The Åre Murders Review: Entertaining But Odd Format

The Åre Murders Review | Leisurebyte

Director: Joakim Eliasson, Alain Darborg

Date Created: 2025-02-06 13:30

Editor's Rating:
3.5

After police officer Hanna Ahlander is suspended from her job and dumped by her boyfriend, she reluctantly moves to the quiet town of Åre to regroup. However, when a woman goes missing, she finds herself investigating the case along with the understaffed police station of the town but trust is harder to get than said. With a difficult family situation, Hanna and her new partner, local police officer Daniel Lindskog, must overcome their differences to see this problem through.

The series is based on Hidden in Snow and Hidden in the Shadows by Viveca Sten. The crime-thriller series has 6 episodes, with a runtime of around 35 minutes.

The Åre Murders Review

Based on two separate books covered in 5 short episodes, Netflix’s The Åre Murders is a thrilling and dark escapade into the small town of Åre where everyone seems to be hiding something horrible and shocking. There are mysteries to be uncovered everywhere and Hanna, newly moved to the town after a string of bad luck in Stockholm, finds herself drawn to solving this young girl’s murder.

The series is quite short for a murder mystery, that too based on two books. However, I enjoyed this short and fast-paced atmosphere a lot as it doesn’t give us any time to stop for a moment — one thing leads to another quite well and the mystery doesn’t let up until the end. We find many criminals on the way to the truth and it adds to the mystery and the twists and turns. The series effectively creates and holds on to the dark and dreary world of Åre and the snowy landscape around Christmas time just makes it all the more eerie.

I think it’s great that they set the series during Christmas. A tragedy and skeletons being dug out of closets during a happy and celebratory time always adds to the uncomfortable feeling in viewers and the Netflix series effectively sets itself up to deliver a good time. It focuses on some big issues in the world, including human trafficking and grooming. It doesn’t really focus on any of it, which takes away from the topics, but either way, it does add to the empathy you feel for all the victims.

We don’t focus on the characters, unfortunately, which is a shame. I think the series could’ve explored these people a bit more instead of rushing through the facts of the case. I guess there are pros and cons to this format, but giving a better look at all the characters would’ve made the series more gripping in a way. That being said, the performances are great. Carla Sehn is fantastic as Hanna, who is suffering from professional and personal issues and trying to do the right thing. It’s a little annoying that we don’t see why Åre, but oh well.

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Now, The Åre Murders has two parts that focus on two different stories. I am a little unsure of why the series was made this way because I think separating the two and releasing them as two different seasons would’ve made more sense. Also, we could’ve focused on the characters and the stories at hand a bit better. Either way, it does make us rush through the two stories quite a bit. Is it a good thing or a bad thing? For this series, I think it honestly depends on the viewer’s personal opinion.

Final Thoughts

The Åre Murders is a short and impactful watch. It’s entertaining and does a good job of creating a dark atmosphere in the midst of the snowy mountains. But it’s nothing extraordinary — I think keeping expectations in check would be a good idea for this one. Also, the two parts feel a bit disjointed and abrupt, maybe two different seasons would’ve made more cohesive sense.

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