Spoiler-Free Review of “October Faction” on Netflix: Freakish Potential with Flat Delivery

**This is a spoiler-free review so feel free to read on!**

A Mr. and Mrs. Smith type couple that fights supernatural monsters while balancing in some normal family drama.  Sounds like it could be oozing with eerie potential.

October Faction premiered on Netflix on January 23rd 2020 with 10 new episodes (40 minutes in length).  It stars Tamara Taylor, J.C. MacKenzie, Aurora Burghart, Gabriel Darku, and Maxim Roy.

The show is based on the comic series, The October Faction, introducing us to the Allen family.  After a family tragedy, The Allens move back to their hometown, but the supernatural threats continue to track them down.  Deloris and Fred’s twin children, Viv and Geoff, also deal with their own share of issues, especially when they start to discover that they may have some supernatural abilities of their own.

This is not the first time we have seen a horror/supernatural series try to balance out monsters and demons with family drama.  Think of successful series like Supernatural, Charmed, and Netflix’s The Haunting of Hill House.  While the show has a lot of promise and potential, it seems like a lot of it was stifled by the uninspiring execution, along with the timing of being released the day prior to Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.

That being said, October Faction does have some redeeming qualities, but is it worthy of your next binge-watch?  Let’s find out…

The Pros:

October Faction Netflix 6
Images courtesy of Netflix

A fantastic villain with otherworldly abilities.

Played by Maxim Roy, Alice, really breathes new life into the show.  The mystery surrounding her is the most intriguing part of the series and she really performs some cringe-worthy acts with her powers that will make you think twice about going up against her.

Likable characters.

The Allen family may have a lot of dark secrets, but they also deal with everyday problems as well.  The balance works well, as we leave the monster hunting in the background and focus on the character dynamics.

The twins, Viv and Geoff, have to deal with a lot of identity searching in high school and their performances are believable and captivating.  Plus, they have some pretty awesome abilities too!

The Cons:

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Images courtesy of Netflix

Way too much set-up in the opening episodes.

The show starts off really slow and boring with a few sprinkles of potential here and there, but it was honestly a struggle to watch episodes 1-3.  Normally, if this was a weekly show, I would have tuned out by now, but I gave it a chance since I could watch all the episodes at once.

Surprisingly, episodes 4-9 are actually quite brilliant and the plot really takes off with interesting twists and reveals.  However, I can’t ignore the fact that the first three episodes are just so uninspiring and I have a feeling many of you might tune out.  However, if you are willing to take a chance, episode 4 is where things really start to pick up.

So am I in or out?

October Faction Netflix 4
Images courtesy of Netflix

This is a tough one.  I’m in for episodes 4-9, which were binge-watch worthy, but overall, I am out because the opening episodes were so dull and the ending was kind of all over the place.  I’m frustrated about this one because this show could have been fantastic and it almost felt rushed and clumsily put together.

I would recommend that you watch shows like Chilling Adventures of Sabrina and Light as a Feather first if you are looking for an entertaining supernatural watch, but if you are willing to put the work into watching October Faction, there are some entertaining moments sprinkled in.

I hope you enjoyed the review and feel free to post your own thoughts and theories on October Faction in the comments section below.  Thanks so much for reading and happy viewing!

Best,

Amy Koto, TV Fanatic Girl

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**Do you love television shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Once Upon a Time, Lost, Charmed, The Vampire Diaries, and Supernatural?  Do you enjoy dark fantasy, fairy-tale retellings, paranormal romance, horror, and mystery?  Then you may like my book series, Dreaming of Wonderland…available on Amazon!  Thank you for taking the time to check it out and I appreciate any feedback as well.  I really hope you enjoy!

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Amy Koto, TV Fanatic Girl

I live in Long Island, NY. I am obsessed with TV, movies, reading and writing! My top TV shows are Lost, Breaking Bad, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Prison Break, Charmed, Veronica Mars, and Beverly Hills 90210. My dog, Honey, loves TV too!

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