General · EdgepediaOctober 3, 20265 min read

Cracow Monsters

Cracow Monsters (Polish: Krakowskie potwory) is a Polish supernatural horror-fantasy television series produced for Netflix, in which a young woman haunted by her past joins a mysterious professor and a group of students who investigate paranormal phenomena and fight demons. It consists of eight episodes of roughly 52 to 55 minutes and was released on 18 March 2022.¹^•² The series was created and directed by Kasia Adamik and Olga Chajdas, and it was Netflix's first Polish series in the fantasy genre.³^•⁴

Key fact	Detail
Original / international title	Krakowskie potwory / Cracow Monsters; working title Axis Mundi³
Format	8 episodes, about 52–55 minutes each, one season, released 18 March 2022 on Netflix¹^•²
Directors and writers	Directed by Kasia Adamik and Olga Chajdas; written by Magdalena Lankosz, Anna Sieńska, and Gaja Grzegorzewska¹
Production	Telemark and Netflix, with financial support from the Polish Film Institute¹
Lead cast	Barbara Liberek as Alex, Andrzej Chyra as Professor Zawadzki, Stanisław Linowski as Lucky, Małgorzata Bela as Aitwar⁵
Mythological basis	Slavic beliefs and local Kraków legends rather than Western vampire or witch tropes⁶
Reception	Filmweb 4.5/10 from about 8,800 user votes; nine critics averaged 3.9/10; IMDb 5.6⁶^•²

Spoilers

Premise and characters

The story follows Aleksandra "Alex" Walas (Barbara Liberek), a first-year medical student in Kraków troubled by disturbing visions, who is recruited by the enigmatic Professor Zawadzki (Andrzej Chyra). Officially a scientific research group, his team of talented students in practice investigates supernatural phenomena and solves the mythological mysteries of Kraków, fighting demons hidden in the city's dark corners.⁷^•⁶ Alex's strange experiences turn out not to be accidental, and she may have far more in common with the hidden world than she first suspects.⁶

Other named roles include Lucky (Stanisław Linowski), Hania (Kaja Chan), Iliana (Anna Paliga), Birdy (Stanisław Cywka), and Aitwar, a silent, glowing figure played by Małgorzata Bela.⁵^•⁸ The antagonist among the monsters is Chworz, a powerful demon who, like the other creatures, is drawn from Slavic legend; in the finale, tragic events near the Barbakan lead Alex and her colleagues to perform an old Slavic ritual to stop him.⁹^•¹⁰

Slavic mythology as source material

The series deliberately reaches past the vampires and witches familiar from Western productions, drawing instead on Slavic beliefs, old rituals, and local Kraków legends.⁶ According to a Polish encyclopedia entry, lead screenwriter Magdalena Lankosz found the idea for the plot in Maria Janion's book Niesamowita Słowiańszczyzna and in the manuscript of Bożyca by Bronisław Trentowski, who classified the pre-Christian beliefs of the Slavs.¹¹ In the series, deities appear in Kraków and speak in the Old Slavic language.¹²

Monster and visual-effects design

The production relies heavily on monsters and special effects. Work on the creatures began at the start of the pandemic: the Polish studio Chimney by Edisen and the Czech company PFX divided the physical creature work about equally, with Chimney leading and coordinating the monsters and PFX taking part of the CGI effects.⁸^•¹³ From the first meeting with the creators to delivery of the final file, about two years passed.⁸

The first creature Chimney built was a benevolent Slavic deity with the face of an owl, the torso of a monkey, and the wings of a moth; the designers worked from engravings and guidelines drawn from manuscripts, and director Kasia Adamik had a precise vision of it. The designers also enhanced the glowing appearance of the character Aitwar in post-production.⁸

Production and release

Netflix announced the series in March 2021 among twelve planned Polish films and series.¹¹ It was produced by Telemark with Netflix and supported financially by the Polish Film Institute from a targeted state subsidy for audiovisual production.¹ Filming took place in Kraków and Warsaw.⁷ The music was composed by Antoni Komasa-Łazarkiewicz and Mary Komasa, and the producers were Maciej Kubicki and Kasia Adamik.¹ All eight episodes became available on Netflix on 18 March 2022.¹⁰

Reception

Polish audiences and critics received the series harshly. On Filmweb it held 4.5/10 from about 8,800 user votes, with nine critics averaging 3.9/10.⁶ IMDb users gave it 5.6, and JustWatch aggregated a 41 percent score.² Reviewers praised the concept of Slavic mythology on screen while criticizing the screenplay, acting, and some creature designs; the reviewer for Polityka wrote that the drama and psychological logic were wishful, and the PPE review scored it 3.0, calling the idea excellent but the execution poor.¹²^•¹⁴ Despite the mixed domestic response, the series later ranked as the highest-placed non-English-language series in a ranking by an American film service, reaching fourth place.¹⁵ The final episode hints at the possibility of a second season, but the series is listed as ended after one season.¹⁴^•¹⁶

References

Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › Scripted television and comedy series › Genre and subject-scripted series › Fantasy, supernatural, and horror series › Horror drama and thriller series › Supernatural and occult dramas › Titles symbols to L

Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026

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