The Killings at Parrish Station: An Australian cosmic horror murder mystery
If you want twists, turns and odd revelations in a plot-driven murder mystery, and don’t care so much about character development, then The Killings at Parrish Station has a lot to offer.
The Killings at Parrish Station is first and foremost a crime thriller.
But it has also called itself cosmic horror, and while it may not reach the highs of Lovecraftian dread and terror, there’s enough spooky stuff to turn your stomach.
That queasiness also comes from the gruesome crime scene which greets police detectives Georgia Cooke (Mia Wasikowska) and Michael Thorne (Xavier Samuel) in 1987. A disembowelled body, dismembered fingers, a face smashed in with fearsome force – it’s not something you want to see while eating dinner.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.The Australian drama is partly set at an isolated outback research station where a looming radio tower dominates against a sparse ochre landscape, and where untold and unknowable monstrosities have occurred.
The small group of scientists have been butchered, except for a lone survivor, Kate Reynolds (Alex Malone), who is deeply traumatised and whose skin has been scarred in a pocked pattern that suggests something otherworldly.
The story splits into a second timeline, flashed forward to 2024. Georgia (Heather Mitchell) has been in a mental institution for 37 years as a direct result of the earlier investigation, but an old mentee of hers, Millie Farah (Doris Younane), has asked for her help.
Someone is killing again in the distinct pattern of the 1987 crimes.
The story unfolds over six episodes and takes a great many twists and turns as the two investigations dovetail towards a conclusion that surprises but isn’t necessarily satisfying. Structurally, it’s an effective format as the pieces held back from both the audience and some of the characters come together.
That it’s an unsatisfying denouement is because the series is laser-focused on plot momentum and world-building, rather than character depth. Consequently, it’s hard to find someone to hook onto, so no matter how it turns out for anyone, you kind of don’t care.
And despite the setting of the outback research station and suburban Australia - and the rather good production design in both timelines – it lacks specificity. Where is this exactly? The “State Police” branding on the cops’ uniforms or the “Central Australia” licence plate doesn’t help place it anywhere.
It also has this framing device of two contemporary true crime podcasters that explain to their live audience the main beats and the key players of the 1987 mystery.
It’s a strange tonal mismatch to the rest of the show and smacks of an expositional dump which suggests the filmmakers didn’t have the confidence that viewers will just understand what’s going on through being shown – and at that point in the show, the first episode, it wasn’t that complicated, unless they thought everyone was already second-screening and not paying attention.
The reference point here is True Detective – the different timelines and ongoing mysteries, the hint of something paranormal, even the massacre at a remote research station (in True Detective season four, it was very cold, here it’s very hot).
Look, The Killings at Parrish Station is not True Detective but tonally, it does get part-way there. It is undeniably creepy and the mystery is intriguing enough to keep you around for the story, if not the characters which it neglects to draw in.
And it is an ambitious swing which you don’t always get in Australian TV, which is often a limitation of resources more than talent.
For audiences who like a twisty, plot-driven story layered with some existential dread, then The Killings at Parrish Station will be more than just fine.
The Killings at Parrish Station is on Stan
