We are on an oil rig in dangerous waters and Martin Compston is doing his serious Line of Duty voice. I’m already tense.
There’s something inherently scary about anything that happens at sea and, just like submarine-set Vigil, The Rig – another Scottish coast thriller – feels immediately claustrophobic.
Directed by John Strickland ( Line of Duty, of course), the eerie Prime Video supernatural drama follows the crew on the fictional Kinloch Bravo oil rig in the North Sea.
Its group of workers are due to return to the mainland but everything takes a dark turn when all outside communications are suddenly lost.
Crew leader Magnus (Iain Glen) later announces the emergency is over, which of course means it’s all about to get
extremely hairy.
At that moment, everything starts shaking and a terrifying fog descends over the rig. There’s some geology chat from rig scientist Rose (Schitt’s Creek star Emily Hampshire), then foreman Alwyn (Mark Bonnar) makes the ominous statement: “If we keep punching holes in the Earth, eventually it’s going to punch back.”
You can pretty much start doing a body count from this moment onwards as a series of strange happenings rock the rig.
Anyone with an office job on solid land will be feeling quite grateful at this point.
Baz (Calvin Demba), typically the one most desperate to get the chopper home, suddenly falls from a high platform and smashes into the ground.
Comms man Fulmer (Compston) was fighting with him at the time and is totally freaked out. Baz should be dead but his injuries start mysteriously healing and he wanders around like a weird naked prophet muttering about visions of waves. Head driller Lars (Owen Teale) is shouting at everyone in a rage as everyone’s allegiances are tested to the limit.
There’s a sub-plot about the rig being secretly decommissioned but to be honest, the priority is not dying. Rig medic Cat (Rochenda Sandall) has her work cut out.
This reminds me of shows like Fortitude and The Terror, where dark ghostly forces are at work and everyone is super tense.
By episode two, a crew member decides it’s a good idea to stand outside in the ash that is falling over the rig. Within minutes he has collapsed, his tattoos bleeding from his skin. Baz’s teeth start falling out.
Alwyn tries to have a chat with Baz out on the deck and ends up drowning.
Body count so far: two dead, one undead. Weather forecast: blood-sucking ash and fog, possible tsunami on the way.
Fulmer has a cut on his hand, which does not bode well.
Outlook for the rig? Utterly doomed. And for the series? Utterly gripping.
