Killing Mike - Season 1 - Blu-ray

Content: The small town of Balling in the Danish province seems idyllic only at first glance. But the appearance is deceiving tremendously, because the village community is downright bullied by young Mike. In addition to intimidation and beatings, Mike is also said to have deliberately run over Aksel, the son of the village doctor Peter. But Mike has never been charged for this, which is why Peter is now vowing revenge. And he's not the only one. Now that the bully's assaults aren't just focused on adults, a group of aggrieved people come together and see only one way out of this situation: Mike must die. But how is that to happen without one of them going to jail for it?

The Danish drama series "Killing Mike" manages very well to gradually delve deeper and deeper into the abysses hidden behind the deceptive village idyll of Balling. Mike may be the most obvious abyss, but he is only the tip of the iceberg. Everyone here has a secret, with adultery and alcoholism being the least of it. That's what makes the series so interesting. The protagonists see themselves as morally superior to the village bully, so in a way you can understand why they would even consider such a drastic plan. A teenager run over by a car, a child brutally beaten, a man regularly physically tortured and humiliated - all reasons that can blow a fuse at some point (even if, of course, that wouldn't justify the planned murder either).

Now comes the big BUT, which gives the whole thing an exciting complexity: the people who see Mike as such a bad person that he doesn't deserve to live on truly don't have a clean slate either, or lose it over the course of this first season. And time and time again, you wonder: do the ends really justify all means? Especially in the final episode, where a truly awful secret is revealed, that question comes to mind given how the character involved in it (which one, of course, won't be revealed here) reacts to that revelation.

No question: "Killing Mike" is not light fare. True, there are moments here and there that allow the viewer to take a breath. But there is a constant tense and oppressive atmosphere here that intensifies whenever Mike enters the scene. You feel the helplessness and fear of the characters towards him, which makes it hard to watch more than one episode at a time. On the other hand, the dramaturgical build-up is so exciting that you still like to expose yourself to the uncomfortable feeling the series leaves behind. In the end, we can only hope that there will be a second season, because after the finale of this first season, many questions remain unanswered. All in all, there is clearly a: worth seeing!

Picture + Sound: In addition to the good overall sharpness and the coherent contrasts, the image of the Blu-ray pleases especially with the color scheme, which captures the character of the small town between rural idyll and place of horror very well. The audio, with a few exceptions, remains rather subdued, though this is due to the fairly quiet production rather than the decent DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix. Good!

Extras: Bonus features include a booklet with info on the characters and an episode guide.

Conclusion: "Killing Mike" is not exactly light fare. How Mike bullies his environment is at times already very depressing and disturbing. But how this situation is dramaturgically escalated and how other secrets behind the idyllic village facade are exposed, makes this series extremely gripping and despite many quiet moments also extremely exciting. The Blu-ray can convince in terms of picture and sound quality, only the bonus material could have been a little more than just a booklet. All in all clearly a: recommendable!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp