The Mantis (released in France as  La Mante)

(2017)

on Netflix

This is a 6 part mini series in French with subtitled English. The acting is impeccable and the cinematography beautiful. The practical effects are impressive yet not over done. Impressive, considering the fact that this is a movie about 2 serial killers.

The first few episodes are flooded with red herrings (false leads), but within the story’s world, they are plausible. Around episodes 4 and 5 there are many convenient plot points (no password protection on a psychiatrist’s laptop) and coincidences assisted by some especially dim behavior by the police. The sight of a crew of 3 members of an elite police squad physically scanning faces on a dating site, instead of running facial recognition software, had me yelling at the screen.

While the end is slightly soapy and completely unrealistic, it does showcase the talents of the two leads, Carole Bouquet (as Jeanne) and Fred Testot (as Damien). These two actors make a time investment involving 6 episodes worthwhile. There is some over-wrought acting by some of the secondary cast, but I will chalk that up to the script flaws and maybe the direction.

Whether the details in this mini series add up or not it is entertaining.

Due to the subject matter, this is a hard R rated series.