‘Stay Close’ review: The mini-series tries hard but fails to escape doldrums of the thriller genre

Netflix recently dropped its newest mini-series, Stay Close. It’s a tale rife with love, betrayal, secrets, and lies. Fans would think that that means Netflix gold.

Based upon the book by Harlan Coben, the series takes place around a hard-working soccer mom named Megan Shaw, who has a haunting revelation when her past of being a st***per named Cassie comes back to haunt her along with the disappearance of a young man.

That begs the question: “Is the series any good?”

Disclaimer: This article reflects the views of the author.

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‘Stay Close’ is a dull thriller series

‘Stay Close’ uses the same elements of other crime thrillers with nothing new to add (Image via Netflix)

It uses same patterns as other thrillers

Understanding that this series is as straightforward as a thriller can get leaves very little open to the imagination. As a matter of fact, Stay Close is very short on imagination and won’t grab the audience with anything new.

Most thrillers on Netflix follow the same basic principle. A person is being stalked, and a few chases possibly ensue. Afterward, murder is involved between both parties or connecting them to it somehow, and the main character must find help from others.

There’s even a disgruntled detective (James Nesbitt of The Hobbit) who finds a connection between the latest murder and previous ones. Stay Close uses the same elements of other crime thrillers with nothing new to add.

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It has cheap thrills

The series relies on jump scares to try and get by for its lack of suspense and its shallow execution (Image via Netflix)

One would think that most thriller series would be heavy on, well, thrills. If the predictable plot wasn’t bad enough, the lack of thrilling moments would be sure to put viewers to sleep.

The series relies on jump scares to try and get by for its lack of suspense and its shallow execution. However, there are so few of those jump scares that it might as well be a dull relic of what it was trying to first achieve in its short eight-episode run.

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‘Stay Close’ is bland

Cush Jumbo as the st***per-turned soccer mom (Image via Netflix)

The worst thing about this series is that it lacks any real competency and remains flat compared to Netflix’s other content. This series does not have much to offer except crime, s*x, and hidden secrets.

This cycle has plagued the genre for many years and likely won’t change for the better.

The series could attempt to elevate itself above a regular NCIS episode but fails every time. It’s hard to watch when every twist that comes in an episode is dulled down to the point of boredom.

All in all, when streaming Netflix, this one should be left locked in the basement where it was found.