User reviews

There was a really good Aussie whodunnit in this, especially seeing the setting was so lush and expansive. However, the actual execution wasn't good.

Other reviews have said it but there's too much clutter. Too many characters and too many side quests. But these side quests (such as a cafe owner's son and the key suspect at the start being creepy to kids) just pad out the run time and then they go nowhere at the end.

In fact I have the biggest issue with the ending, it doesn't really have that satisfying wrap up at the end, there are some story points left in the air, like they expected they'd have another episode, bud didn't.

This can be really frustrating for a mystery series, especially when we don't know if Season 2 is coming.

Ignore the other reviews... this is and should be a standalone series of its own accord and merit. Started off like so many other wannabe-mystery-thrillers and actually came to a very satisfying and logical conclusion, despite the red herrings along the way. Yes, the nit-pickers amongst us could argue the knackers off the side-stories including those of the teen gang and the native Bush tracker family but it all makes sense in the end. Beautiful, spooky, lush and emotive scenery utilised to its fullest potential with a well executed plot that kept me guessing all along. Not a disappointment in the slightest. Let's try not to be too cynical and hyper-critical here, OK?

Nothing could even prepare me to watch so far the first couple of episodes that have aired, because it was written by the team who were behind Wentworth and then you just knew it had to be good.

Leah Purcell being given the reigns of her first lead in a series and it is off to a magnificent start and how good are the shots of the country? We have some of the best bushlands in Australia and this show is showcasing it perfectly.

My only wish is what would Brian have said when he seen this one come to life, afterall it was his last commission as head of foxtel/binge, this one is for you Brian

Stick with it, you might just like it. I know I do.

There is much to commend this series but it falls short of greatness.

The plot and the mystery is well done and the script and acting are very good throughout. However, you can't help feeling you have seen it before. The reason for this is the plot line has been dropped into a paint by numbers tv detective drama structure with so my of the usual tropes present. For example, the retiring old policemen, the strained relationship with the partner, teenage child who is rebellious and feeling neglected to mention just three. However, despite this it is watchable amd is also designed for bi fe watching. Deliberately so in that each episode leaves you with a cliffhanger to lead in to the next episode. The only problem is that by the time you get half way though you realise that the cliffhangers don't really amount to much at all.

Another flaw, as mentioned in other reviews here is that while the main plot reaches a conclusion and you find out who is doing what etc, it still leaves a few loose ends unexplained or unresolved. This deliberate in an attempt to justify an2nd series. Except that although these thing are unresolved they aren't going to tempt you to want more and so it all seems flat.

When detective Andie Whitford is transferred to the High Country, she is thrust into a baffling mystery of five missing persons who vanish into the wilderness. Through an edge-of-the-seat high-stakes investigation she discovers the greatest mystery is her own and that her true identity lies at the heart of the puzzle.

This was the perfect series to watch on a cold Melbourne day given the spectacular scenery of the Victorian High Country.

I thoroughly enjoyed this and was hooked from the beginning. The character development was good and I got to know and care about what happened to them.

Hoping for a season 2.

A police sergeant ups her urban family and moves to the Aussie high country to run a local station. A murder case and a few run-in's with the locals keeps Sergeant Whitford on edge, and it only gets complicated when she involves a psychic with a dubious past.

It's a run-of-the-mill story of police officer moving to an inhospitable country and challenged every step of the way. What makes it interesting is the indigenous heritage of the sergeant, and the relationship with her partner, Helen. These elements will no doubt weigh in heavily as the series progresses, and hopefully improve it.

Leah Purcell does the best with the material on offer, that lacks an edge, or even any conviction. It is a mystery series with a few thrills that has moments, but no real creative tone or structure until the last part of episode two. Worth staying for further episodes to see in what direction it points.

The actors are excellent, the story on paper may have made sense, however, it had far too much busywork and pointless conversations, some of the characters were thrown in to keep us guessing, was it going to be a supernatural series, which is what it was looking like up to number four, when it did a 180 and went for a rather mundane practical and rather poorly delineated mystery. It seems like inexperienced writers threw in everything they could think of to make it interesting, and it was just confusing, too many directions and not tightly controlled, or focussed. It was, as an Aussie, great to see an unusual story, however, by the finish I didnt know who the crap one of the main characters was, and the actors credits on here dont even give the person a credit. I really hope it will be renewed, for all its missed opportunities, it was an intriguing watch. Tugged at the heartstrings, which is always necessary in a mini series.

I have delayed writing this review while I sort out my conflicting thoughts about this series.

On the one hand the eponymous high country is an impressive backdrop to the story, there is an interesting sub-text regarding the aboriginal heritage of the police sergeant and the plot is complex and the ending contains surprises.

On the other I did struggle to follow the plot, which is not usually a problem for me. Worse, the main characters were too often required to behave nonsensically in order to create the next moment of drama.

So this series has its merits and I did watch it through to the end. But it could have been better.

I so wanted to love "High Country"! I've travelled this region for decades and was so excited to see a mystery set in the Mansfield region.

"High Country" is a disappointing TV series marred by lackluster acting and uninspired writing. The performances are wooden, with characters failing to evoke any real emotion or depth. The dialogue feels forced and unnatural, making it difficult to connect with the storyline or the characters' motivations.

Despite these shortcomings, the series does boast stunning scenery and locations. The Australian landscape is showcased beautifully, providing some much-needed visual appeal amidst the mediocrity of the rest of the production.

Overall, "High Country" falls short of its potential, failing to deliver engaging performances or compelling storytelling. While the breathtaking backdrop may momentarily captivate viewers, it's not enough to redeem the show from its significant flaws.

Ive Enjoyed it so much im leaving a review before I'm even finished the season! Some great work coming from the ex Wentworth lady's!! First deadloch with Kate box and pamela rabe,A laugh a minute,hope they continue with a new season as has been hinted, and now I've discovered high country!!!! I Have struggled to get into any shows in the last few years but back country just sucks you right in! Another show I hope and pray continue! I was a fan of Wentworth so happy to see some of the strong talented woman continue to entertain us! The rest of the cast equally awesome, Aaron Pedersen was another stand out! Go get lost in the high country you will not regret it!

This Australian crime drama is set in the mountainous 'High Country' in Victoria. Andrea 'Andie' Whitford, who was previously a detective in Melbourne, has just moved to the Town of Brokenridge and become the new police sergeant. One might expect this to be a quiet posting but soon she is investigating a disappearance that her predecessor is convinced is linked to the death of a child some years before... a crime he, and much of the town, blame on former teacher who claims to be psychic.

I really enjoyed this series. The mystery is interesting and kept me guessing and the characters are good. The setting really added to the story; previous Australian films and shows I've seen have either been set in cities or the Outback so this heavily forested, mountainous region was something new. There are some family concerns for our protagonist but these serve to give depth to her character rather than detract from the story. The cast does a fine job; especially Leah Purcell, who carries the series as Andie and Ian McElhinney as Sam, the predecessor who has difficulty staying out of the investigation. The main questions raised during the series, but not quite all, are nicely wrapped up by the end of the eighth, and final episode, hopefully that doesn't mean this will be a one season show as I'd like to see more. Overall I'd definitely recommend this to fans of crime drama looking for something set somewhere different.

High Country: Australian Noir which morphs into Folk Horror in a similar manner as Dark Winds did. Sergeant Andrea 'Andie' Whitford Leah Purcell) is transferred to the town of Brokenridge in the Victorian High Country, accompanied by her partner Helen and stepdaughter Kirra. She immediately encounters a doctor running naked through the woods. He's just killed his family and commits suicide. There are also five people missing in the area. Brokenridge is an odd place, a local psychic is suspected of murdering a boy years before and the sergeant (Ian McElhinney.) who Andie replaced is obsessed with the case. A survivalist is terrifying hikers in the woods and Andie has a few other murder cases on her hands. Oh! I forgot to mention the Yowie and the weird Rose who runs an artists colony on a farm. The woods and mountains are literally characters in this drama as they keep many secrets. There are far darker conspiracies at play here along with Ando's domestic traumas which are soapy enough for Neighbours and some interesting plot twists. It's a good series with fine acting especially from Leah Purcell and Ian McElhinney. Created by Marcia Gardner and John Ridley who Co-Write the series, Directed by Kevin Carlin and Beck Cole. Eight episodes on the BBC iPlayer. 8/10.

I did enjoy this. Kept me engrossed. I thought the story was involving if a bit confusing at times. It all came together at the end I thought and I wasn't sure if there were the loose ends other reviewers mentioned. I also disagree that the series was a bit soap opera. Not that there's anything wrong with soap operas anyway. If that's what you like.

BTW why is it people who don't like a particular show often claim the acting is poor? Does not liking a programme make you an acting expert?

And why take the trouble to write a review (or even watch)? I suspect that at least one of the reviewers was a bit irritated with the lead character not being a straight white man.

I did like the characters especially Andie, she was great. And scenery was just gorgeous. Rather hoping for another season.

While I am not disappointed by the notion that the team who made wentworth were behind the making of High Country and advertised it as the 'big murder mystery.. OoOoooh..' i'm just disappointed after seeing 5 episodes so far and it just not keeping me engaged. Leah Purcell is wonderful as always and she does a lot of hard work in this, but it relies to much on the outsiders like Brett character being lazy and overall too annoying to listen to or going from a big jump to Helen's story and whatever else is happening.

I expected really.... so much more from the last commission of the late foxtel head brian walsh and I feel like they have let him down a little bit, sorry brian, maybe the next one?

This series had me gripped from the very beginning. Fantastic scenery, superb acting and a plot with so many twist and turns. Yes it was dark and yes it contained violence but it was fa superior to programmes like Hightown! There was swearing yet in between the character managed to communicate in English, on a lighter set as opposed to the dark gloomy lighting and continual stream of swearing. The plot had so many twists and turns which kept you guessing till half way through the final episode. I was convinced one of the main characters was the murderer and did not see the twist until the very last moment. This series is top quality and at no point was hackneyed stereotyping. Well done! The whole team deserve a gold star!

If you like bad, soap-opera acting and awkward, unconvincing dialogue, then High Country is for you! The relationships between the characters aren't really believable. There's a strange sense that everyone is pretending, which of course, they are.

In a well-made drama, the viewer is drawn in and swept along with the plot, forgetting that they are watching people playing dress-up and pretending. High Country is not well-made. My partner and I struggled through to episode 3 and then agreed not to continue. Life is just too short to watch any further.

I am puzzled as to why the BBC decided to broadcast High Country. They usually make excellent choices of non-British dramas to air. They really messed up with this one though. A total dud. I hope it's an anomaly.

Beautiful landscapes though and pretty horses.

We had very high hopes for this however it lost its way very early indeed.

You could see what they were trying to do however it doesn't come together at all. Lots of moving parts and some scenes seemed pointless.

Not sure if it was script or direction, could have been both.

It's a shame because this was well casted and the story is definitely there however porky realised.

Cinematography have it a higher score. Otherwise it was reaching for a solid "one".

It certainly wasn't budget or acting skills it was just couldn't be knitted together to produce what could have been a great Australian drama piece.

Damn shame to be honest.

The writing was on the wall at the outset with the patronising acknowledgement to indigenous people.

Over the years I have enjoyed a lot of Australian dramas. They used to have and edge and be quirky, but in recent times they have slipped into the belief that adding stunning scenery to a soap is a good formulae. It is not.

This is another drama with: 1. An out of town cop, a woman of course, being subjected to childish behaviour by subordinates.

2. A retiring police chief who, of course, still is going to get involved in investigations and stick his oar in.

3. Brattish teenagers.

4. Same sex relationships.

5. Red neck yokels.

6. the psychic village idiot.

7. Dire script.

8. Appalling acting.

I watched the first episode and cared little for any of the characters so decided against subjecting myself to a further seven episodes.

The scenery was great.

I was desperate to enjoy this, set in an unusual location and featuring some interesting characters and missing people... but to spend almost 8 hours watching it only for the end to be a total rushed mess was a disappointment.

Some characters are never even seen in photos making them hard to recall, yet at the end they seem to become incredibly relevant to the story which meanwhile spends ages introducing various locals and their relationships, and yet in the end, the central mystery somehow rushed and inexplicable.

The characters that ARE dramatically important are barely introduced or their relationship to the leads is unclear. A lot of head-scratching at the end of it for me.

...mediocrity.

Basically I'm mostly a fan of Aussie tv shows as an alternative to the ever dominating USA ones.

And I have enjoyed quite a bit of them and there is a substantial list of recent really great ones. Both mini series and the lengthy ones.

This is surprisingly not one of them in my opinion.

The show might be intended for younger viewers?

If not it is a show of: Really bland acting, tedious plotting, occasionally just ridiculous script and actions, parts that fits better in a cartoon and the occasionally really naive settings.

Unless you are a real fan or real desperate after kill some hours you can safely skip this one.

Around episode 5 or 6 I was reminded of the British soap opera 'Crossroads' from many years ago, such was the occasional amount of absolute drivel yet almost funny drivel that the script and the plots reached. From then on I kept being reminded of that. Oddly there were good bits, but they were usually spoilt by a diversion onto another unneeded and unnecessary side story. As others have said, too many plots, too many characters. The best bits were the police sergeant's hat and the fabulous scenery, and the horses and dingos can't be blamed. Very disappointing, a missed opportunity to set a series in such a wonderful area.