In ‘Requiem’, we are introduced to a young British cellist named Matilda Grey, played by Lydia Wilson, who is about to embark on a world tour. That is upended when her mother suddenly, and seemingly without cause, commits suicide in front of her. This leaves Grey with fresh trauma and questions, which lead her to discover a trove of materials from her mother about the disappearance of a young girl named Carys Howell from a small town in Wales.

Grey then embarks with her friend Hal Fine, played by Joe Fry, to get to the bottom of this mystery. In doing so though she’ll learn along the way what’s worse – being haunted by spirits or the past? For this small town’s secrets and mysteries will not be unearthed quietly and painlessly, and Grey’s arrival certainly shakes up the town at its core.

‘Requiem’ pulls off the brooding neo-noir mystery, with a gothic twist, as good as any, and thus it’s a shame that the show was laid to rest after only one season. Though there is some semblance of an ending, it’s clear the mysteries lead on. Writer and creator of ‘Requiem’ Kris Mrksa even said he’d always pictured this was the first part of a second story. Still we can celebrate what there is of this show as is.

The mysteries are perfectly plotted for tension, and there’s a cleverness to them that isn’t always present in a genre that more and more treads on tropes and clichés. Likewise there’s some incredible character work as well, with some wonderful misdirection on the writer’s part, playing against stereotypes at times to deceive us. These characters are also wonderfully served by the actors, with Wilson playing Grey in all her complexity incredibly well, and with a wonderful cast surrounding her. This is always essential to have when building out small-town mysteries. There’s also a perfect balance of the horror elements of the show, which without spoiling some of the surprises is often a tough line to tread with all this show is delving into.

So there’s a lot of pieces working together, yet it failed to get a second season regrettably. So though it may not have the full-life this show deserved, this is a haunting watch that will have you transfixed to the end.