HOME BEFORE DARK is a series on Apple TV Plus. It’s a drama-mystery based on a true story which also makes it true crime. In a very atypical Apple TV+ style, the episodes are all released at once. Yes, you get the entire season now. Read our Home Before Dark review here!

Home Before Dark is a new mystery series on Apple TV+. Actually, it’s labeled as a “drama-mystery” but the entire series is based on the true story of a girl who starts investigating a cold case. Yep, we’re dealing with true crime in this new Apple TV Plus series.

Season 1 consists of 10 episodes and we get all ten episodes at once. In most cases, Apple TV Plus seems to follow the HBO style of releasing just one episode at a time. Unlike Netflix where entire seasons are released at once, which Amazon Prime Video also does. For this new series, you get the entire season in one swift go.

I’m not sure what I prefer but I do like to binge-watch series to “stay” in the universe.

Continue reading our Home Before Dark review below.

Brooklynn Prince stars in Home Before Dark

The absolute star of Home Before Dark is Brooklynn Prince. It seems like she’s unstoppable right now and she’s continuously giving performances that make her deserving of getting cast over and over again. When she starred in The Florida Project (as Brooklynn Kimberly Prince), she was nominated for a whole slew of awards. And also won several.

Prior to this new Apple TV Plus series, she co-starred in the horror movie The Turning (2020) which had a stellar cast but didn’t fare well upon release. Finn Wolfhard of Stranger Things and IT was also in The Turning. As was Mackenzie Davis of Terminator: Dark Fate and my favorite Black Mirror episode ever!

Along with Brooklynn Prince as Hilde, Home Before Dark also stars Kylie Rogers as her sister Izzy. Kylie Rogers was also in the Into the Dark episode Treehouse, so you might recognize her from that. Also, as Hilde’s father, we see Jim Sturgess (Cloud Atlas, Geostorm).

In general, the relationship in this family is simply wonderful. The relationship between the parents and their three kids (all girls) is very natural and realistic which is key to making this story believable.

Home Before Dark: Season 1 – Apple TV Plus Review

Who is the target audience for Home Before Dark?

While watching Home Before Dark, I couldn’t help but wonder who the intended target audience this series is made for. Episode 1 of Home Before Dark starts out really well. Unfortunately, it goes downhill a lot towards the end of the very first episode.

There’s a scene at the school cafeteria that turns into a food fight that looks like it was taken out of a million kids’ movies. Also, it seems like Hilde is suddenly some kind of child prodigy in terms of seeing things like Sherlock Holmes or a CSI expert.

Sure, she’s a smart and brave girl, which is something I love. But it just gets weird towards the ending of the first episode. It’s almost as if it’s not enough that she’s smart and brave, she has to be extra extraordinary. It’s a shame because it really is enough to portray her as an amazing girl.

The following episodes do also get darker, but honestly, I’m afraid too many will want to quit after the very genre-confused first episode. It’s too busy catering to both “serious adults” and “kids recognizing themselves”.

Watch Home Before Dark on Apple TV+ now!

The creators of Home Before Dark are Dana Fox and Dara Resnik. Both have worked as writers and producers of several movies and TV series. Dana Fox also created the series Ben and Kate (2012-2013) while Dara Resnik most recently wrote and produced Daredevil on Netflix.

The series is based on the book by Hilde Lysiak who is the youngest member of the Society of Professional Journalists. She was born in 2006 and yes, this is her own story. In fact, it’s interesting to read up on Hilde Lysiak on Wikipedia – just beware of spoilers for this series is you start reading that part of her biography.

Directors on Home Before Dark include Rosemary Rodriguez (The Walking Dead, episodes during 2016-2018), Kat Candler (upcoming season 2 of Dirty John), and Jon M. Chu (Crazy Rich Asians).

This series deals with true crime and mystery in som very interesting ways. Give it a shot but try to keep an open mind when it gets a bit muddled towards the end of episode 1. Pilots can be tricky but you can watch the remaining 9 episodes right away, so try at least an extra episode or two if you’re iffy after the first episode.

Watch Season 1 of Home Before Dark on Apple TV Plus from April 3, 2020.

Details

Creators: Dana Fox, Dara Resnik
Stars: Brooklynn Prince, Jim Sturgess, Abby Miller, Kylie Rogers, Joelle Carter, Jibrail Nantambu, Deric McCabe, Michael Weston, Aziza Scott, Louis Herthum

Plot

A young girl from the big city uncovers clues to an unsolved cold case while visiting her father’s small lakeside town.

I write reviews and recaps on Heaven of Horror. And yes, it does happen that I find myself screaming, when watching a good horror movie. I love psychological horror, survival horror and kick-ass women. Also, I have a huge soft spot for a good horror-comedy. Oh yeah, and I absolutely HATE when animals are harmed in movies, so I will immediately think less of any movie, where animals are harmed for entertainment (even if the animals are just really good actors). Fortunately, horror doesn't use this nearly as much as comedy. And people assume horror lovers are the messed up ones. Go figure!
Karina "ScreamQueen" Adelgaard
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