Netflix hit earns 100% Rotten Tomatoes score but ‘shocks’ and ‘disgusts’ fans-Brooke Ivey Johnson-Entertainment – Metro

Netflix’s newest hit, Baby Reindeer, is horrifying and enthralling fans equally.

The psychological thriller, which is based on a disturbing true story, currently has a perfect score on Rotten Tomatoes and is ranked number one on Netflix in the UK.

The series is based on Richard Gadd’s real-life experience with a stalker, an ordeal he first dramatised in a one-man show of the same name. Gadd, 34, also plays the lead character in the hit series.

Gadd plays comic Donny Dunn, and the show follows his relationship with a woman named Martha (played by Jessica Gunning), who becomes obsessed with Donny and alters his life forever.

While she initially seems harmless and friendly, Martha eventually begins bombarding Donny with thousands of emails and voicemails and even shows up unexpectedly at his work and home.

Things only get worse from there, with the depth of Martha’s dark obsession leading to scenes so horrifying many viewers have been left shaken.

The plot details the stalking Gadd experienced in real life (Picture: Yuan Tang)

Some have taken to social media to express their complex feelings about the show:

While fans agree that Baby Reindeer is a difficult watch, most think it’s well worth the stress, with many calling it the ‘best show of the year.’

When asked about why he decided to relive his trauma and tell his story, Gadd told The Times: ‘When a man gets stalked it can be portrayed in films and television as a sexy thing.

‘Like a femme fatale who gradually becomes more sinister. It doesn’t carry as much threat of physical violence, is less common and can be trivialised. I was physically scared because I didn’t know how far she could take it, she could have a knife, but I did think how terrifying it would be if she was a tall scary man.’

Jessica Gunning plays Martha in the series (Picture: Yuan Tang)

Gadd has also shared that the experience left him with something ‘like PTSD’ and led him to seek out ‘every type of therapy going’.

He added to The Times: ‘I am way more cautious around people now. It takes me a long time to trust them. Before, I entered situations with such abandonment and I got burnt.’

Gadd also previously told Netflix Tudum: ‘Stalking on television tends to be very sexed-up. It has a mystique. It’s somebody in a dark alley way. It’s somebody who’s really sexy, who’s very normal, but then they go strange bit by bit.

Social media users have taken to the internet to share their complex feelings about the show (Picture: Ed Miller/Netflix)

‘But stalking is a mental illness. I really wanted to show the layers of stalking with a human quality I hadn’t seen on television before. It’s a stalker story turned on its head. It takes a trope and turns it on its head.’

He continued that it was ‘challenging’ to revist ‘the worst period’ of his life, saying: ‘It’s running back towards an awful fire you’ve been in.’

According to fan’s explosive reactions to the series, Gadd’s decision to explore his trauma through his art has more than paid off.

Baby Reindeer is available to watch on Netflix.

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