The Vetala Ep.7 “Tides of Change” | A Web Series on The Watch List

The Vetala Web Series - Season 1/ Starring Candace Chase, Paul Mendel, Marina Pasqua, Leslie Mildiner, James Tyce/ Written & Directed by Damon Vignale

http://www.TheVetala.com

1 Swirly

“Am I alive? Or am I dead?”

Wow, what a giant let down!

I know that many people don’t always agree with some of the things I have to say on The Watch List, but I’m shocked that The Vetala is as popular as it is, after watching this last episode. Essentially a coda where nothing happens but a half-hearted explanation of the mysteries at the heart of the web series - and revealing (or perhaps implying) that the whole first season was back story to a second season. This is the “I can help you master your powers” scene that we see in just about every Hollywood action movie.

I didn’t love every episode of this web series, but at least I thought they were going somewhere with it. I was along for the ride because I figured they were telling me a story about something, and quite honestly, I feel cheated by this last episode.

On the plus side, we do get to spend some time with the creature, up til now only seen obliquely. It’s cool, even if it doesn’t rise above the level of a video game character and so looks decidedly unreal in the middle of a live action parking lot. And the series, as a whole, has strong production value and some good acting.

Completely unrelated to the fact that I didn’t enjoy it, I don’t think there’s going to be a second season. This series is two years old now, and there’s been essentially no news on their blog expect the awards they won around this time last year.

The Vetala – Ep.6 “The Revelation”

The Vetala Web Series – Season 1/ Starring Candace Chase, Paul Mendel, Marina Pasqua, Leslie Mildiner, James Tyce/ Written & Directed by Damon Vignale http://www.TheVetala.com

3 Swirlies

“Andy wouldn’t give up his sources. And neither will I.”

We’re back with another episode of the award winning sci-fi horror series The Vetala.

In this episode, we deal with the aftermath of the car bomb, and our girl finally sees the footage of what happened after she died. I hope that means that now they can move on to something else.

Still, the mood is pretty good, the production is well done, and when we get a good look at the creature it looks great. And now that she knows what happened, I think we’re headed for the end.

The Vetala: Ep. 5 “Premonition”

The Vetala Web Series – Season 1/ Starring Candace Chase, Paul Mendel, Marina Pasqua, Leslie Mildiner, James Tyce/ Written & Directed by Damon Vignale http://www.TheVetala.com

4 swirlies

“The story’s dead Alex.”

This episode was short, sweet, and packed full of tension (in fact, the whole series seems to run on it).  Without spoiling anything, it accomplishes one goal: to raise the stakes in a big (if not unexpected) way.

The most interesting element to come out of this episode is the introduction of a supernatural power to our female protagonist, Lily: the premonition.  Which comes in real handy when a secret organization is trying to kill you (in Lily’s case—again)!

I admit that I’m a sucker for serialized drama, and thrillers are hard to resist.  But add a supernatural element, and that definitely keeps me coming back, wanting to know more.

So while this episode was short on story, mostly re-emphasizing what we learned in Episode 4, it marked a turning point for Lily, and it had us wondering: What’s going to happen next?  What’s Lily’s next move?  Are her premonitions a gift… or a curse?

Another rule of storytelling: never be boring.  And this series hasn’t been so far.

The Vetala Ep.4 “The CCB”

The Vetala Web Series – Season 1/ Starring Candace Chase, Paul Mendel, Marina Pasqua, Leslie Mildiner, James Tyce/ Written & Directed by Damon Vignale http://www.TheVetala.com

2 Swirlies

“The CCB’s mandate is to report the truth. The site works for one reason, and one reason only. Trust.”

Another episode of the mutli-award winning web series, The Vetala.

Lily meets an informant and gets information on more than just the story she’s following. And we get to finally know what story Lily and Alex are investigating.

The Vatala Ep. 3 “Reality Check”

The Vetala Web Series – Season 1/ Starring Candace Chase, Paul Mendel, Marina Pasqua, Leslie Mildiner, James Tyce/ Written & Directed by Damon Vignale http://www.TheVetala.com

4 Swirlies

“I got another call tonight. Someone wants to meet.”

Really slick. Really well produced. Everything about it is pro – the acting, lighting, sound, everything. I wanted to come back to this series, not only because I’m getting around to series that I started posting and then sorta let slide, but this series has been winning awards and getting a lot of buzz.

You know, the first episode of this series was amazing. But since I feel a little let down. This episode was better than the second – it still gets 4 swirlies – but I feel like there’s not much going on in each episode. It is heavily serialized, which is enough to drag some people in, but for me I want some story for each episode. When you’ve only got 3 minutes, you really have to make it count.

I think this episode is bridging later stories. I see there’s 7 episodes on YouTube, so are we closing in on the halfway point? Hopefully it’ll pick up soon, and the arc of all seven, taken together will be worth it.

The Velata – Ep2. Resurrection

The Vetala Web Series – Season 1/ Starring Candace Chase, Paul Mendel, Marina Pasqua, Leslie Mildiner, James Tyce/ Written & Directed by Damon Vignale http://www.TheVetala.com

3 Swirlies

“You either want the big story or you don’t.”

The title kinda gives it away.

So, in this second episode, it starts with a surprise (that would have been a bigger surprise without the spoiler title) and then the events of the first episode are (mostly) explained.

While this episode is largely expository – a bad choice when you’re dealing in 5 minute episodes – there’s one interesting part where they show a clip from an old movie, which I assume hints at what’s happening to our gal.

This episode leaves me disappointed after the promise of the first, and I gotta say (at the risk of coming across like an asshole) – what? She wouldn’t go to the hospital or the cops after someone shot at her?

I’ll give it at least a one more episode. What do you guys thinks? Are you going to keep watching?

The Vetala Ep. 1 – The Sydicate

The Vetala Web Series – Season 1/ Starring Candace Chase, Paul Mendel, Marina Pasqua, Leslie Mildiner, James Tyce/ Written & Directed by Damon Vignale http://www.TheVetala.com

4 Swirlies

This opens nice and suspenseful. A guy packing a crate with guns. A student tacking down a story. Her boyfriend looking for her. Something’s gotta happen… right?

And then it does.

While this first installment doesn’t give us much insight into what’s going on, it does give us one thrill ride of a five minute episode – honestly I was a little surprised it was so long, it felt much shorter.

The only reason it missed five Swirlies is the acting is little stilted, and it was essentially all set up. Also the series seems to be about supernatural stuff, at least according to their Youtube tags, and there’s not even a hint of that in this episode. But those are trivial complaints, perhaps, and I’m quite excited to see where this series is going.

The closing tag (thankfully, there’s not 2 minutes of end credits pumping up the length) reads, “No longer a myth.” Count me intrigued.

Does the title make anyone else think of cheese? No? So it’s just me, then.