Close
Search
Menu Menu

Netflix’s The Witcher is more ‘grounded horror’ than fantasy

By
London, UK
1 energy + Add Energy
What is energy?
Want to show your appreciation? Give an article “Energy” and it will help us know what you like.
0 comments
0 comments

Netflix’s live-action adaption of The Witcher novels will lean more towards horror elements than fantasy according to the show’s writers.

Fans of CD Projekt Red’s The Witcher games and Andrzej Zapowski’s novels will be thrilled at this morning’s (Nov 7th) revelations. The showrunner and creator of the upcoming Netflix show Lauren S. Hissrich has claimed that she’s eager to adapt all seven of Zapowski’s Witcher volumes in their entirety.

Hissrich is banking on the show being renewed far beyond season one, stating in an interview with SFX: ‘The worst thing we could do is put all of our energies just into one season, and not be thinking about where these characters can go’. After much speculation fantasy enthusiasts can relax knowing that key historical and political rudiments won’t be shoehorned in for brief moments of contextual clarity.

We’re set for a steady paced, grounded homage to the books and not just an action-packed romp through the Northern Realms.

Excluding the spicy pile of garbage that was Game of Thrones’ final season, fantasy TV has been all the rage in recent times. And the next few months will draw even larger audiences to the genre, with adaptions for Lord of the Rings, The Dark Tower, and The Wheel of Time all in the pipeline for late 2019 to early 2020.

Netflix’s take on The Witcher offers a disparate take on the genre, instead harkening to hide-under-the-pillow moments from shows like Supernatural. If you’ve read or played anything related to The Witcher, you’ll know that the reimagined medieval continent is brimming with some of the most terrifying beasts imaginable (with some seriously grim lore behind them) and Geralt’s task of slashing through them like a medieval gig-economy worker ain’t no fantastical picnic.

There’s also the matter of logistics that have skewed the production towards a more horror-esque approach. In the source materials the Nilfgaardian armies, which play a big part in the politics throughout, are tens-of-thousands strong in number and Lauren S. Hissrich concedes that they ‘physically can’t exist on set’.

Obviously, CGI can contribute to bulking up the Nilf numbers, but in the show’s first season it would be too ambitious (and would put a little too much strain on the purse strings) to focus predominantly on the military angle. The showrunners thus seem to have decided to focus more heavily on singular or small-scale horror threats. If you can call a car sized spider that.

Personally, I’m pretty chuffed with the show makers’ decision to focus on horror. The plethora of nightmarish enemies, from wraiths and dryads, to arachnomorphs and leshens, would feel underplayed if they went the route of traditional politico/fantasy. Even with a potential seven seasons, there’s a huge bestiary to get through, and speaking from experience each incarnation takes some serious work to put down.

https://youtu.be/ndl1W4ltcmg

For those who’re fully over spending December watching Home Alone or The Grinch for the 1000th time, The Witcher season 1 is dropping on the 20th December – an early Christmas present.

Senior Writer London, UK

I’m Jamie (He/Him), the Deputy Editor and a Senior Writer at Thred. Keeping up with social media updates and revolutionary technology is my forte, but when away from my keyboard, you’ll probably find me wrapped around a large Tango ice blast at the latest mediocre horror flick. Follow me on Twitter, LinkedIn and drop me some ideas/feedback via email.

Popular

Keep up with thred by signing up to our planet-positive newsletter!

More from thred.

‘Bionic eye’ solves mystery of Plato’s final resting place
Credit: Thred
Offbeat

‘Bionic eye’ solves mystery of Plato’s final resting place

Italian researcher, Graziano Ranocchia, may have finally solved the mystery of Plato’s final resting place. An AI-powered ‘bionic eye’ scanned a 2,000-year-old carbonised scroll written around 348 BC which pinpointed a specific location in Athens. The mystery of where one of the world’s greatest philosophers rests may have just been solved – by a machine, ironically. The burial of Plato, arguably the most revered of the foundational thinkers of Greek philosophy...

By London, UK
Nature has officially become a musician
Credit: Pexels
Media

Nature has officially become a musician

As part of a new campaign, nature has been recognised as an artist on major streaming platforms, including Spotify. Royalties will go towards supporting climate action initiatives across the globe. Temperatures are rising, habitats are diminishing, and glaciers are melting at an unprecedented rate. As the climate changes, the Earth’s suffering continues to reach new heights, and the reality that we’re running out of time to do something about it becomes...

By London, UK
What is the ‘Dead Internet Theory’ and is it real?
Credit: Thred
Offbeat

What is the ‘Dead Internet Theory’ and is it real?

With the ceaseless growth of AI since 2022, conspiracies surrounding the so-called ‘Dead Internet Theory’ have grown stronger. First thing’s first, though, what the hell is it and does it have any credibility? Is this an online rabbit hole worth getting lost in? Is it pure storm in a teacup? Did a human even write this article? So many questions. If you spend any significant amount of time on Twitter (X)...

By London, UK
What are ‘adult gap years’ and why are they on the rise?
Credit: Unsplash
Offbeat

What are ‘adult gap years’ and why are they on the rise?

Most commonly a pre-uni rite of passage for teens and people in their early 20s, putting everything on hold to travel the world is fast becoming a trend among older generations looking for a break from the relentless nature of life as a grown up. Typically associated with the brink of adulthood, a gap year is a period of development for those with the time and resources to travel, volunteer,...

By London, UK
Accessibility