Old Family, Big Secrets–October Faction Review

Every film buff and genre fan knows that January is the month when film studios quietly dump problematic films into theatres, with minimal promotion, in a bid to make at least some of the budget back via a theatrical release. With the rise of streaming services, then, it’s not too surprising to see a film or series quietly released onto a service, adjacent to a more hyped release, in hopes of driving up the numbers for the smaller show. Now, I don’t know if they actually work that way, but it sure seems like it, as Netflix dropped The October Faction onto the platform in the shadow of its highly publicized adaptation of Locke and Key. While Faction is hardly a game-changer, it doesn’t deserve the silent treatment that it seems to have been given.

The plot centers around a family of monster hunters who return to the ancestral home in upstate New York upon the death of the patriarch (played in flashbacks by the great Canadian character actor Stephen McHattie), and decide to stay for a while, as families do (I suppose). Of course, there are threats that pop up around the old hometown, and of course, they stay to deal with it. And did I mention that their children are 17-year-old fraternal twins? So, naturally, we spend time with them as they adjust to life in an American high school.

While there’s nothing here you haven’t seen before, the show does everything it can to combine these standard elements in a novel way, and they largely succeed. The parents work for a secretive, quasi-governmental agency that hunts monsters. Check. The twins aren’t readily accepted at school, and are often sullen and angry (you know, like teenagers). Check. The mother’s best friend from high school is now the sheriff. Check. There’s a mysterious woman slowly but steadily moving towards their new hometown. Check-a-rooney.

So, while there are a ton of tropes at work, they’re used well, for the most part. The mysterious woman’s motivations aren’t immediately clear, which adds to the suspense. The generous use of flashbacks fills the audience in on the lore and backstory of this world, largely avoiding exposition dumps. The black hats are absolutely positive that they’re really white hats, rather than being cartoonishly evil. Add to that the fact that it’s beautifully shot, with autumnal tones providing a sense of mystery throughout.

The acting is pretty solid, overall.  Tamara Taylor (Bones) is wonderful as Deloris, and J.C. Mackenzie acquits himself well as Fred. Maxim Roy is suitably cryptic as our mysterious woman, and sharp-eyed viewers will notice Wendy Crewson as Fred’s mother, the family matriarch, playing a character that couldn’t be more different from her role as the mother in The Santa Clause. And kudos to the producers for casting high school students who actually look like teenagers (mostly).

Of course, there are bones to pick. The passage of time isn’t handled as well as it could be, at least not for a binge-watching audience (guilty!). Character progressions that should take weeks seem to unfold in minutes. I imagine if Netflix had spread the episodes out over ten weeks, it would have felt better-paced. In addition, the way they handle the son (Geoff) and his arc just doesn’t work. Through no fault of the actor (Gabriel Darku), Geoff comes off as almost completely unlikable, and more importantly, unrelatable. Perhaps the directors did it consciously, to showcase the differences between the twins (Geoff and Viv, played by Aurora Burghart). But it just doesn’t work.

At the end of the day, October Faction is a decent show made with a certain low-key charm. If you can enjoy it for what it is, a small-scale supernatural family drama, then it’s worth ten episodes of your time. Just don’t look for anything new to reach out and grab you.