Boys Go From Frightened to Feral in Netflix's 'Lord of the Flies'

"Since its publication in 1954, the William Golding novel Lord of the Flies has been one of the most popular books on many high school reading lists. It's about a group of British schoolboys who survive a plane crash on a remote island, and are forced to figure out how to sustain themselves without any adult supervision."

"Most of the show was filmed on location in the dense rainforest of Malaysia, and Munden makes the most of it, so the series looks great. More than that, though, this TV Lord of the Flies is such a faithful rendering of the book, and relies so much upon the acting and credibility of its fresh young cast, that Thorne deserves most of the credit for trusting the source material, and his cast, and writing such an unforgettable, sometimes haunting adaptation."

"This new Lord of the Flies begins like the TV series Lost, which started with a close-up of a plane crash survivor waking up and making his way through the island jungle. In this case, it's a rosy-cheeked Piggy, played so unaffectedly by David McKenna, who wanders until he encounters Ralph, played by Winston Sawyers. The soundtrack, by Hans Zimmer and others, relies greatly on angelic vocal arrangements, because one group of young boys who survive the crash make up the school choir."

"From that point on, the island descends into a sort of battlefield. Recently, the TV series Yellowjackets offered a variation on that same theme - the variation being that the plane-crash survivors were teen girls, not young boys. As Lord of the Flies progresses, one group is responsible and civilized, building shelters and gathering fruit and water, while the other hunts for wild game and dons face paint like native warriors in old movies they've seen."

A group of British schoolboys survive a plane crash on a remote island and must sustain themselves without adult supervision. The series is filmed on location in Malaysia’s dense rainforest, creating a visually strong setting. The story begins with a close-up of a survivor waking and moving through the jungle, meeting another boy who becomes central to the group’s organization. The soundtrack uses angelic vocal arrangements because the boys form a school choir. As the boys’ situation worsens, the island becomes a battlefield. One faction builds shelters and gathers food and water, while another hunts, paints faces, and adopts warrior-like behavior inspired by old movies.

Read at Kqed