The Longest Night review: Blink and you miss in this high-octane, feverishly-paced thriller

Oscar Pedraza's La noche más larga, or The Longest Night, is a Spanish six-part crime-thriller series that was released on Netflix on July 8, 2022.

Written by Xosé Morais and Victoriano Sierra Ferreiro, the series revolves around a Warden Hugo's Christmas Eve gone disastrously awry with the arrest of serial killer Simon Lago.

It follows the events of a single night across six episodes, but contrary to expectations, it does not feel like a stretch. In fact, it could have done better with more episodes in the mix. There are so many characters and so many twists that viewers might just need a white board to keep track of things.

Starring Alberto Ammann, Luis Callejo, Fran Berenguer, David Solans, Cesar Mateo and several others, The Longest Night is bound to make for a gripping weekend binge. However, the series is for mature audiences due to its themes of violence, gore, profanity and abuse.

Continue reading for a full review of The Longest Night Season 1.

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The Longest Night has the potential to be a successful thriller with a plot that stays taut and on tenterhooks

If there was a checklist for what makes a good thriller, The Longest Night might just check most of the boxes. An old psychiatric facility to give you the heebie-jeebies? Check. A diverse set of characters, each with a hidden darkness? Check. A pressure cooker situation within a single setting? Check. Twists at every turn? Check, check, check.

Add to all of that a serial killer with a creepy smile and a deadline that makes it impossible to take your eyes off the screen. There is no shortage of gunfire, weapon combat, psychologically complex scenes, drama, mystery, suspense and story, making the series a cocktail of many exciting genres.

The Longest Night begins with a shot of Simon Lago (Luis Callejo), the serial killer in question, burying a woman alive. The series manages to capture the attention of viewers right off the bat. The first episode wastes no time in getting the serial killer caught and starting a spiral of unprecedented events at Baruca prison cum psychiatric facility.

Warden Hugo, who is in charge at the facility, had to sacrifice his Christmas Eve plans to tend to Simon Lago's admission. However, he decided to bring his kids along for the night, and that was just the first of some very questionable decisions made by the show's characters across the six episodes.

The rest of the series follows a really long night that Simon forewarned Hugo about. Assailants, hired by an unknown contractor, invade the facility to extract Simon and prevent him from spilling some secrets to the judge in the morning.

Meanwhile, Hugo receives a distressing video of his other daughter Laura being held for ransom. To save his daughter, he is required to protect Simon and have him make a call before 1 am. The prisoners/patients in the facility become collateral damage in the midst of the crossfire as one group comes for Simon while the other protects him.

The plot continues to thicken with prisoners/patients growing suspicious of the doctors lying to them and hatching their own plan to hand over Simon to save their fellows from more bloodshed.

As the series progresses, plot twists about the characters' intentions and motives continue to complicate the narrative yet stimulate the viewers.

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The Longest Night falls short in managing the surplus of characters involved in the plot

While there is no doubt about the richness of the plot and the mystery it cultivates, The Longest Night did not do justice to all those involved in the story. In many instances, the series reminded viewers of La Casa de Papel or Money Heist, another Spanish crime-thriller that gained cult-like popularity.

However, what Money Heist managed to achieve with a huge cast and set of characters was giving each of them enough screen time and space to be understood.

The Longest Night does reveal snippets of the characters' backstories. However, six episodes are not enough to understand or even remember them, with everything being so rushed.

The plot-heavy sequences and constantly erupting twists might make for a good script to sustain the attention and intrigue of viewers. However, it does not fare well for the series' overall memorability. Add to that multiple cliffhangers at the end of the series, and viewers might just not be able to make head or tail of the plot.

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What The Longest Night lacked in terms of character portrayals, it made up with explosive action and twists

When it comes to character performance, Callejo's serial killer mostly remained a fly on the wall unless he was killing for fun. His constantly smiling, up-to-no-good character is the backbone of the series, and Callejo's minimalistic portrayal deserves credit.

Alberto Ammann, previously seen in Narcos, plays Hugo in the series, but his character is pretty straight sans complexities. He does not display much of a persona in his role. Among the assailants, while Ruso has some character, balancing humanity and the demands of his mission, Lennon is pretty much one-dimensional.

The inmates of Baruca, given their individual backstories and psychiatric conditions, do well to add some color and characterization to the plot. However, with so much happening in the limited six episodes and the series constantly being in a hurry to get to the best parts, most of the characters don't get the time to shine.

Overall, The Longest Night is a good thriller to watch, and it keeps viewers on the edge of their seats until the very end. However, don't expect a satisfying ending or a lot of clarity. How we judge the first season of the series will depend largely on whether or not a second season is in the works.

If you want your dose of action and psychological drama, don't forget to watch The Longest Night on Netflix.