Netflix’s Archive 81 is a horror-thriller mystery show created by Rebecca Sonnenshine which has derived its idea from the 1999 The Blair Witch Project. Unlike the usual horror genre, Archive 81 don’t comprise of jump scares instead it is gradually building an environment of unexplained tension. Based on a podcast with the same name, the series will seem slow to some but the multiple attempts of the character to ascertain the mystery will keep the audience glued. The character of Dan Turner is the protagonist, he is a curator working at a New York’s museum and has a good reputation for restoring damaged footage or film including VHS tapes. Dan is offered a job by a wealthy man named Virgil Davenport of restoring a collection of damaged cassette tapes for one hundred thousand dollars. The task is simple, however, the conditions are strange. Since the tapes can’t be moved Dan has to go and stay at an isolated compound and the place does not have either an internet connection or cell network, hence he will have to stay cut off from the outside world until the tapes are restored. He gets there and with great caution starts to restore the tapes.
The fire-damaged tapes are the remnants of a history project undertaken by a college student named Melody Pendras in 1994. She has recorded the life of the residents of apartment building called Visser, which was created on the same land where a mansion got destroyed in a fire in 1920. Melody is helped by a teen named Jess and she uncovers a secret cult whose collective chants could be heard from the vents. The characters of Dan and Melody share a relationship despite both of them being apart in time by three decades. With no wifi and network but only a landline which Dan uses to call his friend to ask him to goggle the names of the people Melody mentioned on the tapes. Soon he realizes that he is under surveillance. In the eight episodes of Archive 81, the audience will see conspiracy theories, jump scares, hallway stalking, revived creatures from old times, hallucinations, mysterious sounds, cult activities, creepy smiles from unexplained supernatural forces, loud bangs etc.
Archive 81 does not contain abrupt frightful moments as instead they are built up via screenplay, music, editing which facilitate in maintaining a creepy atmosphere among viewers. Different from most horror shows, it manages to capture the interest of the audience with its irrational but engaging storyline and puzzle.