Love, Death & Robots

I don't really know whether to count this as a series or film. Love, Death & Robots is a weird experiment by Netflix to create a series of shorts, all using distinctive and unique animation styles. I don't know what the creative brief was, but I guess anything that included one of the three titular words was good to go, based on what we got. Which is no bad thing; it meant each short felt like a standalone piece. How you quite review something like that, though, is another matter...

I guess, overall, I'd say the experiment was a success. I enjoyed the weird format and it's a great series to dip in and out of, just watch a couple when you have the time and set it down for a bit. Some of the episodes were a bit dull whilst others really shone, but a couple I think will stick with me for quite a while. The opening salvo which sees an underground alien fight club going on was really poignant. The twist that the main character was her fighter, giving her the edge because death actually meant her death, was really well done and I enjoyed the feminist vibes.

Similarly, the episode about the space spider is creepy and really clever. Then there's the steampunk/Chinese folklore tale of a huli jing fox spirit that is just beautifully done. Equally beautiful is the weird desert Cambrian ghost abduction sequence. And finally, the werewolf soldiers episode surprised me. It's nothing particularly new, but it was a weirdly poignant take on being an outcast within an army and – I imagine – must hit home for some people. It certainly stuck with me.

Others, like the time-loopy Witness where a murder witness becomes a murderer and is in turn witnessed, or the rednecks-fight-alien-bug-swarms, are fine but nothing too special. Still, even here the animation is top-notch and the voice acting is brilliant.

The second time around, I knew what to expect, and I'd say the series continues to deliver. I hope they keep going for many seasons to come, because I'll always have a soft spot for a good idea, well executed, no matter how small, and feel like shorts are the ideal format for a lot of that kind of artistry.

In many ways, the second volume feels very similar to the first. There's a wide range of CGI styles on display, from hyper-realistic to hyper-abstract, and a good mix of horror, sci-fi, and just plain weird. That results in a range of shorts, some of which are superb and will likely stick with me for a long while, and others I doubt I'll remember in a month.

On the top of that list are:

• Pop Squad – a truly bleak story about illegal "birthers" and obscene population control in a world of immortality that, whilst not a particularly novel idea, is extremely well executed;
• The Tall Grass – which has strong vibes of the Cambrian desert in the first season, with a train stopping near some grass populated by eerie lights and a near-death experience, which does suspense very well, and...
• The Drowned Giant – a surreal finale, narrating the discovery (and decomposition) of a gigantic man at a seaside town, which is just perfectly put together and neatly encapsulates the way humanity can get used to the bizarre much faster than you would expect.

I also quite enjoyed Snow in the Desert, though it didn't really stick the landing that well, but did have some excellent fight choreography. Automated Customer Service is a quirky and humourous take on the robot uprising. And the animation of Life Hutch, clearly starring Michael B. Jordan, is incredible, even if the story is a little run-of-the-mill.

The remaining shorts aren't bad, either. Much like the first volume, they're all beautifully animated, and I'd say they're broadly a little more interesting than the bottom third of the first set, but they just lack that spark of creativity or interest.

Another volume, another similar story: a fun collection of shorts which range from jaw-droppingly great to a little meh, with plenty of surprises along the way. I feel like this had more extremes at each end of the spectrum than the last two volumes, though. The very best are beautiful or poignant, inventive or funny, or all of the above; the worst are just "someone had an idea, and I guess they made it". Not that those two states are completely separated either – just look at Night of the Mini Dead. This is one of my absolute favourites of the season, but it's definitely just one long gag and excuse 😂 Okay, so how do they rank? At the top of the pile:

• Night of the Mini Dead – already mentioned, but just dumb fun. Stop-motion zombies take over the world, all viewed from far away, with ridiculous chipmunk-esque voice work. The animation is superb and the comedy is top-notch!
• Bad Travelling – a seriously inventive take on the sea monster genre, with a good dash of body horror, and some fun moralising;
• Swarm – beautifully designed, with some inventive alien bauplans, and one of the most horrifying yet weirdly "realistic" takes on a hivemind, Borg-like race I've seen;
• The Very Pulse of the Machine – I really liked the idea of Io being a machine and thought the way they let the story unfold was really clever and wonderfully illustrated;
• Mason's Rats – Scottish humour makes for fine comedy, and this is no exception;
• In Vaulted Halls Entombed – we finally get true Eldritch horror, and it's riveting.

In the middle, there's the big showstopper of the season: Jibaro. The animation work here is incredible, and the story about gold-lust and conquistadors, witchcraft, and a deaf lead, were all very interesting, but it falls short on a few fronts for me. Firstly, the plot kept tripping over itself (why did she find him, spare him, then try to kill him? why does he wind up back at the pool? what's with the hearing miracle?). And secondly, I found the weirdly abstract yet hyper-realistic art style just too off-putting. People's eyes bulge out, limbs contort, and faces gurn, making everything feel like a Ren & Stimpy cartoon. Not for me, even if the dancing was some of the most fluid CG body movements I've ever seen.

And then there are the bottom of the list, which are just, well, boring. Kill Team Kill is a fun-enough SNL skit or Robot Chicken short. Its inclusion here just feels boring and out of place. And the sequel to Three Robots is just rehashing the original, but with less nuance and humour 🤷‍♂️

Overall, then, a season with more highs and fewer lows, but those it has are the lowest to date, and whilst the general quality seems like a step up, I'm also not sure how many will truly stick with me the way Fish Night or Ice Age have.