Carmilla: A Review
What do vampires, a ragtag group of college students, a roller coaster of a love story, and a college run amuck by the supernatural all have in common? These are the key ingredients to the simultaneously heartfelt and heart-wrenching web series, Carmilla. With a female forward cast and a story told largely through well-acted exposition, this series is bound to leave you in stitches and tears. Buckle up, creampuffs. It’s going to be a wild ride.
Warning: minor spoilers may be afoot. Proceed with caution. You’ve been warned.
Official series theme song (feel free to open in a new tab and enjoy as you peruse the following review: Love Will Have Its Sacrifices
I’m just going to start off by saying, wow. I just finished the second season of this series, and let me tell you, dear reader, it is worth the wild ride. But I can’t possibly start at the (current, but not ultimate) end. Let’s rewind this a bit before I get too far ahead of myself, shall we?
Prefacing with a question: how exactly did I find this web series? “Stumbled upon it” is probably a better choice of words. And the answer is simple and maybe a little head shake worthy: tumblr. I can’t remember who reblogged it, but it was a gif set of two girls in a dorm room gazing at each other with obvious affection, accompanied with song lyrics. Huh, I wonder if I would get into this? I thought as I flicked through the tags, making a mental note of the ship name, “Hollstein.” My interest piqued, I decided to embark on the emotional roller coaster of the web series that has since become a sort of obsession of mine. And here is the gist of what I’ve learned in the few short weeks it has taken this web series to utterly captivate me.
Carmilla is a modern-day retelling of the J. Sheridan Le Fanu novella of the same name. The series is the product of the Vervegirl TV channel on YouTube. It is sponsored by U by Kotex*. And it is casted, directed, produced, and crewed by some of the biggest, most lovable trolls with which the Internet has ever had the pleasure of sharing space. The cast and script is very female forward, queer relationships are normalized, and the characters are just so damn LIKABLE. I was hooked within the first couple of episodes. And I haven’t looked back since.
But what exactly is the series about?
Without spoiling too much, I’d love to tell you. Carmilla is set in modern day Styria, Austria, on the campus of Silas University. All of the action is captured via webcam belonging to the main character and our protagonist, Laura Hollis, a first year investigative journaling major. After her roommate, Betty, goes missing at a party, and being met with stiff yet indifferent resistance from campus security, Laura decides to, well, investigate. Before any real progress is made, into the dorm room barges newly self-professed roommate, Carmilla Karnstein. Broody, grungy, and sassy as all hell, the new arrival almost immediately begins butting heads with Laura. Infuriated beyond belief, our tiny hero immediately enlists the help of third year student and English department TA Danny Lawrence, Biology major S. LaFontaine, and floor don Lola Perry. This ragtag group of students vow to find the missing Betty, and maybe get down to the bottom of this mysterious university. But Silas is no typical university, and, to indirectly quote lead actress Elise Bauman, shit just straight up starts hitting the fan, and before long our protagonists find themselves neck deep in a messy puzzle far beyond their ken. Will they succeed in their endeavors? What’s with these mushrooms raining from the sky? And, ick, is that really blood in Carmilla’s soy milk container!? Well, dear reader, there is only one way to find out…
What, you’re still here?
As if you’d need any more convincing to watch this series! But I get it. We’re all skeptics. Allow me to elaborate on a few more reasons as to why this web series is a must see.
As previously mentioned, the cast and script is very female-forward.
I can count the entirety of all of the males casted in this series on one hand, and still have enough left over to flip the bird. Yep. I’m serious. The cast is almost entirely female. Not only that, but these lovely ladies absolutely do not need any help from any man in order to further the plot. They do a phenomenal job themselves. Aside from a couple of stereotypical “dude-bros” who are there more-or-less to fill that character trope, girls rule in this web series. Classic heroine examples are cited and celebrated throughout.
And perhaps, most importantly, is the likability of the characters themselves. They’re smart, strong, and witty. If nothing else, you’ll fall in love with these characters and their little journey through this little insanity.
Queer relationships are normalized.
This is probably going to be the catching point for some of you. Yes, I know we’ve all become advocates for LGBT rights and we’re all, “Love wins omg yaaaasssss.” But so much of mainstream television and movies are just chock-full of heterosexual relationships and a few token gay characters, that when their stories and issues come to light, it almost seems to get turned into some three ring circus. I apologize if any of that comes off as insensitive, but I know that I personally would not want to be put on that pedestal. With queer women given the chance to play queer characters, Carmilla shows us that, you love who you love, and that doesn’t change the fact that you are a human being and can have your own relationship drama. The characters in this series deal with the same issues that any hetero couple would, and I think that’s a beautiful thing. After the initial shock for some of this being (to quote my friends), a “lesbian show,” you begin to focus more on the core issues that these characters are facing, and even rooting for the “ships” of your choice, because at the end of the day you want to see them succeed just like anyone else.
Representation of a non-binary character.
“Make room for LaF!”
-A running gag for the actor Kaitlyn Alexander and the fans of their character S. LaFontaine.
This character has some of the best one-liners in the whole series. They’re definitely one of my favorites. And the fact that they are being represented as who they really are is huge. Although they deal with many of the same misgendering issues in the series as non-binary people do in the real world, addressing it here in this web series is another small step forward to equality among us, the viewers and fans.
That’s you on the left and me on the right, right?
If you’re still not fully convinced, just give the first few episodes a watch. I’ll include the link below to the first season. Yes, I realize that the supernatural stuff can be a little strange, and goofy moments can get a little extra goofy. But don’t knock it until you try it. And most importantly, don’t hate me for getting hooked.
I give this series a major thumbs up. I love it dearly, and it’s really helped me to become more comfortable with myself and embrace who I am as a person. And I just adore the cast, crew, and characters with my whole heart.
I hope, dear reader, that you’ve enjoyed this little summary and review of the web series Carmilla. Thank you, as always for reading.
Have a good one.