NO SEX, PLEASE — IT’S A MOTEL
Better than ‘Big Bang Theory’ reruns but not as good as a night at the pub with your mates, writes
If hotel room walls could talk, we often assume they would tell salacious tales. They should surely whisper secrets that would titillate the Marquis de Sade. Well, according to the Showmax via HBO series Room 104, sex is not the only things walls speak about. The 12-part anthology series takes place within the confines of a creepy little motel room. Each guest comes with their own story that unfolds with a kind of voyeuristic desire to explore the human condition and all the quasiphilosophical stuff that comes with it. For example, there is a former tennis star whose war-torn childhood in Serbia and penchant for self-medicating with vodka lead to an interesting interaction with a cleaner. Or the mid-level cult leader and his increasingly desperate attempts to process a willing convert whose brain refuses to buy the snake oil he’s selling. Best of all is probably the first episode, which features a babysitter and a cape-wearing 10-year-old with a murderous alter ego. In short, the walls of Room 104 rarely get sexy.
The limited sex does not mean there isn’t any. The odd boob crops up here and there; as does the occasional deviant, but unlike many an HBO series, sex is not one of the main attractions. Instead the show’s directors seem hell-bent on unpacking the banality of oddity. Each episode contains a nugget of weirdness. It could be a character or a circumstance but there is always something not quite right about what is going on. However, it never strays into the absurd. On some level all of the quirkiness on the show is very relatable or becomes relatable as the story progresses. There are also very few moments of high drama.
With each episode only running a little longer than 20 minutes it is difficult to get so invested in any story that a plot twist hits you like a Mike Tyson right hook.
Another issue with the show is that a lot of the character arcs are simply too ambitious to fit into that kind of timeframe and that makes for a general lack of interest in the fates of various characters. Throw in fast-moving plotlines and you get a visual soufflé with a high probability of flopping. Sometimes you find your attention wandering until the credits roll and sometimes you get a delicious bite-sized bit of intrigue.
As an exercise in time expenditure, Room 104 is acceptable. It is comfortably better than watching the 105th rerun of the Big Bang Theory on DStv but not quite as good as getting up and going to the pub with your mates. It does not measure up to Black Mirror or The Outer Limits but it does do one important thing: it adds to the precious few watchable offerings on Showmax and gives you a welcome break from the tedium that DStv is susceptible to outside of primetime.
●
LRoom 104 is streaming on Showmax.