Unseen (2023– ) User Reviews

Wow, reviews all over the place... lemme help

[light-rock · 7/10 · 18 June 2023]

First I wanted to give it about a 6.5, I feel like the over all ratings are a wee bit low, so I went up to 7 to try to add a bit of balance.

I did not know that it is a remake of a Turkish version, so I am coming in to this blind without the ability to make that comparison.

The pace and balance of the plot and things like flash-backs I thought was great. It is well put-together. I.e., engaging, binge-able, and better than most stuff available.

Reading some of the other reviews I imagine that if you had to watch it as weekly episodes you would not enjoy it as much as binging.

The performances of most characters were great.

I don't feel like it is the sort of thing that you should try to pick apart and complain about, and instead give some credit for out-performing the majority of recent material.

Wasn't

[Headturner11 · 5/10 · 4 April 2023]

Bad. I watched because I've nothing left to watch and I like Blood and water! But the main actress makes this unbearable! She only cares foe herself and not her a##hole husband! She plays the victim when she's gotten more people killed or done it herself and she doesn't care! She's not even good at it! Most were happenstance !Her character is unbearable ! If they had gotten not someone so idiotic and her murders were circumstance and out of anger! So she was a pathetic person just going thru the motions but you couldn't sympathise with her because she just did things as she pleased! Annoying at best!

Decent story, horrible acting

[swhitworth-90579 · 5/10 · 29 June 2023]

The story, even though a remake, was not terrible. Quite a few head scratching, rather silly events occur throughout. However, the acting, oh, the acting... the female characters were not good, but not horrible. But, every single male character, the actors are among the worst I've ever seen. It's as though a search ensued, a casting call, seeking the worst possible male character actors in the history of film.

Yes, I powered through to the end of this six episode series, the redeeming quality is that it is only six episodes and each is less than an hour long.

Unfortunately, this has become common for Netflix. And, at a time when they are cracking down on password sharing. Maybe not a great combination.

The trailer was Deceitful

[siyavuyasydneymdolo · 1/10 · 13 April 2023]

As a South Africa , I eagerly anticipated viewing this television series following the alluring trailers on YouTube. From the onset, it appeared to be an exciting and refreshing addition to the local television scene. However, it was only after commencing the series that I discovered it was a remake of a Turkish program.

Disappointingly, I was unable to relate to any aspect of the show, despite previously residing in Cape Town. The storyline was vastly dissimilar to the local lifestyle, rendering it implausible. Regrettably, my greatest letdown was the fact that this production was a remake of a foreign series. South Africa boasts of a diverse and rich history that has yet to be fully explored and shared with the world. Utilizing remakes is a lazy approach taken by Hollywood writers, which I never envisioned us embarking on.

Despite Gail Mabalane's exceptional acting abilities, amply demonstrated in productions such as Blood and Water, her portrayal of the main protagonist, Zenzile, was somewhat lacklustre and irksome. Similarly, the underutilization of talented actors such as Vuyo Dabula and Rapulana Seiphemo was disheartening. One can only hope that their careers are not curtailed by such a subpar performance on this production.

Overall, I cannot in good faith recommend this show as it was an instance of disappointment that took several days to reconcile internally. Netflix aims to showcase the incredible talent from our country, but bringing mediocre productions to light does no favors in the international arena. It is high time our local productions pull up their socks and elevate their craft to produce content that competes globally.

Very average remake!

[Librafan · 3/10 · 29 March 2023]

Why take a high quality, first rate production and remake it?

The Turkish version was far more honest, the writing was stronger, and the production value and cinematography certainly supported the narrative far more than this version. Not a waste of time but certainly not a reason to justify this remake. It just tries too hard, and isn't convincing when it matters most. The underworld characters felt flat (writing to blame as much as the acting) and far too many scenes were void of conflict with uneven pacing (editing to blame here too).

Like Blood & Water before it, this comes across as a night time soap opera that lacks gravitas. Would love to know how and why so many of these far below average productions are being acquired by Netflix.

A solid and interesting crime thriller

[pfne · 9/10 · 23 April 2023]

This was added to Netflix in the UK recently so I binged watched it one rainy evening.

I don't know anything about South Africa and I had no idea what this show would be about beyond the blurb written in the Netflix page.

What I found was quite an interesting and different kind of revenge / crime thriller.

Imagine, for a second, that John Wick or Nobody had been a cleaner and instead of finding the people that killed their dog or stole their kids bracelets they were looking for their partner and taking in the underworld of South Africa to do it... And that's about it in a nutshell.

An unassuming maid goes about trying to find her husband, who took the fall for a murder he didn't commit, and the murderer of her child.

Very much worth a watch. The main actress is outstanding and really brings life into the part.

Started off good, however...

[arpy-37055 · 4/10 · 2 May 2023]

This is one of them shows that start promising and end up in tatters. The first couple of episodes were keeping the viewer "edge if the sit", however the bad acting, coupled with ridiculous situations and bloopers made the show a terrible one. There were so many times when one asks himself "why?" that by the end it just ended up a real disappointment. I kinda missed the speed increase option on my TV to enable a faster viewing as the pace was so agonisingly slow at times.

Seems like nowadays more and more series are following in the same footsteps. Why services are choosing more and more quantity over quality?

UNSEEN ABSOLUTELY SUPERB.

[laurabousfield · 10/10 · 2 April 2023]

Wow this tv series was awesome. The actors where so real. I never once felt any fake acting.. This gripped me from episode one. The actors where superb. This made me so proud to be a south african and the quality of the show was really good. It might be a remake but done south african style it was excellent. The talent we have here is mind blowing. We'll done to all of you. I will be on the look out for the next season. It showed how we live in south africa and the trials lived by many of the unseen people. I would definitely recommend watching the series. Well worth the time spent. I for sure am fling to be on the look out for south african shows.

Started no good .. later so much worse

[assafkas · 4/10 · 4 April 2023]

Do yourself a favor skip this one. Each episode is was worse than the other one.

The acting is absolutely terrible This is might be the worst tv show I watched I. A long time. I've watched some SA content in Netflix.. acting skills mostly was a bit lacking, this tv show is another level. The scenes are terrible Acting - not sure I can call it in that way.

Netflix please stop with this nonesene. I feel like someone must give me back 4 hours No idea why I watched until the end .. Last episode was so difficult to keep watching.

I am trying hard to find something good about this tv show but I can't sorry!

Not making any sense

[anaram0s · 2/10 · 5 April 2023]

!

When it comes to storytelling, a well-constructed plot is essential to capturing the audience's attention and keeping them engaged. In this regard, the story in question is solidly constructed, with a framework that holds up well. However, while the overall structure may be sound, the way in which the individual scenes are presented can be confusing and disjointed. It's as if the story is missing some crucial connective tissue that would make it all make sense.

Despite these flaws, there is still a lot of potential in the story. With some reworking and fine-tuning, it could become a truly compelling and engaging work of art. Unfortunately, as it stands, it falls short of its promise.

Embarrassing?

[micstar00 · 1/10 · 17 April 2023]

The idea of the story sounds original and interesting and something worth watching. But don't, the show is just terrible. The acting was horrendous. Question is was this show more embarrassing for Netflix or South Africa?

No wonder Netflix is losing money. Guess if you have the advert version of Netflix you possibly get to see some decent acting when the adverts come on. Can't believe how hard it is to find something decent to watch on Netflix. Free to air television (New Zealand) provides significantly better watching options. Hopefully there is a turnaround for Netflix around the corner. Off to another app...

Excellent, gripping 6 episode season!

[kleinline · 9/10 · 17 November 2023]

Pleasantly surprised! This had solid writing, acting, plot and pacing. Good character development and timeline sequencing.

The latter half of the season is more edge-of-the-seat than most mystery/crime thrillers. In the last episode I learned to trust the incredible luck of the main character against insurmountable odds. The woman is unkillable! She had some very unlikely saves - BUT I appreciate her for the stoic superhero she turned out to be.

Well worth watching for the understated, strong female lead. Nice to see a film from South Africa as well.

Fingers crossed there will be more to watch in 2024!

Utterly ridiculous - spoilers

[paulcoll-61195 · 2/10 · 31 May 2023]

This goes from the pathetic to the absolute ridiculous. The writers seem like they were forcing the issues right from the off just to make things fit. Square holes and round pegs comes to mind!

This had the chance to be a good story line and plot but it's gets completely ruined fron too early on in the series. The acting isn't actually too bad, but the plot is infuriating, it goes from being slightly not believable to truly ridiculous to the point its not even funny anymore. From managing to escape soooo many times in plain sight, to the police shooting someone who obviously never fired a gun despite hearing a gunshot, and then not being bothered about said gunshot, to a copper managing to get a suspect of multiple murders out of a police station, the writers mist never have heard of cctv. Very frustrating for something that had good potential.

Ignore the flaws and you will enjoy it

[maximusbyamukama · 8/10 · 12 January 2024]

The story is about Zenzi Mwale whose husband, Max, takes the fall for the murder of a one Yazid on behalf of his crime bosses. Zenzi is looking for Max on the day he gets out of prison but he is no where to be found. What follows is Zenzi unexpectedly building up a pile of bodies in her search for Max. But she is just a cleaner. She is the Unseen. No one suspects her....until they do.

Now, there are some shallow micro-plots, unuseful characters in some scenes and a few mistakes that could have been solved with deeper thinking.

BUT....the good actors are really good and the story is quite solid. I enjoyed it thoroughly.