Behind Her Eyes review: The mad as a box of frogs thriller with the twist you’ll never see coming – 3 reasons to watch

It’s hard to believe there will be a wilder and more outrageous TV drama in 2021 than Netflix’s Behind Her Eyes.

A glorious, pulpy, psychological thriller, its takes a standard heightened drama formula and then in closing episodes straps itself to a WTF rocket heading to the planet OMG.

The story starts with a classic love triangle as Louise (Simona Brown) bumps into her new married boss psychiatrist David (Tom Bateman) on a night out and begins a passionate affair.

At the same time as she’s sleeping with her devilishly handsome (but slightly creepy) boss, she is also forging a friendship with David’s lonely, beautiful and mysterious wife Adele (Eve Hewson).

Behind Her Eyes - Meet the cast of the Netflix thriller

You might think you know where the story is going, but as Adele and Eve form a secret bond over their history of nightmares, the show takes a series of turns and throws in the kitchen sink, dream sequences, drugs and a closing twist that will floor you.

If you love twisted psychological thrillers, heightened supernatural fantasies or just enjoy a classic unpredictable mystery, there is something in Behind Her Eyes for you. Just don’t go expecting anything normal, because this is as far from normal as TV gets.

Here are three reasons to watch Behind Here Eyes…

1. Eve Hewson, Tom Bateman and Simona Brown

Behind Her Eyes is a crazy TV show, but despite its outlandishness, you’ll find it near impossible to not watch the whole thing in one sitting. That is primarily down to the performances of the three leads.

Tom Bateman serves up the right amount of dishy smouldering, sinister creepiness and anguished torment to keep you guessing about his true motives to the very end. Simona Brown manages to bring some grounded reality and humanity to Louise, providing balance against the wild world of David and Adele.

And Eve Hewson steals the show as the hypnotic and unforgettable Adele. She manages to thrill and chill, deliver black humour and empathy and drags you along for the wildest TV ride of the year.

I immediately looked up her IMDB page and wanted to check out everything she’s done before.

2.  It looks, sounds and feels stunning

Behind Her Eyes isn’t going to be studied by TV critics for years to come. It’s not going to change the world or change the face of TV. It’s not going to sweep the board at the Emmys and Golden Globes. It has no intention of loftiness or grandeur.

But what holds Behind Her Eyes together, beneath its wild storytelling and supernatural silliness, is the quality of the production.

Everything looks slick and stunning, every episode has a stunning needle drop moment in the soundtrack and the camerawork captures the heightened, surreal nature of the story perfectly.

3.  THE twist

If you’ve heard about Sarah Pinborough’s book or listened to any previews or interviews about Behind Her Eyes you’ll know that there is a twist near the end that turns everything on its head.

What’s most impressive about the show’s final episode is that it doesn’t just rocket-boost the craziness, it also manages to somehow make the previous five wild episodes all suddenly make (a little) more sense.

And don’t worry that it's spoiling things knowing that a twist is coming. There are plenty of shocking moments and you’ll have endless theories about what’s really going on, but trust us… you couldn't possibly guess this ending.

It’s the sort of twist that makes writing and talking about the show quite tricky and its transforms everything that’s gone before. The TV show's ending, like the book, will inevitably divide viewers. Some will embrace it and immediately want to rewatch the whole series. Others will probably snort with laughter. We’re definitely in the first camp.

Watch Behind Her Eyes on Netflix now