Monsters Beware – October Faction Is Here! (A spoiler-free review)

Jay McClenahan

4 years ago

October Faction on Netflix!

Werewolves. Vampires. Warlocks. Who doesn’t love monsters – or the people that hunt them? Fortunately for us, Netflix gives us the ability to love all of the above by bringing another comic book to life… Welcome to October Faction!

What the heck is it?

A monster hunting family goes on one heck of a journey to not only kill the big bad monsters, but also find out the hidden truths within their family.

Things are not 100% of what they seem when it comes to working for Presidio – the governmental faction tasked with ridding the world of monsters. Fred and Deloris Allen work for Presidio while hiding their true profession from their teenage twins, Geoff and Viv. The family is forced to return to Fred’s family home in New York due to his father’s death – and right from the start – everything begins to unravel.

Good guys. Bad guys. How can you tell the difference? In the world of various “monsters” – you sometimes can’t – and October Faction shows you the tough realities of living in that kind of world. And if you thought raising normal teenagers can be a tough task, wait until you meet the twins.

Oh, and get ready for some Blood Magic!

Who is in it?

J. C. MacKenzie (Madam Secretary, Law & Order SVU) as Fred Allen, our main monster hunter from a family of monster hunters

Tamara Taylor (Altered Carbon, Bones) as Deloris Allen, Fred’s wife and fellow monster hunter for Presidio

Gabriel Darku (Shadowhunters, Impulse) as Geoff Allen, teen son of Fred and Deloris

Aurora Burghart (Sex Education, There She Goes) as Viv Allen, teen daughter of Fred and Deloris

Stephen McHattie (Orphan Black, The Strain) as Samuel Allen, Fred’s deceased Father

Wendy Crewson (When Hope Calls, Frankie Drake Mysteries) as Maggie Allen, Fred’s Mom

Maxim Roy (Shadowhunters, Bad Blood) as Alice Harlow, a worthy adversary

Megan Follows (Wynonna Earp, Heartland) as Edith Mooreland, the top dog of Presidio

Michelle Nolden (Impulse, Northern Rescue) as Hannah Mercer, a Presidio agent

Nicola Correia-Damude (The Strain, Shadowhunters) as Gina Fernandez, a local sheriff who gets wrapped up in the mess

Sara Waisglass (Holly Hobbie, Degrassi: Next Class) as Madison St. Claire, a sometimes “nemesis” or bully to Viv

Praneet Akilla (Arrow) as Phillip Mishra, a sometimes “nemesis” or bully to Geoff

Dayo Ade (Heartland, Rookie Blue) as Moshe, the best character of the show!

Is it worth your time?

In short, yes. The 10 episodes go quickly and keep you entertained. If you like monsters or anything supernatural, mixed in with a wacky dose of family drama – you’ll enjoy it.

Behind the scenes of October Faction. Photo Credit: Ken Woroner

Initial Ratings:

So Many Shows Scoring 1-10: 8.0

High points: The story (and drama) are fun. You really learn a lot about a majority of the characters, which endears you to a lot of them. The series does a great job of giving you “just enough” information along the way without waiting for multiple episodes to get an answer to something. The season is one big puzzle – and you get plenty of pieces along the way to keep you wanting more – while also making sure you don’t figure out all the answers.

While I enjoy most of the actors/characters, my absolute favorite in this show is Moshe, played fantastically by Dayo Ade – he is my big winner of the series. (And he’s got the best line of the show as well – but you’ve got to wait all the way until the finale to hear it! Just wait until he gets handed a cup of coffee…) And Dayo is so good in this role, perhaps Moshe should have a spin-off?

Potential low points: I don’t have a ton to gripe about. Some of the monsters are a little cheesy-esque. (See the first one in the first few minutes of show… but if you overlook that, you’ll be ok.)

The only other “complaint” I have? I’m not sure I really like how everything ends… I see a few things open-ended which would allow for an interesting second season, but there were a few portions of the story that felt rushed and I would have liked to see them play out a little longer.

Final thoughts: I’m really not much of a “monster’ TV kinda guy, but this show kept me entertained. It’s definitely worth the watch and the characters will have you rooting for them. (And who you root for may change as the episodes move along!) Give the show a shot – I think you’ll enjoy it. And when you’re done – come back and tell me I was wrong about Dayo Ade. I dare ya.