SA-made thriller so DAM(n) good
KUDOS: LITTLE WORK LIKE THIS IN THE COUNTRY
Though there’s supernatural element to it, film still focuses on real people.
The Showmax Original DAM, a small-town psychological thriller set in the Eastern Cape, is now available to binge. Early reviews are glowing, with YFM’s resident critic Yazz the Student comparing DAM to HBO’s The Outsider and saying the “eerie” and “unsettling” show feels “different to the South African television landscape”.
Fortress of Solitude similarly calls DAM “South Africa’s answer to Sharp Objects and The Outsider”. Reviewer Sergio Pereira praises DAM’s “outstanding production quality… It rivals any international production, and actually looks better than most of the Netflix shows that dominate the Top 10 list”.
He adds: “More importantly, the cast delivers an equally exceptional performance to rival the production quality and script. They suck you into this small town’s drama, as you fall in love with some, pity others, and detest only a few...
“You’d be a fool to sleep on this eight-part miniseries.
It’s simply a must-watch show that promises to fester in your mind long after the credits roll.”
Silwerskerm Best Actress winner Lea Vivier (Wonderlus, The Day We Didn’t Meet) stars as Yola, who returns from Chile to bury her estranged father. To her surprise, and her sister’s irritation, he’s left his farm to her, but this may be more of a curse than a blessing, as the house seems to be trying to tell her something.
But with her mother institutionalised, and her own meds running out, Yola has to wonder if the spirits are real or just in her head?
“It’s a story of how you can only start rebuilding yourself once you have faced your inner demons,” says Lea.
“Yola has run away from her past but now she’s coming back to face her demons. She wants to understand why she is the way she is, which ultimately is a very powerful thing to do – and very brave.”
“DAM is Mad backwards,” says four-time Safta winner Alex Yazbek (Unmarried, The Wild, Isibaya). “When water is dammed and prevented from flowing freely, eventually the dam wall will break. Emotions are the same: they need an outlet. Someone once said ‘what you resist persists’. Whatever you push down will rise up. Repression is the source of most of our demons.”
Lea says she was careful to play Yola as broken but not weak. “One of the main themes of DAM is that there’s strength in vulnerability, and there’s strength in being open about being broken. Yola is anxious, and traumatised, but she’s also one of the most proactive characters in DAM.”
Lea is delighted the twisty and twisted series is finally available on Showmax. “I have seen very little work like this made in South Africa. I’m immensely proud of it. I just want people to see it.”
Lea’s co-star, two-time Safta winner Pallance Dladla (Shadow, Isibaya), agrees. “I love how Alex has directed this, and what Tom [Marais, a three-time Safta winner] has done with the language of the camera.
“Anyone who gets a chance to watch this outside the country will be amazed, and anyone in the country will be inspired – it’s about raising the bar. We should be proud of how far we have come in our industry.”
aKING frontman Laudo Liebenberg says DAM doesn’t fit into a particular genre. “It’s a brave and unapologetic show that blends genres, and even though there’s a supernatural element to it, it still focuses on real people with secrets and scars.”
DAM’s all-star cast includes Neil Sandilands (The Flash, News of The World), Natasha Loring (Beaver Falls), Gerald Steyn (Meisies Wat Fluit, Fiela Se Kind), Safta winner Siv Ngesi (Still Breathing, Knuckle City), Safta and DStv Mzansi Viewers’ Choice Award winner Thembisa Mdoda-Nxumalo (Baby Mamas, Unmarried), among others.
Filmed in Bedford and Adelaide, DAM was made in partnership with the Eastern Cape Development Corporation, the Amathole municipality and Picture Tree.