This Forgotten Neo-Noir War Thriller With a 'Marshals' Star Should've Been a Huge Hit Show 10 Years Ago

In a world saturated with superheroes in masks and tight spandex, sometimes all you need is a gritty, messy anti-hero — or several of them. There are no clean-cut heroes in Cinemax's wildly overlooked drama, Quarry, where people are victims of the vicious system of being sent to the hellish trenches of war, then expected to assimilate back into society while carrying both visible and hidden scars.

The show was released in 2016 with little fanfare and marketing, thrown into the shadows of a huge year in TV, when the likes of Game of Thrones and Westworld were at their peak. Quarry is just as dark and provocative as these juggernauts, offering eight episodes of thoughtful commentary on how the government and society treat war veterans while plunging us into the neo-noir underbelly of contract killing, all led by Marshals' Logan Marshall-Green.

What Is Logan Marshall-Green's Crime Series 'Quarry' About?

Mac Conway (Marshall-Green) returns home from his second tour in Vietnam alongside his comrade Arthur (Jamie Hector), and they are ecstatic to see their wives again. However, life doesn't exactly go as planned. When they land, they are warned against identifying themselves as they were part of a troop that was accused of participating in a massacre of civilians. Though they were legally exonerated, they are still deemed guilty in the public eye. On top of this, finding a job with their particular skills and reputation is near impossible. Mac's marriage to Joni (Jodi Balfour) is also on the rocks, complicating his reentry into civilian life further. However, life takes an even more dangerous turn when they accept a contract-killing job to keep a roof above their heads, whisking Mac, in particular, to the hard-boiled world of conspiracies and evil powers.

'Quarry' Delivers a Classic War Veteran Story With Neo-Noir Visuals

Although Quarry's central conceit and commentary on war veterans isn't anything new, the grueling manner in which the show delivers this story feels important. Mac's experience returning home comprises both the psychological element of surviving a traumatic ordeal and the sociopolitical components of optics and the lack of meaningful support systems. Much of the storytelling is quiet and thoughtful, where the timeline is broken by lingering flashbacks to the events that fundamentally changed Mac during the war. But this is sometimes interrupted by scenes of jarring and brutal violence, keeping us on our toes. Sure, Quarry isn't as brash as the fantasy and sci-fi bigwigs of its time, but it is a haunting watch that stays with you.

That being said, the miniseries isn't all bleak and meditative, but packs its own punch with a dark thriller storyline about hitmen. The show takes us to 1970s Memphis, cultivating a neo-noir atmosphere through its stark representation of crime and those who possess the power to puppeteer people's lives, and through somber sequences of visually arresting shots that almost dip into surrealism. For example, in the first episode, Mac jumps into a pool and is assaulted by strange visions of his wife, himself, and a Vietnamese mask, floating with a hazy effervescence that heightens the suspense. Did that massacre really happen? Not only will the story plague you, but the visuals will, too.

Logan Marshall-Green's Compelling Anti-Hero Takes the Lead in This Provocative Thriller

As mentioned previously, there are no heroes here, so we are dropped into a morally skewed world where murder is the norm. Marshall-Green offers a hauntingly understated depiction of PTSD through Mac's character, allowing the horror of the condition to manifest in the form of undulating tension and silence. But this is mixed with the character's wayward moral compass, one that justifies being hired to kill people without knowing who the person is and who is ordering the death. As Mac becomes more entangled in the criminal underworld, Green's performance increases in emotional intensity, as he constantly searches for redemption in a world that offers none.

Around Mac are equally dark characters who have no qualms about taking a life, but struggle with their own demons. One of the most compelling is Buddy (Damon Herriman), another bat-swinging killer who comes to terms with his sexuality and has a woeful relationship with his mother. Herriman gives the character an eerie jubilance that contrasts with many of the other contract killers we meet, making him a breath of fresh air. And, of course, there's the elusive Broker (Peter Mullan), the man who assigns the professionals their jobs, but his dangerous and suave demeanor suggests that he's no ordinary middle-management type. Each character we meet through the anonymous company weaves in new themes of sexuality, racism, or parenthood, fleshing out this morbid world.

Quarry is a show where even the most joyous things, like amusement parks, can only be found in decrepit states, where hope and soul are sucked dry from the atmosphere. It's no surprise that only villains and anti-heroes thrive here, and it is gripping to watch them fight in the shadows while playing out battles in their own minds.