Pagan Peak is a German-Austrian crime drama television series that premiered in 2018. The show is set in the picturesque mountainous border region between Germany and Austria, known as the Pagan Mountain. It follows the story of a serial killer who is recreating gruesome murders from famous crime novels. One of the standout features of Pagan Peak is its striking cinematography. The show takes full advantage of its breathtaking alpine setting, capturing the beauty and isolation of the mountains in a way that adds to the overall atmosphere of the series. The use of wide shots and long takes creates a sense of vastness and eeriness, contributing to the feeling of being trapped in the desolate wilderness.
TV Review: Bigger, Bloodier, And Better Than Its Predecessor, “Pagan Peak” Is Back For Another Bone-Chilling Season
When the first female body is found, propped up like a hunting trophy, the police fear yet another serial killer in the border region between Germany and Austria. Meanwhile, our Austro-German investigator duo is unfit for duty: Ellie is struggling in the face of trauma, and the attempt on Gedeon’s life forces his early retirement. A new junior officer, Yela Antic, is on the case, but she isn’t able to complete it alone. As Ellie and Gedeon are forced to team up alongside Yela on this deeply unique investigation, they begin to see each other in a way neither could have imagined: as potential adversaries.
Inspired by the boundary-crossing Danish crime series “The Bridge” and utilizing the resurgence of Folk Horror, the latest season of “Pagan Peak” successfully builds on its solid first outing. Last season, a madman unhappy with humanity losing its harmony with nature began killing people while wearing various wood carved animal masks. Once again the series seamlessly bounces back and forth between Germany and Austria where detectives Ellie (Julia Jentsch) from the city of Munich and Winter (Nicholas Ofczarek) out of Salzburg, work together to solve another series of haunting murders.
** Spoilers Ahead From Last Season **
Set a year after the events of the Krampus Killer, Winter was shot in the head by gangsters he betrayed and is now recuperating following a lengthy coma. Ellie is an emotional wreck still reeling from her disastrous affair with her superior Claas (Hanno Koffler) and her near-death at the hands of the Krampus Killer. At first, it felt unrealistic for the traumatized detective to be back at work so soon but the teleplay makes it logical and dramatically compelling.
In Munich, Yela Antic (Franziska Von Harsdorf) is a junior detective occasionally seeking the guidance of Ellie when the veteran investigator is not absent. Yela is a capable investigator and surpasses her colleagues by asking more inquisitive questions during interviews with suspects. Ellie’s return to the force is short-lived and she places the latest homicide of a teenage German tourist in Yela’s lap. In the town of Zill, Austria, the young tourist was found near a river. Back in Salzburg, Winter is looking to return to active duty while battling memories of his mysterious past. After another murder that is similar in nature to the tourist (a victim’s mouth crudely stuffed with branches) Yela seeks out Winter and the two begin working together.
Co-creators/co-directors Cyrill Boss and Phillip Stennert jettison the debut’s Folk Horror aesthetic and take a Noir approach focused on intergenerational secrets and conspiracies. “Chinatown” particularly came to mind with Gössen, the central shady corporation yielding far-reaching power and unhealthy family ties. Most intriguing is the teleplay’s depiction of bizarre hierarchies within hunting cultures, showcasing ancient rituals utilizing violence to subsume everyone it touches. Amongst endless police procedurals to choose from, the thoroughly entertaining “Pagan Peak” should be at the top of your list.
Now streaming exclusively on Topic
Der Pass review – Quick! There’s been a death on the dullest border in Europe!
A people trafficker is found dead clutching a horse’s tail in this new German-Austro ‘thriller’ that shamelessly rips off The Bridge. Only the detective who dresses like a pimp and sucks drugged sugar cubes will keep me going
Wed 31 Jul 2019 22.56 CESTA man’s frozen body lies in the mountain pass, one half in Germany, the other in Austria. Which police force will investigate the murder? “One of us gets the head, the other the ass,” says the Austrian detective Gedeon Winter, Falstaffian of girth if darker of mirth.
Winter speaks not so much with the wisdom of Solomon as with a complete lack of professional interest. He’s a 21st-century Bartleby: when tasked with work or socialising, he would rather not – both get in the way of boozing and sucking illicitly medicated sugar cubes. Despite his terrible tailor (“You dress like a pimp,” says one colleague) and a BMI unsuited to alpine police work – he resembles Wallander; not Branagh nor Krister Henriksson but Rolf Lassgård, the sweaty one with diabetes – Winter (Nicholas Ofczarek) is far and away the most diverting presence in Der Pass.
His German opposite, Ellie Stocker (Julia Jentsch), all smiles and sensible parka, glares at Winter, silently reproving him for his coarseness and wondering what is this guy’s major malfunction. We already have an inkling: most likely it’s to do with That Thing That Happened in Vienna, which means (as always) that Winter has been exiled to a place where crime is negligible.
How, though, could Winter not be intrigued by this very stiff stiff? After all, the body has been posed on the border after being stabbed in woods near an abandoned Mercedes. The corpse’s passport is Syrian, but its DNA is that of a Bulgarian with previous for people-trafficking. And what’s the deal with the horse’s tail the corpse is clutching? Simulated pagan rite? Gnomic cross-border critique of German-Austro immigration policies?
Frankly, like Winter, I find it hard to care. Why? I’ve been waylaid at these TV borderlands before. First there was The Bridge, where a body was found lying between Sweden and Denmark. Then there was The Tunnel, in which a body was halfway between French and British jurisdictions, unacceptably spoiling London lovers’ chances of necking on the Passerelle des Arts. Now there’s this German-language drama featuring a dead Bulgarian people-trafficker, most likely thwarting smug Bavarians in Audi estates heading to the pistes (so there’s some good news).
Of all the borders in all the world, why did this dead Bulgarian have to pitch up on the least interesting one? Bored at the milieu and by-numbers script, I spent this opening episode dreaming up alternatives. The 38th Parallel, a thriller in which Pyongyang and Seoul’s finest come together like a Trump-Kim handshake to find out who offed an inter-Korean corpse. The Very Hard Border, a silent movie set in a post-Brexit dystopia in which the Gardai and the PSNI aren’t talking any more, so solve Boris Johnson’s murder using hand gestures. Carry on Up the Punjab, a Bollywood musical set on the Kashmiri frontier, featuring a showstopping dance number with dressy Indian and Pakistani border guards and the Imran Khan singalong It’s Just Not Cricket.
Back to Mitteleuropa. In Munich, a jaded hack gets a flash drive in the mail. Say what you want about German news gathering, at least the München Zeitung correspondent has his own sumptuous office, rather than hot-desking in journalism’s equivalent of The Hunger Games as happens at most papers. It contains what purports (I love a good purport, me) to be the last words of the Bulgarian corpse, a forced confession that goes something like this: “I smuggled people … Yadda yadda … My punishment will be your salvation. Blah de blah … The red time of year is coming.” Corbyn at No 10? Serial slaying? I’m no expert in enigmatic threats, but probably the latter.
I liked one scene. The odd cop couple interview the corpse’s jailed cousin, who turns out to be unrepentant, misogynistic and sociopathic – the ideal skillset for the kind profession of leaving refugees to die in an abandoned truck. The cousin tells them the family motto: “You send 20 men, we send back 40 balls.” My family motto was very different: “You send us your shuttlecocks, we’ll bring the double entendres.” Which is why we had no friends.
But the cousin has a point: whoever crossed his criminal mob family by offing the corpse in the mountains will get got. At the end of episode one, a snowplough pulls over so as not to crush a naked woman. She is the woman from an earlier scene, probably a sex worker who visited the chauffeur-driven alpha male at his lair for the usual reasons. My money says the alpha male has been punished by the Bulgarian family for offing their own. Cut to a gang of roughnecks around a brazier, one of whom cackles: “Shall I tell you a secret?” As anyone who has ever watched TV knows, cackling goons around a brazier means only one thing. No good.
Pagan Peak (Der Pass) Review: Stand-Out Wintry Noir
Pagan Peak (Der Pass), on the Topic Channel, is loosely based on The Bridge, the iconic series about a body found on the Sweden/Denmark border, forcing cops from both countries to cooperate on the case. This time, the naked, posed body lays across the mountainous German/Austrian border near Salzburg. Cheery, pragmatic German detective Ellie Stocker (Julia Jentsch) is the first to arrive at the scene, followed by shambolic, apathetic Austrian detective Gedeon Winter (Nicolas Ofczarek, throwing an early Ólafur Darri Ólafsson vibe), who is happy to let the German authorities have the case. But when another body turns up in Austria, Gedeon is forced to join the search for a serial killer. Pagan Peak is a tight, stripped down version of The Bridge that has its own merits.
The Same, Yet Different
While Pagan Peak starts with a body sharing a border, it quickly diverts from source material The Bridge. The victim is one whole person, versus two people put together, and neither of the detectives are married, nor on the Autism spectrum. Instead, Gedeon is a disgraced Viennese cop plagued by substance abuse and unsavory connections from his past. He has been sent to Salzburg as punishment, and as such, he is completely tuned out of his job. Ellie’s regimented, German personality grates on him immediately. But he’s a good, if ethically loose, detective. Eventually he and Ellie work together, and influence each other for the better. There is a pesky journalist in this series who becomes a mouthpiece for the killer, but he is a minor character.
The “pagan” in Pagan Peak refers to a few things: Cernunnos, the Celtic God of the Forest, who is often depicted with antlers, and Krampus, the traditional horned figure that scares misbehaving children into being good at Christmastime. The killer fancies himself an amalgam of the two, living in the woods, making horrifying masks out of wood and antlers, and punishing adults who misbehave by killing them in a ritualistic way. He believes he’s making a difference in society, but in truth, he is simply filled with rage borne of insecurity and rejection. When he gets called out on that in the press, he escalates his crimes to include the innocent as well.
Our Take on Pagan Peak
More than The Bridge, Pagan Peak reminds me of season 1 of True Detective, with its foreboding soundtrack and gorgeous yet gloomy cinematography. Not to mention the pagan references (Yellow King of Carcosa, anyone?). But aside from comparisons to other shows, Pagan Peak stands on its own. Gedeon is a compelling character-dangerous and remote, trying to avoid a reckoning. The wintry Alpine location is evocative, and the killer is realistically delusional, versus being portrayed as a superman able to be in 3 places at once. It’s refreshing that there aren’t any bratty teens in the story, either. The plot is less about people having secrets than it is about working leads to find this guy. As of this writing, season 2 is making its way to the U.S. I highly recommend getting caught up now.
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The use of wide shots and long takes creates a sense of vastness and eeriness, contributing to the feeling of being trapped in the desolate wilderness. The acting in Pagan Peak is also top-notch. The cast includes some of Germany and Austria's finest actors, who bring their characters to life with depth and nuance.
The performances are both subtle and powerful, effectively conveying the intensity and emotional turmoil experienced by the characters. The story is gripping and full of suspense, keeping viewers on the edge of their seats. The killer's motives and identity are shrouded in mystery, leading to unexpected twists and turns. The series often delves into the psychological aspects of the characters, exploring their inner demons and the impact of their pasts on their present actions. Pagan Peak also stands out for its exploration of the cultural and political differences between Germany and Austria. The show highlights the tensions that arise when two countries are forced to work together to solve a crime and the clash of ideologies that can occur. Overall, Pagan Peak is a highly atmospheric and engaging crime drama. Its stunning visuals, powerful performances, and intriguing storyline make it a must-watch for fans of the genre. The series successfully blends elements of psychological thriller, crime, and mystery to create a unique and riveting viewing experience..
Reviews for "Pagan Peak: A Foreign Thriller That Deserves Your Attention"
1. John - 1 star - I found "Pagan Peak" to be incredibly boring and unoriginal. The plot felt like a rehashed version of every other crime drama I've ever seen, and the characters were one-dimensional and uninspiring. The acting was also subpar, with most of the performances falling flat and lacking emotion. Overall, I was disappointed and felt like I wasted my time watching this show.
2. Sarah - 2 stars - While "Pagan Peak" started off promising with an interesting premise, it quickly lost its way. The pacing was all over the place, with some episodes dragging on and others feeling rushed. There were also far too many unnecessary subplots that were never properly developed or resolved. The ending was anticlimactic and left me feeling unsatisfied. I had higher expectations for this show, but in the end, it fell flat for me.
3. Michael - 2 stars - The production value of "Pagan Peak" was impressive, but that's about as far as my praise goes. The storyline was convoluted and hard to follow, and the constant back-and-forth between the past and the present only added to the confusion. The violence and gore were excessive and gratuitous, almost to the point of being off-putting. I understand that it's a crime drama, but there needs to be a better balance. Overall, I didn't find "Pagan Peak" to be enjoyable or compelling.
4. Emily - 1 star - I couldn't connect with any of the characters in "Pagan Peak". They were either cookie-cutter stereotypes or just plain unlikable. The dialogue was also incredibly cheesy and often felt forced. The show seemed to rely on shock value and graphic scenes rather than strong storytelling. The resolution of the mystery was predictable and left me feeling underwhelmed. I wouldn't recommend wasting your time on this series.