★★★★☆
“We do not know why we are here. We do not know who built the silo. We do not know why everything outside the silo is as it is. We do not know when it will be safe to go outside. We only know that day is not this day.”
These words open AppleTV+’s new dystopian drama, Silo. They are spoken by Sheriff Holston, in actor David Oyelowo’s deep, calm voice, but every word is infused with intrigue and dread.
As it turns out, the silo is a massive building which houses thousands of people. The outside world has been deemed dead and toxic; occasionally someone is tasked with going outside to clean the sensors which provide a view of the outside world to the habitants of the silo and sometimes, rarely, someone will request to go outside. This request is always granted and always results in death, in front of everyone as people curiously observe whether or not the outside world might have healed itself.
Credit: AppleTV+
The plot is kickstarted after the Sheriff and his wife Allison (Rashida Jones, impactful in a small role) are cleared to try for a baby, but begin to question the Silo’s history and their existence there.
That should be enough to get all your alarm bells ringing. If childbearing, and romantic relationships in general, are sanctioned and monitored, something is deeply wrong here. There is a lot of Snowpiercer in Silo’s DNA and as far as dystopian thrillers and dramas go, Silo is up there with the best of them.
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After the first episode, which mostly focuses on Holston and Allison, Silo changes its focus, rather jarringly, to Juliette Nichols (Rebecca Ferguson). Juliette is a mechanic, working in the lower levels of the silo and essentially keeping everyone alive. After suffering a personal loss, Juliette becomes entangled in the mystery of the silo.
To say any more of Silo’s plot would be to ruin it. This is a highly enjoyable, high-concept series which revels in the way lead director Morten Tyldum and his fellow directors and writers let us in on the secrets of this world.
At times, the drip feeding of information becomes frustrating. The past is only hinted at – in fact, it’s a criminal offence to even talk about it in the silo – and we are often as clueless as the people in the silo are. Silo is based on Hugh Howey’s book series, but under creator and writer Graham Yost’s watchful eye, Silo is never anything but cinematic. The detailed production design helps enormously in making the silo feel like a real place, as does the near-flawless CGI.
Silo arguably moves a little slowly, especially as the series keeps hinting at the bigger themes but often refuses to dig into them. That being said, Silo’s narrative gets tighter and tighter and concludes in a fascinating finale that is highly satisfying.
Episode 3 is a particularly enjoyable episode. The silo’s main generator needs fixing and in order to do that, they need to turn it off, plunging the entire Silo into darkness. The race-against-the-clock formula works well here and the entire episode is almost unbearably tense.
Ferguson is an exemplary lead here but is well supported by Oyelowo and Will Patton. While Silo is often in danger of shifting its focus from the personal tragedies to the larger questions, Ferguson’s committed performance is enough to keep us watching.
The first two episodes of Silo are now available on AppleTV+ with episodes being released weekly.
