Sunday 12 May 2013

Review: 'Defiance: The Devil in the Dark'

'Defiance: The Devil in the Dark,' 2013, SyFy Channel. Written by Michael Taylor. Directed by Omar Madha. Starring Grant Bowler, Stephanie Leonidas, and Julie Benz. Airs 9.00 p.m. EST on Mondays on SyFy Channel; or catch up on full episodes at http://www.defiance.com/en/series/video/2639565.


Irisa (Stephanie Leonidas, pictured) is having visions which she and Nolan (Grant Bowler) put off as post-traumatic stress disorder. Her visions have been going on for some time, and became stronger after she and Nolan came to Defiance. Now she faces the truth, that the visions are actually psychic: she can see the past. (There's a nice, if brief, scene in which she admonishes Nolan for making her think the visions are PTSD; she says he makes her afraid of being who she is.) 

Murders are being committed, and an unusual weapon is being used: the pheromones of Hellbugs. Hellbugs will attack anything with their pheromones on it, and someone has been soaking people's clothing with the stuff. 

Meanwhile, the Irathient spirit riders are creating some discomfort among the town's residents. Datak Tarr (Tony Curran) struggles with accepting Christie (Nicole Munoz) as one of his own; she's staying with the Tarr family, but doesn't adhere to their customs. Stahna (Jaime Murray) continues to try to smooth things over, and suggests that she and Datak need to try and mend things between Christie and her father (Graham Greene). 

In this episode, we get to find out a bit more about the Irathients, or at least about those with the sight. Personally, we'd like to see more, and hopefully this won't be the last of the episodes in which Irisa has visions. The Hellbugs are effectively creepy, and the CGI on them is quite well done. It must cost a fortune to do the show's special effects; it would be nice if that didn't mean a quick end to the show. 


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