Evan Romansky’s, Ratched on Netflix, is a dream come true for all those who love psychological thrillers and especially for those who are American Horror Story fans. It is diabolical, devious and delightful (in an extremely morbid way). If you enjoy extremely twisted characters and blood curdling psyches, Ratched is your perfect match.
Ratched follows the messed up story of Nurse Mildred Rathed, (from the movie, from Ken Kesey’s 1962 novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. She seeks work as an Asylum Nurse at the Lucia State Mental Hospital and seems to be the perfect caregiver. However, as she interacts with patients, killers and mentally unstable people, her darker side emerges. Mysterious agendas, bloody murders, inhuman torture and more evil come to light as the story progresses. Ratched is suspenseful, thrilling, bloody and will keep you hooked. Starring Sarah Paulson, Cynthia Nixon (Miranda from SATC!), Finn Wittrock, Sharon Stone, and more, Ratched is a frightening entertainer.
Mirchi Play Rating: 4/5
Why it deserved the 4/5
1. The entire story
Ratched will have you hooked from the get go. Everyone in the show seems gentle and good hearted at first, and then slowly their sinister desires shine through. Ratched has multiple plot lines running at once, yet they all seamlessly come together at the end. In a true American Horror Story style, every character has a crooked backstory that is too bizarre to believe, yet it somehow adds up. There’s murder, torture, drugs, and multiple batsh*t crazy people in Ratched and it will keep you at the edge of your seat throughout.
2. The starcast
The casting is SPOT ON. Sarah Paulson is unnerving as Nurse Ratched and sends a chill down your spine every time she is onscreen. Sharon Stone as the bloodthirsty Lenore Osgood, Finn Wittrock as Edmund, a seriously messed up serial killer who is somehow connected to Nurse Ratched, Sophie Okonedo as Charlotte Wells and her 999 different personalities, Brandon Flynn as a sexually charged psycho, Jon Jon Briones as the drugged up Doctor Hanover and so many more are brilliant.
3. the aesthetic 1940’s feel
Ratched is set in the post war 1940’s era and every prop, set, outfit and element in the show reflects that beautifully. The mental hospital looks like the inside of a toothpaste tube, with it’s glossy floors and pastel coloured walls, Nurse Ratched’s outfits scream 40’s with their mono-toned look and flamboyance, and the traditional mindset they all share amplifies the 1940’s even more. Their belief in lobotomies, anti-homosexuality, staunch Christianity and more are blood chilling, but also effective.
4. the weirdly relatable evilness
The deeper you go into your Ratched binge, the more you will find yourself understanding and maybe even relating to the evil in it. All human beings have a wickedness in them, and Ratched speaks to that. It just goes to show how well written and executed it is.
Why it lost the 1/5
1. It gets overly complicated
The issue with Ratched is that after a point it gets way too complicated and it’s hard to keep up with so many narratives. It has Ryan Murphy written all over it with it’s slasher scenes, extreme thirst for revenge (and how every character seems to have it) and the fact that there is not even one reasonable voice in the show. It gets too bizarre to bare.
Ratched on Netflix is a must watch for the genius storytelling and stellar performances. Agreed, that is not for the fainthearted, but if you can gather up some courage, it will surely be worth your while.
Watch it on Netflix
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