Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Aníkúlápó: Rise Of the Spectre’ on Netflix, A Six-Episode Series Sequel To The Hit Nollywood Fantasy Film

Aníkúlápó: Rise of the Spectre (Netflix) is director and producer Kunle Afolayan’s six-episode sequel series to Anikulapo, the Nigerian filmmaker’s 2022 film that earned raves in his home country and continued Netflix’s commitment to Nollywood entertainment. Returning cast for the series includes Kunle Remi, Taiwo Hassan, and Bimbo Ademoye, with new characters and subplots added to expand on the story of Saro, a guy who in the movie was consumed by the twin forces of powerful Yoruba folklore and that old classic, forbidden love. And when we meet him again, Saro is both suffering the consequences of his actions and staying active with his old tricks. This guy’s always looking for an angle. So let’s return to the seventeenth century and the Oyo Empire in West Africa, where Saro is in for an otherworldly surprise… 

ANIKULAPO: RISE OF THE SPECTRE: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT? 

Opening Shot: It’s a busy market day in the capital city of Oyo, where vendors sell produce, fabric, and livestock. Suddenly, panic erupts, as the shadow of a winged demon bird blots out the sun.

The Gist: Obscured by a shadowy cloud, but with its pronounced beak and flame-ringed eyes clearly visible, the Akala is a mythical folkloric vulture with the ability to raise the dead. And we soon see that same Akala vision appear to Saro (Remi), who awakens from a trance-like state on a large patch of rock next to a road. Disoriented, he joins the people walking solemnly in single file. But while most of these folks continue on, Saro is stopped by an angel called the Gate Keeper (Damilola Ogunsi). During the events of Anikulapo the film, and with a little bit of help from his forbidden girlfriend, Queen Arolake (Ademoye) – that’s right, Queen – Saro for a time became “Anikulapo,” or “One who bears death in his pocket.” But to take Akala’s power and use it to gain power of your own is a no-no, and now the gates of heaven are closed to him. According to the imposing angel, Saro is now responsible for the souls his actions prevented from properly crossing over.

At first, Saro can’t believe that he’s really dead. But he starts to get it when people walk right through him and can’t hear the words that he speaks, and he’s really convinced once he bears witness to his own physical remains being eaten by carrion. Given an amulet by the Gate Keeper, it’s Saro’s duty to pay down his spiritual debt by rounding up the folks he once helped raise from the dead. And this is how he’s saddled with a kind of Greek chorus, three individuals stuck between this mortal coil and everlasting life, who comment sourly on Saro’s attempts to help heaven and help himself. As you’d imagine, they grow even more sour when Saro manages to make a side deal to re-enter humanity. 

It was Saro’s forbidden romance with Arolake that originally got him into this mess, and it doesn’t take him long to disturb the rhythms of the village where he’s now settled. When he starts selling the sweetest palm wine anyone’s ever tasted – just don’t ask him where he got it – he’s successful, but he also undercuts the business of an old merchant, and turns his pretty daughter Olatorera (Oyindamola Sanni) against him. Not only that, but King Alaafin Ademuyiwa (Hassan), who has history with Saro, is informed of the Akala visions by Baba Fasobon (Rasak Adewale), his chief advisor. Fasobo says they also must find the missing Queen Arolake. And as time goes by, and Saro gets acclimated to his new life as a palm wine tycoon, he starts to forget about his connection to the Akala, as well as the afterlife debt that he still owes.    

What Shows Will It Remind You Of? The spiritualism at the heart of Aníkúlápó: Rise of the Spectre takes a turn toward the horror genre in the Nollywood film The Figurine. And Bimbo Ademoye, who plays Arolake here, was a standout in the action film Gangs of Lagos, set in 1980s Nigeria.

Our Take: Besides Saro’s irrepressible nature as a huckster, the biggest takeaway in the early going of Aníkúlápó: Rise of the Spectre is in its interpretation of the Yoruba peoples’ folkloric traditions. While there was some good in the ability of Saro to utilize the lifegiving powers traditionally associated with the Akala, becoming a local Lazarus naturally went to his head, and that’s more or less what’s occurring again as the film’s series sequel kicks off. Saro doesn’t question where his supply of uncut palm wine has come from; instead, he chalks it up to “God’s work,” and happily takes his customers’ hard-earned cash. This certainly seems like something that will come back to haunt him – as folklore is always ready to tell us, there is an opposite to good fortune. In other worlds, something must be given in return. 

That tension between the spirit world and our physical realm is where the most intriguing friction in Rise of the Spectre lies. But this is not a series that feels any urgency to aggravate that. Things move slowly, like the sun’s arc on a particularly hot day, and we haven’t been given enough information about lots of the newer characters. Is the kingly advisor Fasobon obscuring a personal agenda? Are the members of the spiritwalker chorus who hound Saro the only lost souls he’s recommitted? Because the gatekeeping angel gave him a whole list of names. Ultimately, Aníkúlápó: Rise of the Spectre might work best for viewers of the original film, who shoul have a stronger connection to these characters.      

Sex and Skin: Nothing in the first episode, though there is a not inconsiderable amount of time spent with the ghostly Saro observing his own decaying remains.

Parting Shot: From both the original Aníkúlápó and even just his actions in the early going of the film’s sequel series, we know Saro to maybe be just a little bit selfish. (OK, a lot selfish.) “One year left,” he muses to himself. “Will I have to die? What other tricks can I use?” 

Sleeper Star: Reprising his role is Taiwo Hassan as Alaafin Ademuyiwa, King of the Oyo Empire, who is naturally the center of attention at his royal court. But Hassan brings out a healthy amount of weariness and skepticism in the character, as well. “I can never do anything well enough in his view!” the king says, trying to placate one of his counselors.   

Most Pilot-y Line: Saro causes a holdup in the receiving line at the boundary between heaven and earth, because the gatekeeping angel (Damilola Ogunsi) knows what he’s about. “Are you not Saro the cloth weaver? It was you who took Akala’s power, and started using it to raise the dead. That’s what made you a debtor. You do not have access until you pay up your debt…”

Our Call: Fans of Anikulapo the film should enjoy how Aníkúlápó: Rise of the Spectre builds on that story, in particular with its use of folklore. But for the rest of us, this Aníkúlápó simultaneously moves too slowly while becoming too busy with new subplots. 

Johnny Loftus (@glennganges) 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.