‘Hound's Hill’ (2025) Netflix Series Review - Extraordinarily Boring

Hound's Hill (original title: Wzgórze psów) shows some promise at the beginning. Consider Tomek's (Robert Wieckiewicz) birthday party. The patriarch is surrounded by his family, who all sing the birthday song happily. The merry mood is suddenly interrupted by the arrival of one of Tomek's sons, Mikolaj (Mateusz Kosciukiewicz), and his wife, Justyna (Jasmina Polak). We, during this particular moment, don't know much about these characters, but something feels off between Mikolaj and other members of his family, especially Tomek, who delivers cold, formal greetings to his son as if he were an uninvited guest at this party. The atmosphere feels strained and gloomy - the gathering reeks of funeral vibes. The visual energy of Hound's Hill is at its peak during these opening scenes. The show begins with an image of a woman in black who informs us that the story we are about to see will not end joyously. This dark fantasy/fairy tale-esque sensation is very strong during the scene where Mikolaj notices a "ghost" of a girl on a bridge while driving towards the birthday party.

Slowly, Hound's Hill reveals the source of tension between Mikolaj and Tomek. The latter is bitter because his Writer Son didn't attend his mother's funeral and also wrote a book about his hometown and a gruesome incident without talking to anyone. Hound's Hill focuses on many things - corporate greed, corruption, gang war, social activism, and murder mystery. It's at its best when it gives us a glimpse of a story centering on a writer who returns to his hometown, falls back on his old habit (of being a drug addict), and reveals to us what an asshole he is. Hound's Hill initially suggests that Tomek might have been an abusive father (he apparently used to beat his wife), which is why Mikolaj ran away to the city and didn't visit his home frequently. Later, our opinion changes when the whole picture is revealed. It's all quite interesting, but as I mentioned earlier, Hound's Hill focuses on many things, and sadly, it's very inept at balancing its narrative.

In fact, ultimately, what becomes clear is that the other aspects, like corporate shenanigans, town hall meetings, corruption, etc., are nothing but fillers so that the show can run for five episodes, five hours, which are extraordinarily boring. These other threads aren't too absorbing or exciting, either. That visual energy dissipates quickly, leaving the show utterly mechanical, bland, and uninteresting. After a while, we merely observe the rendering of a script - the words are flatly translated to the screen. What's more, all the complications generated through a mayor, a gang leader, or a corporate venture are solved offscreen, which only gives rise to the notion that these elements are deployed as mere red herrings. The main drama centers on that murder that we see at the beginning. The rest is just noise. After five long hours, we, too, like that woman in black, find ourselves sad and mourning. She is sad because of the fate of the characters; we are sad because these characters waste our time.

Final Score- [1.5/10]
Reviewed by - Vikas Yadav
Follow @vikasonorous on Twitter
Publisher at Midgard Times