Some of the best tv shows are limited series or mini-series that can tell a story in just 6-10 episodes. Archive 81 sets itself up as such a show, but then it loses what makes it good by setting up a second season.
Archive expert Dan Stevens (Mamoudou Athie) is hired by a company to restore tapes recovered from an apartment building fire that took place in NYC in the 90s. The company is mysterious, so Dan enlists his podcast buddy Mark (Matt McGorry) to help investigate. Dan takes the well-paying job but has to live in the company’s remote house/research facility to restore the old tapes. The tapes tell the story of grad student Melody Pendras (Dina Shihabi), who was writing a thesis on The Vissar Building, the aforementioned building which caught fire, killing many of the residents.
All the moving parts of this mystery build up suspense and dread well through the first half of the eight-episode series. Generational trauma and tragic backstories help flesh out main characters Dan and Melody as they learn more about the Vissar Building and find their lives (30 years apart) intertwining. The use of various antique AV equipment becomes an interesting storytelling tool that works to move the story along and provide for some interesting scares.
Episodes 3 and 4 were the strongest and most impressive of the series, and these episodes showcase the talents of directing duo Aaron Benson and Justin Moorehead. These two made a name for themselves over the last decade directing a handful of sci-fi and horror indies (Spring; The Endless; Synchronicity) and have now directed episodes of three different streaming shows, with Moonknight and Loki being the other two. These two episodes of Archive borrow effectively from a smattering of horror films, including The Ring and Poltergeist, to create the goriest and most frightening episodes of the series.
All later episodes, however, don’t quite match the intensity or spookiness of those middle ones. So many of the plot points and characterizations can only be juggled for so long before one of them falls to the ground. While more is revealed about the apartment building and Dan and Melody’s backstories and interconnections in a well-paced fashion, the final episodes seemed to be more of a network tv show ending than that of a streaming show with more freedom to be daring. One could even compare the cliffhanger ending of Archive 81 to any of the finales from the initial seasons of Lost: it still works, but it’s a little disappointing.
And, unfortunately, Archive was one of the many casualties that come in May when tv shows get renewed or canceled. There won’t be a way for showrunner Rebecca Sonnenshine and Rebecca Thomas to redeem the disappointing ending by providing another season to continue Dan and Melody’s story. Still, the build-up to that average ending is worth the ride.
All episodes are currently streaming on Netflix.
—Eric Beach