‘Devs’ Pilot Review: Unique mind-bending sci-fi horror that’ll pull you in right away
This review does not contain spoilers.
There is science fiction, and then there is science fiction horror. If you know Alex Garland and his writing/direction, then it won’t be difficult for you to gauge what you are signing up for when you tune into FX’s ‘Devs’. But if you are not, then, we have to say, you need to be prepared for a psychologically intense, slow-burn thriller that starts to tread on the lines of horror very soon.
Remember ‘Annihilation’? ‘Devs’ has fine traces of that sci-fi thriller movie. It might or might not be because both are Garland’s works, but is it not difficult to correlate Sonoya Mizuno’s Lily to Natalie Portman’s Lena.
Both are scientists, had their partners missing, and both start to see the perils of R&D gone rogue.
However, that is not what the point in the discussion is here. It’s mainly because one is a movie, that gets over even before you realize, while the other is a prolonged process of taking your through layer by layer of the story and its characters, instilling intrigue and fear at the same time, in the same breath.
Calling ‘Devs’ a series would be an understatement and unfair to the fantastic cast and the remarkable creator. This is an experience, which, let us assure you, has just started.
If the first two episodes have managed to make you lose your sleep (at least it made us!) then be prepared for more midnight discussions for the next few Wednesdays (or even days to follow).
Set in the somewhat futuristic Silicon Valley, young couple Lily and Sergei (Carl Glusman) are employees of what seems to be a giant tech company, Amaya. From being a core member of the AI team, Sergei is promoted and soon, under unknown, unseen circumstances, disappears.
What follows is Lily’s relentless and undaunted efforts in digging up information and in the process uncovers what Devs is all about, and learns things that would change her and her life forever. Without spilling the “gory details” and spoiling the experience for you, let us just talk about what it is not, rather than what it is.
It is not a show that you can enjoy a casual watch. Or least, the first two episodes were such. ‘Devs’ is a “dark trip” of a sort that needs you to be devoted and is going to demand all your attention, focus, and thinking.
If you are a science nerd, it might add to the excitement, but it is still not as geeky as it presents itself in the first 30-40 minutes. It’s not impossible to grasp the concepts of machine learning and the basics of quantum physics.
It’s mysterious, a tad haunting and dizzying, but keeps you gripped to every frame. Simply put, ‘Devs’ could be a show that we are sure would stay with you for a long time to come.
Let’s see how the next week turns out!
The eight-part limited series is available March 5 onwards exclusively on FX on Hulu, with pilot two episodes dropping together and the remaining episodes dropping weekly, every Thursday 12 am.
