Written by contributor Katherine Dent
Starring: Sarah Catherine Hook, Imani Lewis, Elizabeth Mitchell, Aubin Wise, and Gracie Dzienny
From creator VE Schwab, adapted from her short story First Kill in the published anthology Vampires Never Get Old: Tales With Fresh Bites, with Emma Roberts as an executive producer, comes Netflix’s latest teen fantasy romance. First Kill follows two high schoolers at Lancaster Academy, Juliette Fairmont and Calliope Burns— vampire and monster hunter respectively—as they clash together and share some steamy kisses along the way.
Coming off the back of the resounding success of Heartstopper, First Kill injects some fantasy into the genre of LGBTQ+ teen dramas and seeks to stop hearts in a more literal sense. Does it succeed? Well in terms of stakes through the heart, it does. In terms of show popularity? Netflix’s stats certainly seem to reflect such. In its first week, First Kill has recorded over 30 million hours of watch time, hit number seven in the global Netflix charts for TV (English), and consistently hit top 10 in countries all around the world.
The premise of the series follows Juliette needing to make her first kill as a vampire. Reluctant to harm anyone, let alone kill, Juliette instead faces the physical consequences from such. Disorientating migraines, a dry throat, and crying blood are all part of the package if she doesn’t feed. The more she resists the first kill, the closer to desperation she gets each day, increasing the risk she may harm someone close to her out of uncontrollable thirst. Meanwhile, Calliope, part of the monster hunting guild, is facing her own challenges. She’s yet to make her first kill as a hunter, restricting her to the assigned rookie of the group. Worse than that, she was given a chance to earn her mark but choked. She is on a mission to prove herself to her family and the Guild, but things get complicated when they find Juliette and her family in their crosshairs.
If you’re getting Romeo and Juliet vibes, you’re not alone! The Shakespeare play features in the show as a stage production at the school, but it’s hard to miss the larger picture of it throughout the storytelling. Throw out House Montague and House Capulet, and instead you’ve got House Fairmont and House Burns. Whilst focusing on Juliette and Calliope as the show’s star-crossed lovers, the series also delves into the family repercussions of their budding romance. It turns out not everything is fair in love and war. But don’t fret—we still get their crazy big mansions as a back drop. The show is undeniably stylish with the costume department and set design going all out, plunging this classic tale into modern day glamour.
Whilst it ticks the aesthetic boxes, First Kill also dips into philosophical thoughts with both girls having their own dilemmas. Calliope faces falling in love with a monster that she’s spent her whole life training to hunt. On the scale of monsters, vampires are not the out of control ghouls or demons, but live in civilised society. Does that make them more human or the deadliest monster out there? Conversely, Juliette has fallen for a trained warrior whose tactical mind has been trained to kill her and others like her. The two of them might not be too dissimilar. To quote Juliette, “If you’re a monster hunter, it’s possible that your actions make you a monster too.” But will their romance survive their entrenched beliefs and family loyalties?
Adapting another vampire story you’re entering a genre that has a wealth of loyal fans attached to it who are thirsty for more content after the conclusion of the Twilight films in 2012 and the final season of The Vampire Diaries finished in 2017. Some may say the tank had been filled, that there is no more room for another coming-of-age, vampire, teen romance. Netflix says no, and so do the fans. Everyone is wanting to hear the same thing: First Kill will be returning for season 2. Whether it will be or not is too early to say, but for all of our sakes after that ending I hope to see what the stars have in store for our two kick-ass heroine leads.
Season 1 of First Kill was a strong start. The show suffered a little with awkward and disengaging CGI effects. I also think it could have benefited from shorter episodes coming in just under half an hour to keep the pace moving. However, if you’re into some of the crazy of Riverdale, adore the style of Vampire Academy, and the family dramas of The Vampire Diaries, then I would certainly recommend checking out this new kid on the block!
First Kill is available now on Netflix.
you’re definitely paid to write such a review on this garbage. The writing on this is a parody from all the point of views. This poor cast really had to work a lot to deliver those stupid lines and stories.CGI are ridiculous. The two main girls has no chemistry and the love story is based on nothing. LGBT deserves better.