show is starting to find its fans, many of whom are now wondering why Ares isn’t getting more attention:
How the ever loving f*ck is this show being slept on? 🤯#Aresnetflix @AresNetflix pic.twitter.com/zeJcdNiPxl
— Blue (@mood_blu) January 30, 2020
Has anyone watched this 'Ares' series on Netflix? Hoooly shiiiit!
— Mike Stuchbery 💀🍷 (@MikeStuchbery_) February 4, 2020
I hope #ares gets renewed for another season. That was a good show. @netflix
— Fleur de Nys 🧚🏼♀️ (@nysmxrie) February 6, 2020
Moreover, in what many horror fans will take as a ringing endorsement, some viewers are struggling to get through the series due to how frightening they find it:
https://twitter.com/ManuellRiccio/status/1225735606422188033
https://twitter.com/shesmessyx/status/1223293455889305600
I don't even know why I finished #AresNetflix, it freaked the hell out of me, it's a good horror series I guess.
On a less flippant note, I would love to read black female critics' thoughts on the show – it's got as much social commentary as a Jordan Peele film.
— Christopher Chiu-Tabet (@CCTabet) February 6, 2020
I wanna watch Ares on netflix so baaaad but I'm too scared 😭
— CJ (@ceejfernando) February 5, 2020
https://twitter.com/_angpowers/status/1226166896032174081
https://twitter.com/summary_org/status/1226473141662363649
https://twitter.com/thebestofirl/status/1226209095268564992
From the above tweets, you can probably decide for yourself if Ares is a show worth checking out or one to avoid like a shadowy European cult. Though Netflix is keeping quiet about the possibility of a second season, the enthusiastic following quickly amassed by season 1 suggests we’ll probably be hearing an announcement sooner rather than later, so watch this space for more.