Coffee House Writers

Top Menu

Main Menu

  • Home
  • Article Categories
    • Creativity
    • Culture
    • Design
    • Family
    • Fashion
    • Fiction
    • Food
    • Environment
    • Health
    • Home
    • Lifestyle
    • Memories
    • Nonfiction
    • Poetry
    • Politics
    • Relationships
    • Sports
    • Style
    • Technology
    • Travel
  • About Us
    • Our Story
    • Our Founder
  • Meet Our Admin
    • Chief Editors
    • Editors
    • Poetry Editors
    • Advertising Team
    • Recruiting Team
  • Testimonials
  • Apply
  • Login

logo

Coffee House Writers

  • Home
  • Article Categories
    • Creativity
    • Culture
    • Design
    • Family
    • Fashion
    • Fiction
    • Food
    • Environment
    • Health
    • Home
    • Lifestyle
    • Memories
    • Nonfiction
    • Poetry
    • Politics
    • Relationships
    • Sports
    • Style
    • Technology
    • Travel
  • About Us
    • Our Story
    • Our Founder
  • Meet Our Admin
    • Chief Editors
    • Editors
    • Poetry Editors
    • Advertising Team
    • Recruiting Team
  • Testimonials
  • Apply
  • Login
  • You

  • Ma Millie-6

  • Why Genuine Gratitude Wins Over Urgent Apology

  • Burying her… alive?

  • Building Habits

  • Time After Time

  • Dance With Me

  • 5 Foods High in Vitamin D

  • The North Wind – Part 9

  • Youngster

  • Parenting My Way With No Regrets

  • Cracks and Holes

  • Until Forever, Part One

  • The Mystery of Cash Castle: Part 12

  • I want to fly

  • Prayers of Lament and Gratitude

  • Circumstantial Truths

  • Bloom Everlasting

  • Ma Millie-5

  • Husband

  • Leap Year Killer

  • Making Peace With My Adopted Self

  • Platinum Moments

  • Evolution of Romance Novels: Part 1

  • Fairytale

  • The North Wind – Part 8

  • English Class

  • A Beetle Called Bertha

  • The Island Flamingo: Part 11

  • Mr. Keith’s House – Part V

MediaTravelCulture
Home›Media›Dark Tourist: A Netflix Original

Dark Tourist: A Netflix Original

By J.C Ballard
August 6, 2018
1073
0
Share:
Photo Credit @ Jonathon Wilson
From a nuclear lake to a haunted forest, New Zealand filmmaker and journalist David Farrier (‘Tickled’) visits unusual — and often macabre — tourism spots around the world.

Human beings are drawn to things that frighten us and make us sick to our stomachs. It’s why you slow down to see an accident or a disaster. It’s why your favorite TV shows might focus on serial killers, gruesome deaths, and unexplained disasters. We have created an entire film genre that focuses on our love of being scared. It’s not an exaggeration to say that the macabre is an American pastime. I’m guilty of it too. Most of my favorite things to watch are grizzly crime documentaries and haunting TV shows. Netflix’s Dark Tourist seemed to fit the bill. Here is my review of the show.

The People

David Farrier, our host during this dark trip, manages to balance the seriousness of his destinations with humor that keeps the audience engaged. He appears to be knowledgeable, respectful, and empathetic when dealing with sensitive subjects. However, he is not the star of the show. The real stars are the people that he meets on his journeys, those truly dedicated to the macabre, and the stories that they have to tell. Their stories and interactions with the destinations are where the true magic comes from in this series.

The Destinations

This Netflix series is broken into 8 episodes, with each taking place in a different geographic region. These include Latin America, Japan, the United States (twice), the Stans, Europe, Southeast Asia, and Africa. Farrier’s adventures take him from Pablo Escobar’s lavish prison in Columbia to the Suicide Forest of Japan to a voodoo festival in Benin. These places and their histories may be familiar, but Farrier takes us on a deeper exploration that can be disturbing. Some of these destinations aren’t for everyone. Viewer discretion is definitely advised by Netflix and me!

The Pacing

My biggest issue with Dark Tourist is that they try to fit everything into the 40-minute episode. It takes away the emotional impacts of both the people we’re meeting and the places we’re visiting. One example of this is a conversation about Nazi memorabilia and what the acceptable levels might be. While the episode tries to create an emphasis on the debate, it gets no more than a shrug because there’s not enough time. Their series, primarily a second season if they get one, should focus on fewer destinations per episode to give the audience time to form a connection to what we’re seeing.

Overall, I think that Dark Tourist was an interesting divergence from some of Netflix’s original content. I think it was both effective, interesting, and worth the watch. While I enjoyed watching David Farrier explore these places, I will not be paying them a visit anytime soon. Would you be brave enough to go?

Tagsdark touristnetflix originalsanta muerteUnited Stateslatin americaNetflixjapanstansafricaEuropevoodooTV ShowsNetflix showsasia
Previous Article

Quite Contrary – Part 1

Next Article

Boolean Search: A Lost Art

0
Shares
  • 0
  • +
  • 0
  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

J.C Ballard

Jordan Ballard has been a writer for most of her life, a passion that has only grown with her. A student at Rogers State University, she studies Corporate Communications and Public Administration. As a pessimistic optimist, she tends to see the world around her as something she aspires to change. In her spare time, she can often be found reading the same book for the nineteenth time. Her dream is to be a full-time writer someday.

Related articles More from author

  • TravelEntertainmentCreativityRelationshipsFictionMemories

    Best Witches Issue 15

    May 13, 2019
    By Marissa Allen
  • FictionMedia

    Top 5 Reasons To Love Outlander

    January 19, 2018
    By Sylvia Stein
  • Person reaching out
    CreativityEnvironmentMemoriesHealthEntertainmentLifestyleCulture

    Coming up for Air

    May 9, 2022
    By Stephanie Wyatt
  • Netflix original
    EntertainmentTravelCultureStyleMediaCreativityRelationshipsFiction

    “Russian Doll”, Netflix’s New Series Review (Spoiler Free)

    February 11, 2019
    By rachelmpatterson
  • https://www.flickr.com/photos/saechang/4409314310/
    CultureSportsMemories

    5 Professional Athletes China Absolutely Adores

    March 7, 2018
    By David Shelmon
  • Cave
    TravelCultureEntertainmentMediaCreativityFamilyEnvironmentRelationships

    Amaterasu-The Sun Goddess You’ve Never Heard Of Part II

    July 8, 2019
    By jlwilling

Leave a reply Cancel reply

You may be interested

  • woman in wheelchair
    CreativityPoetryFashionEnvironmentEntertainmentLifestyleCulture

    Free Thought

  • Hore Abby
    FictionMemoriesTravelCultureEntertainmentCreativityHistoryFamilyRelationships

    Pieces

  • blurred background with Christmas tree image
    CreativityFamilyRelationshipsMemoriesHomeFoodEntertainmentLifestyle

    Christmas 2020: Celebrating From Afar

Timeline

  • March 27, 2023

    You

  • March 27, 2023

    Ma Millie-6

  • March 27, 2023

    Why Genuine Gratitude Wins Over Urgent Apology

  • March 27, 2023

    Burying her… alive?

  • March 27, 2023

    Building Habits

Latest Comments

  • Jill Grinnell
    on
    March 13, 2023
    Lovely

    I want to fly

  • Ritu Anand
    on
    March 13, 2023
    Thank you so much Vikash.

    I want to fly

  • Vikash Goyal
    on
    March 13, 2023
    Beautiful writing!

    I want to fly

  • The Different Types of Science Fiction - E. M. Sherwood Foster
    on
    March 11, 2023
    […] My serial publication The North Wind at Coffee House Writers! Part 1 is here. […]

    The North Wind – Part 1

  • A Beetle Called Bertha, is in this week’s Coffee House Writers Magazine – Ivor.Plumber/Poet
    on
    March 6, 2023
    […] Hello dear readers and followers, I now write for “Coffee House Writers” magazine on a ...

    A Beetle Called Bertha

Find us on Facebook

About us

  • coffeehousewriters3@gmail.com

Follow us

© Copyright 2018-2022 Coffee House Writers. All Rights Reserved. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s administrator and owner is strictly prohibited.