I could NOT be more excited about a tv show then I am about this one!
Paranormal debuted on Netflix last year on my birthday and what can I say, it would have been an awesome gift from the Universe but as a rule my birthday sucks so I don’t celebrate it. In fact I don’t do much of anything so that’s probably why I missed this.
Paranormal is based on a series of books by Khaled Tawfik who wrote more than 200 books, in both Egyptian Arabic and Classical Arabic. He was the first contemporary writer of horror and science fiction in the Arabic speaking world and also the first writer to explore the medical thriller genre.
After seeing all six episodes of Paranormal- which I shamelessly binged on I was ready to read Tawfik’s books but was very disappointed to find out NONE of them have been translated into English.
Seriously, someone needs to get on that because…
Paranormal is a total gem and Khaled Tawfik’s works are probably gems too.
Right off the bat I loved the hero, I loved the scary monsters and the characters that surround Refaat- flawed and stubborn as they were and I have to admit I spent some time wishing they’d meet an untimely end. The thing is, I still liked them.
I also loved the way you could not see what was coming and there is a reason for that.
Our spectacular hero Refaat Ismail is a man who is grounded in science and reasoning. When he is faced with the Paranormal he breaks what he sees down by it’s elements and as you follow him, he makes perfect sense. Even if the monster or demon or ghost is right there on your tv screen and you are LOOKING at it you go along with Refaat because, he has made the case for why you are not seeing what you THINK you are seeing. Plus he’s an imperfect character that most of us can relate too and you end up joining team Refaat when the story first opens.
I guess I latched onto Refaat Ismail because he sort of reminded me of Carl Kolchak and I’ve always been partial to Kolchak.
Oh. And there are at least two great comical moments which surprised me because the last time I laughed at a horror film was at the Blair Witch Project when the guys were singing the theme song from Gilligan’s Island.
I refuse to give you one teeny spoiler because if you want to watch something over the Halloween weekend then this is the show for you.
There is one common thread that runs from story to story, but each episode is a great stand alone story too.
So go on. Scoot. Set a reminder. Watch Paranormal. You will not be disappointed.
PARANORMAL WEBSITE AND TRAILERS HERE