La Palma – Series Review | Netflix

LA PALMA on Netflix is a new disaster series with just four episodes. A Norwegian family is spending Christmas in La Palma when disaster strikes. We’re talking volcanic eruption and a possible tsunami. Very easy to binge-watch in one sitting, which is what I did. Read our full La Palma series review here!

LA PALMA is a new Netflix miniseries that takes place during Christmas. The four-part Norwegian disaster miniseries comes from the creators of box office disaster movie hits The Wave, The Quake, and The Burning Sea. In other words, they know how to make disasters work on film.

Or, well, in this case, a miniseries. And with just four 45-minute episodes, it’s easy to watch as a long movie. I know that’s certainly how I ended up watching it. Of course, the fact that each episode ends with some sort of cliffhanger makes it difficult not to binge-watch the series in one sitting.

Continue reading our La Palma series review below. Find it on Netflix from December 12, 2024.

Merry Christmas… now run!

The plot of the new Netflix disaster series La Palma revolves around the fact that millions of Scandinavians travel to the Canary Islands every year. Because many people have vacation days around this time anyway, it’s the perfect time for a little getaway for the whole family.

For one little Norwegian family, it’s a Christmas tradition. In a year with no lockdown or other issues keeping them home, they do what they’ve done for so many years; Head to the island of La Palma and check into their favorite hotel.

Unknown to everyone on the island, a natural danger lurks beneath the idyllic setting of the Canary Islands. Specifically, the island this family is on.

Working with volcanic activity – or rather, keeping an eye on this and learning about this volcanic island – is a young Norwegian scientist. Working with an Icelandic scientist (people from Iceland definitely know about volcanos), she discovers alarming signs that disaster could be underway.

The volcano located in the heart of the island, appears to be unstable. If the volcano erupts, people on the island could be doomed. But also, a mass the size of Manhattan could break off and fall into the sea. This would cause the largest tsunami the world has ever seen.

The anatomy of a volcanic eruption

Watching La Palma, I realized I didn’t know much about volcanic eruptions. Now I do, and you never know when that kind of knowledge can become important, so I’m storing that in my memory bank.

First, toxic gas will seep out and kill those up in the mountains. This is also why you shouldn’t seek higher ground when a tsunami warning comes after a volcanic eruption. The gas will kill you before the tsunami reaches you.

Next, ash will come from the mountain which will disrupt air traffic, so you cannot get away as fast as you would like.

Finally, the actual eruption with lava will come and chaos will ensue. Everyone must fight for survival and no matter how much you want to help people, not everyone can or will survive.

The La Palma series centers on the Norwegian family, who have plenty of issues within the family as well. Fortunately, love isn’t one of them, but even love can’t help you against a massive volcanic eruption.

Will the family manage to escape the disaster of gas, ash, lava, and a lurking tsunami in a fight for their lives? And can the scientists at the volcanic center convince their colleagues that the worst-case scenario is upon them so an evacuation can be ordered?!

Wonderful and familiar cast

Even if you haven’t watched many Norwegian productions, the cast of La Palma features some familiar faces for fans of horror and other genre productions. The Mother in the Norwegian family is portrayed by Ingrid Bolsø Berdal, who you might recognize from Westworld, Blasted, and one of the best Norwegian horror franchises Cold Prey.

As the father in the family, we see Anders Baasmo (Kon-Tiki, The Bird Catcher), while the 17-year-old daughter, who plays a big role in the story, is portrayed by Alma Günther.

As the Norwegian scientist, Marie Ekdal, we have Thea Sofie Loch Næss (So Long, Marianne, A Storm for Christmas). The Icelandic scientist working with her, Haukur, is portrayed by Ólafur Darri Ólafsson. You may recognize him from The Meg, The Tourist, Cursed, or NOS4A2. Also, he’ll be in season 2 of Severance.

Finally, we have Thorbjørn Harr (Cadaver) as a relative working from Norway to help his family during this disaster.

The magic of combining Christmas with disaster

It sounds weird right off the bat, but if you take a minute to think about it, some of the most iconic Christmas horror movies involve disasters. Sure, sometimes there’s a comedic element there as well, but quite often we’re talking about serious disasters that just happen to take place during Christmas.

La Palma is the perfect example of one such disaster story. Another movie, you may want to check out, is the South Korean movie The Tower where a huge fire happens in a highrise building during a Christmas party.

The 2021 movie Silent Night (starring Keira Knightley and Matthew Goode) is another kind of Christmas disaster movie. One where the end of the world is literally upon us all.

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Also, there are the manmade disasters that happen when John McClane is around in the iconic Die Hard, which is a Christmas classic of many. And just a few years ago, in 2022, the movie Violent Night came out and showed Santa Claus having to take action against bad guys.

Or how about the Gremlins that wreak havoc because someone can’t adhere to three simple rules?! Cute Gizmo never wanted all that drama. And, of course, all the movies featuring Krampus in various forms. Those always end in disaster for many people.

In La Palma, we’re dealing with a natural disaster which tends to be the worst kind. We cannot reason with it or attempt to control it. Only run and try to get to safety, which isn’t always possible. Especially when trapped on an island, as you’ll see in the La Palma miniseries on Netflix.

Watch the La Palma series on Netflix!

The director of La Palma is the Danish director Kasper Barfoed. He previously directed the Netflix series The Nurse and The Chestnut Man. For this disaster series, we’re operating on a much larger scale. The other series focused on crime and finding a serial killer.

The writers of the series are Lars Gudmestad (The Arctic Convoy) and Harald Rosenløw-Eeg (The Quake), and they succeed at making a disaster story that works on the small screen. The big disaster sequences look gorgeous and believable and hit harder because we care about the characters.

When it comes to disaster movies, you may fight against other human beings, but the true opponent is Mother Nature. And you cannot win against her. Instead, you need to make it all look believable and La Palma definitely achieves this.

Fortunately, because making the disaster look real, is key to making everything work.

With December 2024 giving us a nice Friday the 13th, releasing this disaster miniseries on Thursday the 12th makes for a nice warm-up. You know, before it’s time for the perfect horror Friday. And – obviously – we recommend that you stuff this one with Christmas horror movies.

It’s a no-brainer really!

La Palma premieres globally on Netflix on December 12, 2024.

Details

Director: Kasper Barfoed
Writers: Harald Rosenløw Eeg & Lars Gudmestad
Main Cast: Anders Baasmo, Ingrid Bolsø Berdal, Thea Sofie Loch Næss, Thorbjørn Harr, Ólafur Darri Ólafsson, Johannes Joner, Jorge de Juan, Iselin Shumba, Amund Harboe