David Farnor | On 16, Mar 2018

Walter Presents has proclaimed 13 Commandments as its newest box set.

The online channel’s run of Belgian crime drama continues with the dark thriller, which sees a self-proclaimed modern-day Moses commit a series of gruesome crimes based on the 10 commandments.

In a similar vein to Se7en or Messiah, he hopes to jolt society’s conscience by highlighting these values which have vanished from contemporary life. But when his crimes are unexpectedly applauded by the public, becoming a social media sensation, it makes the job of the police trying to catch him infinitely harder.

Initially restrained by thou shalt not kill, the culprit brutally punishes but does not murder his victims. However as the 10th commandment is surpassed, the crimes take a sinister turn. Set with the task of investigating and finding the killer are Peter Devriendt, a jaded but brilliant cop nearing retirement and his ambitious young partner, Vicky Degraeve, freshly drafted in from the special forces squad, following a tragic accident. Both are drawn into an impossible hunt for the murderer—who becomes increasingly popular, despite the cruelty of his deeply disturbing crimes.

13 Commandments boasts several familiar faces for Walter Presents viewers, from Ella Leyers of Professor T and Dirk Van Dijck, who starred in Salamander, to Hilde De Baerdemaeker of Rough Justice. Indeed, the series shares the same director as Rough Justice, Maarten Moerkerke. Inspired in part by Anton Corbijn’s A Most Wanted Man, this atmospheric thriller uses a mixture of warm and cold light, creating a hazy effect that ‘wouldn’t hide anything in the darkness but rather show it all, albeit in a very explicit, stylised light’ according to Moerkerke, ‘an environment where our Moses could thrive’.

The series will premiere on Sunday 18th March on Channel 4 at 10pm, with the entire box set then released all-at-once on All 4 straight after. For more on what’s mew, coming soon and recommended on Walter Presents, click here.

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