Get ready for a heart-pounding mystery that will keep you on the edge of your seat! Netflix’s latest original, drops viewers into the breathtaking yet treacherous landscapes of Yosemite National Park, where a young girl’s fatal fall sets the stage for an enigma that defies explanation. Was it a tragic accident, a desperate act of suicide, or a chilling sign of something far more sinister lurking in the shadows?
Recommendation: In Netflix’s UNTAMED, a young girl falls to her death in Yosemite National Park, and Investigative Special Branch agent Kyle Turner (Eric Bana) is on the case, under the watchful eyes of his boss, Paul (Sam Neill). Was it an accident, suicide, or something far more sinister?
Turner is also partnered with Naya Vasquez (Lily Santiago, and together they must hunt down the truth behind this girl, as well as navigate Kyle’s dark past.
A searing thriller, Untamed has a beautiful backdrop of Yosemite to demonstrate the allure of the wild, as well as the ever-present danger of it all. The mystery keeps pulling back layers, and though aspects are predictable as hell if you’ve watched TV over the past 20 years, it’s still entertaining. As with any series like this, if you enjoy spending time with the characters, you’ll love it.
Eric Bana, to me, is often milquetoast. He rarely injects much energy or effortless charm into a role, and that’s not much different here. That said, he’s playing a subdued, uncharming character so it fits. I have to wonder how this series would be with a more engaging actor at the forefront, but the part fits Bana well enough so it works as a whole.
Honestly the best part of Untamed is Santiago’s Vasquez. Naya has her own demons and a young son to care for, and she comes to this wilderness from the city so she is the audience’s eyes into the wild. As a character, she becomes the most charismatic in the series, and really finds a strong footing with Bana’s cranky Kyle Turner.
Overall, gorgeous scenery mixed with the non-stop dangers of the wilderness make for a fascinating set-up for an entertaining murder-mystery, but could have been much more suspenseful. Untamed is only 6 episodes and worth the watch.