Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Ferry’ on Netflix, A Quick And Dirty Spin-Off From the Series ‘Undercover’

Ferry (Netflix) is a slightly random, but very entertaining prequel out of Belgium that peels back the layers of Undercover, Netflix’s hit series about drug enforcement agents who pose as a couple at a Belgian campground in order to ensnare Ferry, the local drug kingpin. If you watched Undercover and wondered how Ferry came to the Southern provinces, well, here’s his origin story.

FERRY: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

The Gist: Ferry (Frank Lammers) is content. He lives a good life in Amsterdam, relaxing in his modern downtown loft and tooling around in a sharp butterscotch Range Rover. He’s also the chief enforcer for the city’s top vice king. “I’ll do anything for Brink,” Ferry says in voiceover over a supercut of arms being snapped, faces being punched, and some poor sap who he smothers before discharging a 9mm into the pillow. Yep, it’s a rough business. But Ferry and the rest of Brink’s crew are doing just fine. That is, until one of their drug processing houses is hit by two gunmen with wild eyes and unsteady tendencies. Brink’s son is shot in the ensuing melee, and Ferry is put on the case to find and kill the marauders.

His search leads him south, to the border regions of the Netherlands and the trailer park campgrounds of Ferry’s roots. (In an earlier flashback, a young Ferry was taunted by his abusive drunk of a father in just such an environment.) After a rocky visit with his estranged sister, Ferry quickly puts the finger on one of the thugs from the robbery, and has a line on one more guy. He’s getting tired of his walk down bad memory lane, and his baggie of nose candy is dwindling. But just when Ferry thinks it’s time to get back to Amsterdam, he meets bubbly, pretty Danielle (Elise Schaap), and unexpectedly, sparks fly between the big city enforcer and spacey campground local.

As Ferry tracks down the rest of the gang, and Brink’s son’s life hangs in the balance back home, his relationship with Danielle becomes something bordering on real, and fruitful. Ferry’s thinking he could sink nicely into domesticity, and nobody would be the wiser. But it’s not going to be that simple to shake off the life he’s built underneath Brink back in Amsterdam, and Danielle might be the deadly key to the whole damn thing.

What Movies Will It Remind You Of? Ferry credits his boss, vice lord Brink, with everything he has. He’ll gladly do his dirty work, because Brink’s convinced him that he owes him. And in that, There are glimmers of Leon: The Professional, the 1994 Jean Reno action classic about an assassin who is similarly wronged by who he holds dear even as he finds his true self. There’s also the matter of Ferry existing inside the universe the Netflix original Undercover, in which the character of Ferry is already an established drug lord.

Performance Worth Watching: As Ferry, Frank Lammers is thick-set and heavy-browed, looking at the world through a squint and frowny overbite, the product of his prodigious features and likely the last night’s party favors. He isn’t an enforcer, at least to American eyes. But Lammers carries the tough guy stuff off as well as he does teddy bear sensitivity during his meet-cutes with Danielle.

Memorable Dialogue: “What are you going to do without me? Without me you’re nothing. Without me, you’re a lost, filthy fucking southerner.” Every country has its struggle with classism, social hierarchies, and elites dismissing those they see as unfit. And well, as a kid from the Dutch provinces living among the moneyed and powerful in Amsterdam, Ferry has heard it all before. But this time he’s had enough. “We’ll see about that,” he answers to the insults. BLAMMO.

Sex and Skin: Ferry and Danielle pop pills and engage in a tryst full of psychedelic carnival vibes and “Did we really?” “Did that happen?” trippiness.

Our Take: Ferry is quick and dirty fun, and plays like an extended episode of some bit of prestige television that you just happened to drop into. With the deadly credentials of Brink’s crew established, it’s fun to ride along with Ferry as he cruises south and leans on the locals until he finds his man. Huffing, puffing, and sticking out like a sore thumb in his Diesels and last night’s club shirt, Ferry is nevertheless cagey, confident, and prepared to do violence at the drop of a hat. As he fingers the thugs responsible (Ferry scrambles/falls down a slag heap pile in his urban togs during one hilarious chase sequence), Ferry is part Columbo, part Vincent Vega as he puts together the backstory on what went down at the drug house in Amsterdam.

As a standalone, all of this works wonderfully. Frank Lammers is eminently watchable as Ferry, and the supporting cast is lively and often unexpectedly funny. But for any fans of the Netflix original Undercover, the Belgian crime drama of which Ferry is a spin-off/prequel, this fun, occasionally naughty film is a must-watch.

Our Call: STREAM IT. Ferry is a must for any fans of the Netflix crime drama Undercover. But the film works as sort of pulpy longform episode of prestige TV, too, as Ferry unravels a ball of deceit and dirty deeds on the way to personal redemption.

Johnny Loftus is an independent writer and editor living at large in Chicagoland. His work has appeared in The Village Voice, All Music Guide, Pitchfork Media, and Nicki Swift. Follow him on Twitter: @glennganges

Watch Ferry on Netflix