We hope you’re hungry, because you can now sink your teeth into the very first poster for Season 2 of the dark supernatural thriller Hemlock Grove. You can also sink your hairy claws into it, but that’s not as widely-known an idiom outside the werewolf community. The poster seen above isn’t very busy, given how many words appear on that stark white background, but the central imagery is catching.
While it immediately brings to mind a vampire’s mouth with fangs drawn, it could just as easily be a werewolf’s open maw. But maybe it’s just a Rorschach test developed by highly-trained Netflix psychologists who want us to find something deeper within ourselves. “It reminds me of my childhood, where I spent a lot of time on the farm…the sexy vampire/werewolf farm.”
Hemlock Grove is gearing up its promotional push for Season 2, which is set to hit Netflix on July 11. Created by Brian McGreevy, who based the series on his 2012 novel of the same name, Hemlock Grove wasn’t exactly a runaway success for the streaming giant, with critics and audiences not quick to start screaming their praises for the horror series. Netflix doesn’t really divulge their viewer numbers, but they were pretty good about boasting the boosts the followed the release of House of Cards and the return of Arrested Development.
Which technically means Hemlock Grove has a better shot of drawing in bigger crowds, which is possible since executive producer and genre filmmaker Eli Roth has said Season 2 will be even “scarier, darker and sexier” than Season 1, at the behest of Netflix itself. So that's encouraging, and for people who think teeth and open-clutched hands are sexy, it’s hard to imagine how they could have appealed to you guys any more than this poster.
Honestly, I didn’t make it too far into that first season, as I could not get over the muddled soap opera drama; tthough I can’t deny that it all looked dynamic, especially the gore. (It received Emmy nominations for Outstanding Special Visual Effects and Outstanding Main Title Theme Music.) As such, it’s best for me to just distract you with Famke Janssen’s vampirish (or upirish) Olivia Godfrey getting all weird in this teaser.
Now here’s where the mysteries of Season 2 will take viewers.
Season 2 continues with the town coming to grips with the shocking massacre incurred by one of its deadliest creatures. Roman and Peter are now faced with new responsibilities and the realities that come with adulthood. Roman’s relationship with his mother (Janssen) is all but dead as he struggles with his unwanted Upir birthright and the disappearance of his sister, Shelley (Martin). Peter moves in with Destiny (Horn) and is forced to get a job after his mother is sent away. Meanwhile, in search of a new life, newcomer Miranda Cates (Brewer) embarks on Hemlock Grove with an unknowingly profound effect on Peter and Roman. And Norman (Scott), still reeling from the loss of his family, must face the harsh truths that are uncovered about those he still loves.
Howl if that sounds like enough drama to get you binge-watching the entire series on Friday, July 11 starting at 12:01 a.m. PT.
