Monday, March 11, 2019

Happy! (2017)



Happy! (2017)


Holy shit, what did I just watch?


This has got to be one of the most well done crazy train rides I have ever seen. It's an all out full throttle punch to my face that I was not expecting at all. Just a quick warning though, this is not for you if you can't handle: Violence, including sexual violence, massive amounts of blood, pain, suffering, grievous injuries, drug use, death, children in danger, all manner of sexual situations, prostitution and probably a few I'm forgetting. Yeah it's all in there.


Basic plot line: Nick Sax is a disgraced alcoholic ex-cop turned hit man who cares about nobody, not even himself. Meanwhile Hailey, the daughter he didn't know he even had, gets kidnapped by a very bad Santa so she sends her imaginary friend Happy to find her father, whom she's never met, to save her. Meanwhile Nick gets involved in a mafia power struggle in which a man who has messed with him before named Blue needs a password that he think Nick has. While the very bad Santa is collecting kids and pulling mind trips.


Got that? Yeah it's that messed up and I think that is only the first episode.


Nick can actually see Happy, a little blue flying unicorn that is tooth rottingly sweet, and quickly figures out that he is real. Insert of stream of characters that are either disturbing as all get out (Smoothie) trying but not trying to screw over Nick (Meredith) or just want all of it to end and everything please go back to normal (Amanda). It just plain gets stranger after that.


As the violence ratchets up and Nick starts taking a beating that should kill a man three or four times over he just keeps on going. He is the unstoppable force that is pissed off, drunk, high and really needing to release some stress. With a friend that (almost) nobody else can see by his side that gets dragged down into the world of Nick Sax and all the darkness it has gathered.


Then, really subtle like, they start doing something that makes it even more over the top. Tiny bits of supernatural elements are slipped in under the radar. I mean if imaginary friends are real then why not? Catching onto this is what really drives the final perfect nail into the series and holds it all together nicely. Leading to a scene at the end that definitely lets you know that dark shit is afoot and season 2 will try to blow my already blown mind.


Everyone does their job above and beyond here. The actors are putting everything they have into it. The attention to detail on the sets, costuming, Nicks constant growing collection of injuries, etc are superb. Then the way they shot the entire thing is jarring in all the right ways. This is the kind of show you need a cigarette after watching an episode.


So if you like some really over the top messed up television. Watch Happy!. But don't say I didn't warn you.



If you like what you see here please think about hitting the 'support this blog' button at the top or the 'Ko-Fi' link at the side for ways to help me keep this blog going.

To see a list of movies I have reviewed click the 'movie reviews' listing at the top of this blog.

No comments:

Post a Comment