Lord Of The Flies viewers praise BBC for ‘producing a masterpiece’ with ‘absolutely impeccable acting’ as adaptation wins them over after binge-watching all four episodes

Lord Of The Flies fans have praised the BBC for ‘producing a masterpiece’ with ‘absolutely impeccable acting’ from its child stars.

The highly anticipated series, which was adapted from William Golding’s 1954 novel of the same name by Adolescence co-creator Jack Thorne, hit screens on Sunday (February 8).

The story follows a group of schoolboys stranded on an uninhabited island after a plane crash – who are left to fend for themselves and maintain civilisation.

It all starts to go wrong when one of the youngsters, Jack, played by Lox Pratt, develops a bloodthirsty love for hunting – and all order falls apart.

The BBC synopsis teases: ‘Stranded on an island, a gang of schoolboys create their own community – but when the rules vanish, the beast within awakens.’

It was met with mixed reviews from critics and at-home viewers after its release,  divided over ‘excellent acting’ but ‘not great script’ and the ‘cinematic camerawork’.

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Lord Of The Flies fans have praised the BBC for ‘producing a masterpiece’ with ‘absolutely impeccable acting’ from its child stars

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The highly anticipated series, which was adapted from William Golding’s 1954 novel of the same name by Adolescence co-creator Jack Thorne, hit screens on Sunday (February 8)

However, dozens of fans have rallied to heap praise on the new BBC adaptation, admitting they binged all four episodes in one go.

Taking to social media, one penned: ‘Haunted me when we read it at school in the 70’s, this series is stunning beautifully shot and absolutely impeccable acting, it’s still as haunting to me now as a mature adult as it did as a child.’

Another chimed in: ‘Beautifully filmed, well paced and great performances from the young cast. As I watched I just thought this is what the BBC does brilliantly.’

A third agreed, admitting they had watched the entire series – according to Metro – that the BBC had ‘produced a masterpiece’.

While someone else penned that ‘the best drama they have seen on the BBC for years’, praising the stars for their ‘exceptional’ performances.

It comes after other viewers hit out the first episode which left them ‘switching off’ after noticing a ‘horrific’ issue with the series to do with the ‘camera lens’ choice.

A number of the scenes appear to have been filmed using a ‘fish eye’ lens, an ultra-wide-angle type of camera lens that captures an extremely wide, sometimes panoramic, field of view.

The effect, which is often used in cinema to create surreal or dream-like perspectives, causes a distinct, distorted image in the background and edges of a shot, including curved and blending lines.

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Dozens of fans have rallied to heap praise on the new BBC adaptation, admitting they binged all four episodes in one go

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View gallery

A number of the scenes appear to have been filmed using a ‘fish eye’ lens, an ultra-wide-angle type of camera lens that captures an extremely wide, sometimes panoramic, field of view

Taking to X, formerly Twitter, one viewer hit out: ‘I love the Lord Of The Flies book but this filmmaking style is horrific. This is too “cinematic”. It’s only bleedin’ TV!’

Another agreed: ‘Nope. Can’t watch this fish eye lens car crash,’ as a third chimed in: ‘Feels off – is it the colours, fisheye lenses shots, kid actors or general vibe. Not sure.’

‘Really *not* a fan of the fisheye lens they’re using on Lord Of The Flies and blurred distorted periphery,’ a fourth fan wrote of the camera choice.

While a fifth added: ‘What’s going on with the camera work, why is the cameraman in the sea? Did someone get a fish eye lens for Christmas?’

‘Sorry, the BBC’s Lord Of The Flies is proving to be a hot mess,’ another remarked, as someone else wrote: ‘Something not quite right about this.’

Another penned: ‘Look at me screams the cinematographer – takes you out of the film and gives a surreal disorienting feel we don’t need.’

‘This is unwatchable, terrible cinematography, someone’s dialled up the “Vivid” filter to 100,’ another critic raged, as one concluded: ‘While everyone is raving about Lord of the Flies on BBC, I’m not, I’m switching off.’

Others hit back against the criticism, with one writing: ‘Very impressed by the new adaptation of Lord of the Flies so far,’ with another stating: ‘Enjoying it so far, what fantastic actors.’