Blood Sacrifice – Review | Netflix Series

BLOOD SACRIFICE on Netflix is a Nordic crime series from Sweden (org. title: Blodsoffer) with five episodes and many murders. In this series, the victims are all police officers, and their murders include a beheading. This is not for the weak of heart. Apart from the halfway mark, episode 3, this wasn’t the thrill ride I expected. Read our full review of the Blood Sacrifice series here!

BLOOD SACRIFICE is a Netflix serial killer crime thriller series from Sweden. The Nordic crime series has just 5 episodes, and I can’t help but think it should’ve been a strong feature film. As a series, this is too weak at too many times. After the first two episodes, I was not impressed. Then came episode 3, and I felt like things were looking up, but no. The final two episodes gave all the answers, but weren’t all that good.

Yes, all five episodes of Blood Sacrifice were watched for this review. Not because it was amazing, but because that third episode made me think it had potential. It did not. And it honestly hurts my Scandinavia heart that it isn’t better. It could have been and should have been, but the main character (portrayed by the wonderful Jakob Oftebro) just did not intrigue me. Almost all other characters were more interesting.

Continue reading our Blood Sacrifice series review below. Find it on Netflix from August 20, 2026.

A very busy serial killer

Blood Sacrifice features a very busy serial killer. The kind who often manages two murders at a time. And what makes this story so intriguing is that the victims are police officers. They are responding to calls that come in on Friday nights at 01:15 AM. Once they get there, instead of victims, they are faced with the serial killer.

In an attempt to keep this fact under wraps – that this serial killer is targeting cops – they also end up endangering their colleagues. As a result, the union representative for Swedish law enforcement also becomes involved. This is both a given and results in some rather annoying “power struggle” scenes that I could’ve done without.

Also, it’s the middle of the summertime in Stockholm, so everyone should be (and is) out enjoying themselves. However, with a murderer on the loose, people want action from the police department. Of course, this results in some errors along the way. Nothing new there, but it doesn’t do much good for the series. Not the pacing, not the character arcs.

So many awful conclusions

As the plot of Blood Sacrifice evolves, you will witness police officers making some strange choices and awful conclusions. The father of our main character, Thomas Berg (Jakob Oftebro), is a retired police investigator. Or not so much retired as fired and sent away. This man, Alfred Berg (Peter Andersson), is an unapologetic alcoholic who somehow manages to also see clues that others might miss.

Also, we see father and son trying to find each other, while also constantly going head-to-head in dumb fights. Once again, this is not something I need in my Nordic Noir crime thrillers. If we’re supposed to feel for either of these two characters, then the mission was not accomplished. I really did not care for them. Thomas’s wife, Charlotte Berg (Lisette T. Pagler), however, was a true force and a character one could root for.

I know I did!

Overall, there are interesting characters and great performances in Blood Sacrifice. It’s the story that didn’t work for me. Elements of it, sure, but not overall. And the killer is eventually revealed, and we get an explanation for all the killing that I can relate to. Not that I would’ve started killing people, but hey, serial killers rarely have “good” reasons for their actions.

Watch Blood Sacrifice on Netflix

The creator and writer of the Swedish Netflix series Blood Sacrifice (org. title: Blodsoffer) is George Kay, who previously created Hijack and the Criminal anthology. Director of all five episodes is the Danish director Kristoffer Nyholm (Taboo, The Killing), and the star is the Norwegian actor Jakob Oftebro. He is so amazingly talented that he plays characters in English, Norwegian, Danish, and Swedish. I know he is much better than this.

While the serial killer in this Netflix series is very busy, and you might think it would be too much for a movie, I want to remind you of a little movie called Se7en. Sure, that could actually have been an awesome series if made today, but instead it’s a brutal serial killer movie. This new Netflix series is brutal, but the characters are often weak or boring. Yes, there are exceptions, but this should be the rule. Not the exception.

Watch this if you want something to relax with and don’t expect it to blow your mind with awesome characters or a great plot. I know this doesn’t sound like a glowing recommendation. It’s because it isn’t, and I recommend watching some of the other Nordic crime thrillers instead. Jo Nesbo’s Detective Hole could be a great choice, and one I’d gladly rewatch.

For Blood Sacrifice, only episode 3 was really riveting and had me intrigued and wanting more!

Blood Sacrifice is out on Netflix on August 20, 2026.

Details

Director: Kristoffer Nyholm
Creator & Writer: George Kay
Episode writers: Aron Levander, Emilie Robson
Cast: Jakob Oftebro, Peter Andersson, Electra Hallman, Alexander Abdallah, Henrik Norlén, Lisette T. Pagler, Magnus Krepper, Irina Björklund, Anders Mossling, Anna Maria Käll