Critic Reviews

There’s never been a TV adaptation of Lord of the Flies before and after this masterful version, there probably should never be another.

This is a first-class example of an adaptation done right, and television breathing new life into a familiar story.

Led by an astoundingly talented cast of young actors and brought to life with painterly brushstrokes of vivid color and horrifying imagery, "Flies" is four episodes of captivating, edge-of-your-seat horror. .... It is an absolute must-watch, as hard as that watching experience may be.

It’s impressive, then, that Jack Thorne and the rest of the cast and crew overcome that fatigue, bringing this adaptation to life in such vivid detail that you’ll find yourself desperately hoping that things go differently this time. In some ways, they do. Just don’t expect a happy ending.

Book purists may take issue with some of the changes, but most of them further elevate the source material as opposed to hindering it, and the overall final result is a must-see miniseries.

Now we certainly don’t need another [adaptation] for a while. What Thorne, Munden and company have accomplished with this still all-too-relevant text may not be definitive, but it’s very close.

Bolstered by poetic visuals and stunning performances from the young cast, Thorne’s psychological approach offers profound insight into the unconscious impulses that underlie our current political crises.

Buoyed by terrific performances from its pint-sized cast, it’s a powerhouse that does justice to the enduring literary classic.

That Thorne helped craft such an outstanding variation on the classic story would seem to make redundant the idea of him doing a literal adaptation of Golding's book. But his four-part take on Lord of the Flies is excellent in its own right. It understands why the story has resonated for over 70 years, and become a middle school English class perennial — and the ways in which it feels especially, unfortunately, timely at the moment.

What distinguishes this “Lord of the Flies” is not how it handles its grand and bloody moments, but the way it pays close attention to smaller, equally rich details.