Review of Invisible City

Invisible City is a moody blend of horror, fantasy and folklore set in Rio de Janeiro, from the director of many of the Ice Age series of films. Yes that's right, it's also not for young kids and absolutely brilliant. Based on a story by best selling fantasy authors Raphael Draccon and Carolina Munhóz, Invisible City follows Detective Eric who becomes obsessed with finding someone to blame for the death of his wife in a forest fire. Left alone to raise their daughter Luna, Eric's obsession draws him into a dark underworld where reality and folklore blend uncomfortably. He's an intruder in their carefully hidden world and his refusal to back off from his investigation puts his daughter, himself, the locals and the spirits of nature and the forest in danger. Was it an accident? Is a local developer desperate to move farmers off their lands to blame? Is the mysterious man with links to women around the area involved or is there something darker to blame?

This is a well written, well directed series that moves at a solid pace to a satisfying conclusion. Moody and atmospheric, it creates a realistic world where the creatures of folk tales have successfully and in some cases most definitely not successfully adapted to life in the urban centres of mankind. My only criticism is that at seven episodes it is too short to really get to explore the tales of some of these characters. Hopefully there will be a second season commissioned with more episodes and a chance to explore some of this magical and fascinating world. It's a great series and once again Netflix should be applauded for bringing original international content to viewers who would never have seen it otherwise.

Definitely worth viewing.