TV Review: Post Mortem: No One Dies in Skarnes (2021)

Post Mortem: No One Dies in Skarnes (2021) co-written and co-directed by Petter Holmsen

Live Hallangen (Kathrine Thorborg Johansen) has been killed in a remote area outside the small Norwegian town of Skarnes. Her family runs the local funeral parlor so they are used to dealing with death. The one thing they were not prepared for was Live waking up on the autopsy table. The police (Kim Fairchild and Andre Sorum) are apologetic about the mistake; Live's dad starts acting strange at the revelation. His behavior is not nearly as strange as Live's--her senses are very heightened and she has an insatiable urge for human blood. She works as a nurse at an old-age home, so maybe she can get her fix on the side?

The show starts off as a horror-comedy hybrid with some genuinely shocking and uncomfortable horror moments. Initially, the police are comic relief though the more viewers get to know them, the less funny they are. Their switch into serious characters gives them a lot more humanity and thereby sympathy. Unfortunately, Live's story arc goes from the tragic victim of the situation to a somewhat unsympathetic woman trying not to get in trouble for the things she does, some of which are not in her control. She finds out her mother had a similar problem that led to her suicide. Live's dad knows about what's happening and tries to cremate Live to stop the problem. She escapes and accidentally kills him, causing a lot of problems. The funeral home has a lot of debt and her brother Odd (Elias Holmen Sorensen) has a very hard time managing the situation. He's the most sympathetic character, struggling to keep his wife happy and his family business together. The situations slowly spiral out of control. The show has a lot of plot holes and very unbelievable moments (like her escape from the crematorium's incinerator) that don't help in enjoying the proceedings. I found the happy ending a little forced and unlikeable. It seems like there's room for a sequel but I have no interest in watching more.

Not recommended.

Currently (March 2024) streaming only on Netflix.