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.

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.

Sometimes it goes a little overboard with its aesthetics. So be it. Director Marc Munden’s hour-long episodes do become more disturbing (just like the book) and he draws impressive performances from a young cast.

Purists may not like how much Thorne has added to this story, and how these additions dilute the sense of archetype that drove the story of Golding’s novel. .... There is something in these backstories that softens the dark message of Lord of the Flies. These boys broke bad, the adaptation seems to say. But it doesn’t mean we all will.

True, I think it would have benefited from being a tad shorter but it is an extremely classy adaptation which, I imagine, will please Golding purists and newcomers alike.

Its cinematic style is effective, and its performances are outstanding. If its four episodes had been a bit shorter, and a few changes to the source material had been reversed, Lord of the Flies could have achieved greatness; instead, it settles for being pretty good.

It [the music] does more to tell and expand the story of “Lord of the Flies” than “Lord of the Flies,” an otherwise holistically irrelevant addition to the deserted island of Netflix’s forgettable library of peak TV.