Is Dark Net Worth Your Time? A Complete Review

Dark Net is an eight-part Showtime documentary series. It was developed by the tech and media company Vocativ. It consists of eight episodes running half-hour each.

Dark Net examines how the technology that makes the deep web possible is now inserting itself into everyday life. Each episode of the series typically interweaves three separate stories into a provocative package.

The series depicts morally-heavy subjects like child pornography. It’s almost as if Dark Net wants its viewers to be both repelled and seduced by everything we see through the series.

1. Quick review

The show explores about eighty percent of Internet activity occurring in and around the deep web. It is known as the place Internet surfers would want to go to indulge those fetishes that they’d rather keep out of the public eye.

Each episode typically interweaves three separate stories into a provocative package. Their titles are evocatively terse in the first season while being more self-oriented in the second.

The narration by Lauren Terp strikes a strangely perfect tone between curious and judgmental.

2. Info

3. Is It Worth Watching?

The series has received generally positive reviews from critics with a Metacritic score of 69 out of 100. The show seems content to simply present specific case studies, then essentially dare its audience not to look down on the uses of the internet.

The series presents case studies as proof of the eccentricities of the dark web, and offers a glimpse into unfamiliar terrain. Although it does shed light on them, Dark Net does little other than acknowledging that these subcultures exist.

Dark Net Season 1 | Official Trailer | SHOWTIME Documentary Series

The stories that are presented involve a strong and unsettling use of cyber-stalking, bio-hacking, child pornographic material, incessant trolling and other cyber-crimes. While some of the lifestyles seem foreign, they are impossible to deny with technological advancement.

Perhaps something I enjoy about Dark Net is that it’s free of judgement. The lifestyles are presented in a completely factual way. While inherent bias exists, it never comes across as judgemental on any of the individuals involved.

I. Plot

There are two seasons of this series, with 16 episodes in total. While the first eight episodes of the series dealt with topics of crimes, the second was more focused on the individuals themselves.

The stories that stand out in season 1 are that of a Japanese man in love with a virtual girl, the documentation of child pornography in the Philippines to cater to largely Western fetishes, and the online presence of terrorist networks.

In the second season, the episodes that stand out are those of using virtual reality to help with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, bitcoin miners and the prevalent issue of surveillance and privacy in the age of social media.

Each episode tackles three different problems, all brought to you in the age of technological leaps. The show operates as a news site should; providing its audience with fact-based information while remaining unbiased in their opinion.

II. Music and Visuals

The music director of this series is Justin Melland. Melland is a multiple-award winning film composer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist working in the demanding world of film and television who creates refreshingly inventive scores.

Melland has previously won an ASCAP award in the Top TV Series Composer category. He has also been nominated for a Spirit Award and an IDA Award.

The series’ soundtrack includes songs such as Trouble, Who’s Knocking, A New Level, Behind The Curtain and, my favourite, Run. They have all been composed by Melland himself.

The rather bland and sanitised visuals that stretch across the series suggest a single camera-shoot and an inherent drive to promote the content of Dark Net itself, and not much else.

4. Grade

5. Final Thoughts

Although it is hardly news that the Web has become a means for people to engage in all sorts of fantasies without leaving the comfort of their homes, it is definitely disturbing to watch.

In each episode, the series explains itself through the use of gut-wrenching and sometimes shockingly true stories. Each story is built to tackle the exploitative tendencies that people have with the evolution of technology.

The stories are all real, unfortunately, and several morally disturbing factors come into play with its viewing. The series is successful in stripping down the stories to link it to the evolution of technology, and is definitely worth the watch.