Pagan Peak (2018–2023) User Reviews

Surprisingly excellent

[Starbuck-13 · 9/10 · 5 February 2019]

Not being much of a crime story fan, it was by sheer accident that I watched the first episode at all.

But it quickly earned my attention. Spectacular camera work, beautiful nature setting, a thrilling story and brilliant characters. Watched the whole series with my wife and we both thought it was excellent.

My personal favorite, as I love Austria and the Austrian accent, of course was Nicholas Ofczareks portrayal of detective Winter. He has most of the greatest moments. Add some great music by Wolfgang Ambros - and there you have a surprisingly perfect package that Sky produced.

Carefully crafted, beautifully filmed

[robertemerald · 9/10 · 8 November 2019]

Der Pass would have to be in the running for best catch-a-serial-killer series this year, and maybe this decade. Shot in the Alps, it never shies away from using the topography to great effect, both with locations and cinematography. There's some interesting characters. I would have preferred detectives without shady backstories and secret relationships for a change, but it seems we the public have to live with that trend a while longer. Certainly the back stories here do add a definite dramatic element and consequence to the investigation, so at least it's all part of one package. Loved the lead male detective dressing like an anti-Oscar Wilde! Loved the lead female detective dressed in red, which really added a symbolism. Der Pass never lets up on the suspense and the surprise. The killer is certainly high functioning, and fully engages attention. The soundscape was awesome too, modern and sophisticated, at an appropriate level, and here and there a good German song. Perfect for a binge.

Wow !

[rory-24669 · 9/10 · 16 January 2021]

Breathtaking scenery... Winter had a solid performance from every perspective A must watch if you're a fan of a dark thriller

True Detective mixed with The Bridge

[atribecalledmike · 10/10 · 31 January 2019]

Excellent production with beautiful cinematography. Have been very wary of Sky-productions in the past, because they simply were not good. This one is a bit of a slow burner in the beginning, but quickly gains steam. Has everything a good thriller needs: mulit-layered protagonists, a little bit of mistery, great score and decent writing. Really nice surprise and a great series for the winter months.

Hands down,one of the best web shows i have ever seen

[suvechhabose · 10/10 · 27 June 2020]

I don't know about you ,do you notice small details? I do.Those small details defines craftsmanship. This show is made with love,its clearly visible.The creator put their heart and soul in it. From the mystical cinematography to Hans Zimmer's cryptic background score ,from each and every cast member doing their best to near perfect portrayal of a psychopath,this show excells at everything. Them germans know how to touch viewers heart by their art . Looking forward to season 2.

Gideon and Ellie I ll never forget them. The change in contrast & chemistry between these two is one of the best on screen friendship i have ever witnessed,congrats on winning best drama series of 2020.

Fantastic

[h2ox3 · 10/10 · 28 February 2020]

Absolutely fantastic. Multilayered story and characters developing over time. Dangerously addictive story.

Great Show With Solid Characters

[crowes-18865 · 10/10 · 13 April 2020]

The show and the myth it delves into are great but all in all I can sum this up with one simple thought.... whether made in Germany or in America have a series with Winter walking around scoffing at everyone and everything and causally eating meals during extremely intense interrogations and I am ALL IN!!!

Great!

[berndbatke · 6/10 · 6 February 2019]

Actors, story, camera and look are really great. I would love to see a season two.

WOW 😲 this is the greatest crime drama I've ever seen!

[duckboy-94171 · 10/10 · 16 August 2021]

If there's one show you should definitely watch it's Der Pass, my god what a suspenseful show and the acting from Nicholas Ofczarek is Oscar worthy 👏 I can't wait for more seasons to follow.

Dubbing ruined it for me

[beryleileen · 7/10 · 21 October 2023]

This is a wonderful noir European crime drama. Exactly what I love. Very dark and atmospheric. The characters are nuanced and damaged the scenery is beautiful and ominous at the same time. That being said I do have one major complaint about the show. In my area at least, and I live in the US, This program is only available in dubbed version. I hate dubbing and always opt for subtitles., but this is probably the worst dubbing I have ever seen. It really took me out of the story and almost ruined it for me. The voices were completely inappropriate for the characters and honestly it sounded like the same two people doing all the voices. I persevered and watched the whole thing but honestly it was painful at times. I wish people would understand that the original voices convey the story so much better than silly inappropriate American voices. And that we aren't so stupid that we can't follow along with subtitles.. if it weren't for that I would have given a higher rating.

The German True Detective - Exzellent, Dark, Thrillin

[DLochner · 8/10 · 21 January 2020]

The Pass is one of the best German-Austrian productions I've ever seen. Its mostly about its authenticity - I've watched the Austrian speaking parts with subtitles and original language, as they use the whole slang from Austrian people and sometimes its hard to understand.

I like the german actor Franz Harwtig, who plays the murder. I knew him from the first German netflix series -Dark- Hes plays the role almost perfect.

Nicholas Ofczarek, a Gomezes austrreat theater actor, is excellent and such an depressed detective. His whole acting is one of the best I've seen from Austrian Film for a long time.

The German True Detective.

Unrelentingly dark....

[s3276169 · 7/10 · 20 August 2020]

"Der Pass" is a European crime drama with a dark soul, as cold as its setting.

The story itself is intriguing but i do feel it became a little loose, as it headed into the last episode.

The mythology tie in is clever too but again it felt less and less relevant to the overall tale, as the story unfolded.

Acting is generally excellent and cinematic's top shelf.

In short a solid, moderately believable series, but not without some limitations in terms of the plot elements, that are supposed to bind the tale together.

7/10 from me.

best german speaking series

[info-19036-16123 · 15 May 2022]

Even if it is aweful for a german to listen to austrien german, this is an amazing series and i want to see more of this and like this. They understood how to set moods and make the audience dive into the story....very rare and exceptional!!!

Had enough of this copy cat concept.

[prashant-63677 · 1/10 · 25 May 2022]

It was great the first time we saw this inter border collaboration in broen broen. It became irritating in tunnel. It was tedious in US adaptation of the bridge. Now, its just intolerable and repugnant. That same old beaten to bare bones European motley mix of moral conundrum, supernatural, murder and so called mystery. Add to it a journalist, 2 police detectives with convoluted lives and voila....a supernatural noir is ready! What happened to originality? Is Europe running out of any other concept of building a thriller tv show? As a viewer I have had enough of this plagiarized nonsense. No more.

Amazing!!!

[Samthesham67 · 10/10 · 27 January 2023]

This series is absolutely amazing! I have a tendency to look for dramas that feature a cop who has a dishevelled appearance and questionable background who carries a load of baggage with them. This series fits that bill perfectly! DCI Winter is a perfect character, well acted, and absolutely engrossing. Ellie, the other cop, carries her own sort of emotional baggage that complements her partner's issues perfectly. The story was spot on, keeping me on the edge of my seat right to the end, the second series did not fail to deliver either. I don't know what it is with German and Polish TV dramas at the moment, but they deliver in bucketloads. More, more, more!!!

Get your snow shoes ready!

[aprilmike-51991 · 8/10 · 10 June 2019]

Oh no I thought, "Its the Bridge in the hills".

I was so wrong.

Another great drama from our European friends, and no sex scenes yet it still works!

Shall watch the second series.

Surprisingly great.

[fraser-simons · 8/10 · 11 August 2021]

While the script is not a stand out, this show is illustrative of how the way you present it goes a long way. There's some satisfying and unsatisfying subversions of the genre but it's mostly a straight forward story.

What made it excellent is its consistency and commitment to telling a realistic, sometimes lacklustre story via fantastic editing, structure, performances, and especially cinematography. It's just a complete pleasure to consume and feels innovative for the genre, which tends to dwell in realism while sometimes struggling to make that aspect of it interesting. The jump cuts, flashbacks, shot compositions - all of it makes every part of the story compelling television.

If another season had an even more intelligent script with a more pronounced/interesting thematic through line, I think this could reach True Detective s1 status. It has a lot of potential.

Not what you would expect from a german tv series

[buente-429-571656 · 10/10 · 30 January 2019]

Based on the original format The Bridge it is imho a great adaptation. Like the series The Tunnel which bases also on the same story - and I appreciate much - this series impresses with charismatic actors, beautiful recording locations within the Alps and an incredible sountrack like i've never heard befor in a tv series. I'm not a fan of german tv series - although I'm a german myself - but I can say that this series will be one of my 2019 favorites.

Solid start but loses direction

[borgolarici · 6/10 · 8 October 2019]

The pilot (the first two or three episodes actually) was great but sadly the series crashes in the end: too many characters, too many subplots, too many hints given and not developed. And that end... that stupid end. Unforgivable

Best crime series since The Bridge

[matthewsherlock4 · 10/10 · 6 April 2019]

Top show, main characters evolve nicely throughout. Before you know it your invested in their destiny. Captivating... Well done..!

Lots of drama but breaks down badly

[romath-230-722689 · 6/10 · 26 August 2019]

I'll leave it to others to point out the fun. Here are the problems with the plausibility of the writing:

• publication of certain videos means Ellie's computer has been hacked. Not a word mentioned about where it came from, yet the last few episodes turns on this event.
• Ellie's character is portrayed as weak and weepy. Hardly the picture of a female cop. Male chauvinistic steretypes in action.
• If Gideon, the Austrian detective, was really believed to be passing information to criminals, he would have been suspended.

Perfect

[christian-schlenk · 10/10 · 7 March 2019]

I enjoyed this series from start to beginning. The acting is great, I love that they did not try to cover the Austrian aeccent. The story is intriguing and surprises more than once. Overall a 10 because normally I find series from the genre rather dull - this one however got me hooked!

A great show the fizzles out towards the end

[mickr7an · 6/10 · 1 March 2022]

It's a good TV cop drama with interesting characters, well produced and acted. It's involving with its many characters. Unfortunately it's one of those shows that wants to give us something different and consequently sacrifices good story telling to pull it off. It reminds me of the second season of True Detective where tension and momentum just fizzle away toward the end and doesn't pick up again.

Good show but too many dead animals in scenes

[StellaGibson-197-606285 · 5/10 · 6 June 2023]

I really like gritty dark crime series and they happen to be my favourite genre. This show is a copy cat in atmosphere, mood etc... to the danish/Swedish crime series and it is good. The really big complaint I have though is there are too many dead animals in scenes. This seems to be the rave theses days is to sprinkle dead animals into tv series. I find it disgusting unnecessary and upsetting. I get that characters on shows are hunters but IMHO that does not mean writers have to be so tasteless in showing us the results of this appalling excuse for a sport! Hunting for food because you have to eat is a different matter but I still do not want to see the dead animals in the show. It makes me angry and sad as animals are helpless creatures and truly it is totally unnecessary to show them dead and slayed out/skinned/hanging from hooks/being tortured etc...

What a good german series

[kirch-sarah · 9/10 · 14 February 2019]

What a suprisingly muder hunt. Great actors, great soundtrack (I mean Hans Zimmer, enough said) great shots and scenery. Totally worth the watch.