A murder mystery with an absurdist comedic bent, Killer Coaster initially comes off as too much. It struggles to juggle different genres and poses many questions it doesn’t immediately answer. There are also too many elements—including warring families, star-crossed lovers, secret identities, and complicated pasts—that make the mystery of the Ghost Train Killer seem incidental, even though it is the show’s throughline, the main event that kickstarts the entire thing. But it’s easy to forgive all this whenever Alexandra Lamy does her magic onscreen. As the well-meaning but clumsy police officer Sandrine, Lamy is likable and hilarious, a clown with just enough heart to pull you into her antics. She soars even more when paired with real-life sister Audrey Lamy, who plays the carnival owner Yvanne—also good-hearted but even slower (and at times funnier) than Sandrine. Together, their amusing weirdness saves the show from loose ends and uneven tones.
Synopsis
Summer 1998. Palavas-les-Flots. While the World Cup is in full swing, Sandrine Laplace, a bumbling contract worker who thinks she's a CIA agent, decides to investigate a mysterious accident that happened on the ghost train at the local fair. Incompetent but reckless, Sandrine infiltrates a brutal world - made up of clan wars, cotton candy and bumper cars - and will have to form an alliance with Carmen and Yvane, two showmen who are completely opposite. What if there was a murderer in the carnival?
Storyline
In 1998, in the seaside town of Palavas-les-Flots, France, a carnival draws a wannabe detective’s attention when one of its rides, the Ghost Train Killer, becomes the hunting ground of a mysterious killer.
TLDR
Sometimes, all you need is a fun little trio to keep you glued to the screen.
What stands out
Alexandra Lamy’s daughter, Chloé Jouannet, completes the show’s investigative trio as Carmen, a rival carnie who is eventually entangled in the crime. The Killer Coaster stands out for its humor, but sometimes it’s upstaged by the fact the show is largely a family affair. In every other scene, there is a quip being made about how Sandrine and Yvanne look nothing alike, despite being cousins in the show, and though it’s an easy shot, it never fails to warrant a smile from those of us who are in on the joke.
