Paranormal (TV series) strikes a bumpy balance between Islamic beliefs and Egyptian culture

 

(Image courtesy of heavenofhorror.com)

Asian Does Horror has always been intrigued and mystified by Middle Eastern horror content. Our most recent foray into such was via the tv series Jinn, a story about a group of private school students in Amman who join a school trip to Petra and wind up unwittingly summoning a demon. It was modern, evenly paced, cleverly written and it made us hungry for more supernatural content from the region.  

Enter Paranormal, a television series that muddies the waters between religious belief and regional culture. It's based off of Ahmed Khaled Tawfik's "Ma Waraa Al Tabiaa" series of books . 

Paranormal tells the story of Refaat (Ahmad Amin), an Egyptian doctor that quit his career in medicine to teach medical students at the local university in Cairo. Refaat is a pessimistic man that has given up on life and on top of that, he's a strong sceptic. However, despite being a sceptic, Refaat is constantly haunted by visions of a young girl from his childhood. Refaat also tries to solve supernatural mysteries through logical deduction and science and is hell-bent on proving that the supernatural doesn't exist, but science and logic reign supreme. 

As is normal with Egyptian culture, filial piety and family is very important, thus, the series also introduces all of Refaat's immediate family members as well as his fiancé, Huweida (Ayah Samaha) and a visiting classmate from Scotland, Maggie (Razane Jammal). 

There are six episodes in total for the first part of the series with news that a second part will be released in the near future. 

For Paranormal, each episode tells a separate story, showcasing different supernatural entities, but underlaid with a consistent storyline that revolves around Refaat's childhood past that involves his siblings. 

 (Image courtesy of popsugar.com)

There are multiple storylines or themes in the series that viewers can follow. Among them is Refaat's timid personality, his relationship with his family, his relationship with his fiancé Huweida and his relationship with his former classmate and crush, Maggie. 

The main storyline though revolves around a spirit from his childhood that continues to haunt him and those he cares for throughout the series.

Each of these themes are explained and played out fittingly well as, despite rooting for his relationship with either women, you have to take into account Refaat's own cowardly, selfish personality. 

Paranormal provides viewers an inside glimpse to Islamic culture that is synonymous with Egypt and the middle east, but it also relies heavily on Egyptian myths and legends that the country was built on. It wouldn't be Egypt without mummies or curses and episode two details that well.

The first episode however explains Refaat's childhood past involving a haunted house and subsequent episodes introduce spirits, Egyptian supernatural entities and demons. 

(Image courtesy of express.co.uk)

Pertaining to the storyline, they're not deep, but it suffices to whet your appetite for the supernatural. The writing is good bordering on great and we love that a lot of the dialogue revolves around Refaat's personality including his inner, pessimistic and sarcastic monologues and his own laws which are a mockery of Murphy's Laws that Refaat relies on, but also has a disdain for, to explain the unlucky events that happen in his life.  

The shots and locations are amazing and the set designs are great considering that the series takes place in the 1960's. The directors, Amr Salama & Majid Al Ansari, found a perfect recipe to portray Egypt in the 60's and it shows throughout the series. 

Also, the combination of Refaat and Maggie solving mysteries, along with other accomplices is just a good recipe that's been replicated since the 90's. Has it been done before? Yes. Was it good chemistry? Also yes. But the sexual tension, which was purposely and beautifully executed between Refaat and Maggie was just too good to ignore. You inadvertently find yourselves rooting for them both, until the series conveniently reminds you of Huweida, a soft spoken, extremely beautiful girl that is already engaged to Refaat and you're immediately assaulted with a feeling of indecision. 

However, the series is also quick to remind you that Refaat's just a cowardly, timid person and that he's lucky enough to have the attention of both women but doesn't deserve either of them at all. That is the complexity the series offers amid the storylines of ghosts and demons. 

(Image courtesy of IMDB)

In terms of pros, we liked almost everything about this series and it outweighs the cons. But it wouldn't be an Asian Does Horror review without the cons. 

The creature designs in episode three and five leave little to be desired while the ending and the big reveal are just slightly lazy for our taste. 

Overall, a lot of the episodes could have been done better, the storylines could have been fleshed out more and the creature designs and jump scares were a let down.

All in all, Asian Does Horror gives Paranormal 👻👻👻 ghost emojis out of five. Here's hoping that they incorporate more into the second series.