Seven Doors: A beautiful Yoruba-Igbo fusion!

By Olawale Olaleye

A new Netflix series, “Seven Doors”, is another great work from the stable of Femi Adebayo. You can’t but love it for many reasons.

The first thing that stands it out is the seamless incorporation of a primitive society into a neo-medieval setting, giving a rich vibe of the beautiful Nigeria you’ve either heard of or read only in history books.

The most important of it all is the marriage of the Yoruba and Igbo couple, more so to a royal family. How they speak flawless Igbo in bits and pieces in a pure Yoruba movie affirms the fact that Nigeria’s beauty and unity truly lie in her diversity. They are also able to sustain this balance all through.

The palace, with its elan, should naturally catch the fancy of anyone. It’s amazing. Its beauty is further located in how the king always saunters to the outer court, majestically like a gladiator walking into the arena.

From the bedrooms to where the King usually holds court; the paintings and artifacts adorning the walls, the vintage interior decoration is a sight to behold. They all speak panache!

The makeups, too, are well done, especially in the accident scenes, coupled with the surreal effects that always typify many of Adebayo’s movies. All of the effects sit well as intended.

There is nothing to debate about the characters and the delivery of their roles. The veterans were all at their best. They never disappoint.

Overall, it’s something deserving of anyone’s time this holiday and festive periods. 

Nevertheless, Femi could have done better with the makeups of some of the chiefs in the era of Oba Adejumo, who didn’t age while the Oba spent 176 years on earth, and had become a living dead. That oversight is preventable.

Together, it’s a nice piece!