“42 Days of Darkness”: Everything You Need to Know About the First Chilean Netflix Serie

It is well known that one of Netflix's main strategies is to offer its users a wide catalog of original productions from different regions of the world. This has allowed subscribers to enjoy movies and series from various countries. Notorious examples are the famous series "Squid Game" from South Korea or "Money Heist" from Spain. Now comes Chile's opportunity to shine with its audiovisual productions on this platform. This month “42 Days of Darkness” premiered, the first Chilean Netflix series.

The production is a 6-part miniseries that presents us with a story full of enigmas that are inspired by the Viviana Haeger case, a crime that shocked Chile in 2010.

“42 Days of Darkness” is a story that navigates between a police thriller and a family drama. It is a tense story with a dark tone that allows us to reflect on the tragedy, impunity, inequality, media morbidity, and the negligence of the police forces.

The series is the work of the renowned Chilean audiovisual production company Fábula, responsible for titles such as “A Fantastic Woman” (2017) or “Spencer” (2021). It is directed by Claudia Huaiquimilla and Gaspar Antillo, and stars Claudia di Girolamo, Pablo Macaya, Daniel Alcaíno, Aline Küppenheim and Julia Lübber, among other renowned film and television actors from the Andean country.

What Is "42 Days of Darkness" About?

Verónica Montes is a woman who lives in an exclusive house developement with her two daughters and her husband. One morning she disappears from her house. There are several strange elements surrounding Veronica's disappearance: her car is found with the keys in it and someone has searched the main room, but nothing of value has been taken apart from a video camera. The husband claims he received a call from a man saying he would hurt his partner, but he thought it was a joke and hung up, without being contacted again. From this moment on, secrets and intimate details will be revealed that will give rise to various suppositions about what happened and that will create suspicions that will fall on different figures close to the disappeared person.

In this way, from the first chapter, it is not certain whether we are facing kidnapping, self-kidnapping, murder, or perhaps another type of crime. The main focuses of the series are Cecilia Montes, Verónica's sister, who will not rest until she finds out what has happened to her sister. She is joined by Víctor Pizarro, a lawyer with unorthodox methods who is hell-bent on solving the case. Also important are Karen Medina, the eldest daughter of the disappeared woman, and the enigmatic Mario Medina, the husband of Verónica Montes. The series shows how this family must face not only the mystery of Verónica but also the harassment of the media and the erratic police actions.

Also read: 5 Latin American Series you Should Watch if you Liked "The Marked Heart"

From Reality to Fiction

The series is inspired by the real case of Viviana Haeger, who was missing for 42 days until she was found dead in the attic of her house in 2010. The production takes the book “You know who: Notes on the homicide of Viviana Haeger” (2019) by journalist Rodrigo Fluxá . However, there are several creative freedoms present in this story, such as changing the names of places and people or modifying some situations with dramatic intent.

As for the reception of the public, this has been quite favorable. Since its premiere, it has captured the attention of viewers from all latitudes, especially in Chile, where it ranked at the top of the most-watched on the streaming platform.

"42 Days of Darkness", throughout its evolution, is shown as a series full of uncertainty and anxiety that invites the viewer to generate hypotheses about what happened to the characters. Although the production exposes its impression of what happened, it does not close the door to other interpretations that may happen.