Survivors, Series 2, Episode 2: Brief Commentary

Very good stuff. Some massively intriguing questions of morality to ponder but veering on the side of good, which is my personal preference. Saying that, some of the decisions made and subtle moments were jarring and not too realistic, for example Tom's misbehaviour being followed up by chivalry to somehow make it more palatable. It was really good to generally see actual consequences, best of all in Sarah's reactions to her personal horrors. These dramas were the best handled but worse were the convenient moments where plot just seemed to favour our heroes, first in the discovery of food and drink then in the culmination of events in Abby's return, though the paranoia present here presents us with a whole new fear.
Regarding the other main plot it was excellent to see a furthering of the storyline n the secret lab and this led to some truly great mining of horrifying imagery and themes such as the infected victims and the horrible dawning of realisation of how bad things are out there, well represented through the city this time.
As a whole the things which make this show great are totally present though it has to be more careful with it's own science: in terms of fictional virus and actual scriptwriting. Still next week looks like a cracker, returning us again to our morality debate and a group of people from last year. Can't wait.

**** (4/5)

MM

Brief Update III: The Search For Sense

Contrary to my previous report regarding Saw 6 director Kevin Greutert helming the Paranormal Activity sequel it now seems that his former pay masters aren't so keen to let him go and exercised a contract option forcing him into the big chair for the astronomic bad idea that is Saw 7: 3-D!!! For all the finer details check out this article from AICN.

In slightly more sane news the site is also reporting here that Avatar and Terminator Salvation star Sam Worthington is in talks with Universal to play the legendary dark prince of vampires in a rumoured Dracula: Year Zero project. Which sounds potentially like a good idea.

In other blog related news I just wanted to give all our readers a heads up that, as predicted, my digital t.v system has died on me. Sadly that means that I'm going to have to try and catch Being Human on downloads or DVD and as that is hard enough to schedule I have decided to knock the reviews on the head and probably just do another season summary like I did with the first run. However I am hoping to keep posting some thoughts on Survivors, the next episode of which airs tonight, so stay tuned...

MM

Being Human, Series 2, Episode 2: Review/Commentary

At last! Sorry again for the delay. If it's any consolation dear reader I'm writing this as I fight not to get a cold and continue to plan dozens of things and find spare time in a bizarrely hectic schedule. To make matters worse my digital t.v box has completely died so this may be the last Being Human piece for a while. As for Survivors and other bits and pieces I will continue to try but I'm losing the fight against the tide so please be patient and I'm sorry if the reviews get briefer.
Right. Where were we? Oh yes,of course. To make things simpler for me, and a bit more interesting for you I decided in a brain wave today at my actual work to split the review into three sections, each dealing with a main character's storyline in the episode. To that end let's begin.

George and Nina:
Mercifully briefer than last week. Not a lot to say except I'm glad George isn't being allowed to forget his tryst last week. Still hoping for consequences proper though. Nina has sadly crossed the line of melodrama she was teetering on and become completely whiny and annoying. Her holier-than-thou attitude really grated and it's telling that when there was a very real possibilty of danger, as she was captured, I found myself not just not caring but actually hoping she gets killed off. And character and actress both deserve better. Sadly I have a horrible feeling they'll actually somehow cure her instead, thoigh I hope not as that sends out the message that you never have to adjust to anything you don't like, just whinge about it and be moody and distant to those around you and you'll get what you want.

Mitchell:
So cool to see the return of the cold opening flashback sequences. These always worked best last year with Mitchell, giving us glimpses of the centuries old history, as only his vampire nature can provide. Though here it was just as effective showing us simply the turn of the last century. It's deeply intriguing to see the vampire world adapting to Herrick's death, and cool that the writers resisted the urge to throw in a new big vampire villain, instead bravely showing the repercussions, far and wide, of "the death of a king". Every touch was great, loved the sub plot about the vampire who also tried to reform, and his culture clash with Nina as he dealt with his guilt. It was also good to see returning characters playing into the storylines, giving the real sense of an underworld falling into chaos and brewing trouble and anarchy. The interaction was good too, both sides displaying that they have a history and working together despite being on very opposite moral ground and sides of a potential coming conflict. Although even that could be detrimental to everyone, interesting questions raised. And nice to see even small touches of how the supernatural operates in this world, such as the morgue attendant who was previously paid off to hide vampire victims and his worrying attack of conscience now. One of many events pushing our "hero" and forcing a greater role.

Annie:
Wow! I never thought last year that I'd ever think Annie's plot would be head and shoulders above anything else in an episode. But it all comes down to the awesome imagery and spectacle as hell itself literally showed up and tried to take her. Genuinely scary, creepy, effective and perfectly toned stuff, really made you tense and feel for that character somehow using just a door, lights, wind and the best speech and dialogue imaginable. Raised the entire episode up and on its own earned the star rating given, excellent use of the genre in telling this story. On a related note I loved the quirky insanity of the touch as Terry Wogan (actually appearing here playing himself!) and various t.v and newspapers began speaking to Saul, though it may have been a bit too much for some. But it's all about how well this built up the new mythology, showing that the afterlife has terrors, can communicate and control, and wants Annie. Though it sucks a bit that in the course of this the writers have now literally taken away her power. Whatever happpened to feminism eh? Finally the simple and stirring humanity at the heart of her realisation of which of her admirers cared more about her and how it was shown was a poignant and emotive touch.

***** (5/5)

MM

Brief Update 2: Electric Boogaloo

Hmmm, according to the Hollywood Reporter British writer supreme and my personal hero Russell T. Davies is developing an American Torchwood series. The show may still feature John Barrowman reprising his role of Captain Jack Harkness. This could be ace or truly, hideously terrible. The UK show got progressively better as it went on but having just picked up book 2 of Davies' The Writer's Tale shows how much work and passion goes into this, I can't see him compromising or phoning it in. Plus, new US sci-fi/horror: colour me intrigued.
For anyone unfamilar with the show I recommend it, in brief it involves a covert group of alien hunters dealing with the bizarre and supernatural/extraterrestrial. But that doesn't scratch the surface of some of it's finer stuff. Check out Adrift, Fragments or the whole of Children of Earth.



MM

A Brief Update

Hi gang, apologies if things fall away a bit here but things are crazy hectic in my personal life at the moment and it's making it difficult to keep on top of things, I will try though. To that end sincere apologies on lack of a new Being Human review, they will probably continue to get later and briefer generally but I'm hoping to have something of decent size and quality down at the weekend. Now the "best laid plans" theory probably comes into play...
Anyways enough about me. I am writing with the news that last years "sleeper hit" Paranormal Activity has already been given a date, tentatively up against Saw 7 (seriously!) this winter, and will be directed, ironically enough, by Saw 6's Kevin Gruetert. On a side note what a horror movie name that guy has, it's almost the word gruesome but more twisted. Or is that just me? In any case I have to catch up on the first film on DVD when they extend days to 32 hours.
The series' original creator Oren Peli is busy on other projects but remains involved as a producer and has been talking up the sequel for worried fans, to be written by t.v veteran Michael R. Perry. Who? Well according to AICN:

"Writer Perry has previously scripted multiple episodes of MILLENNIUM, LAW & ORDER: SVU (he was also a producer on that series), and THE DEAD ZONE for television."

I'm not sure if I have any strong feelings about this but I hope I enjoy the first movie and that this doesn't suck, too much of that around, and isn't horribly derivative or sloppy. Hopefully be posting more soon...

MM

Wolfman a Gogos

Hey guys, I'm sure there are several readers of this site much more au fait with horror and it's history than me, and I'll admit that I hadn't heard of an artist named Basil Gogos. Supposedly regarded as something of a living legend he did some well-regarded classically styled posters of the Universal monsters in days gone by, well Chud.com has an exclusive image, brand newly created by Mr Gogos for the new Wolfman, and it is well worth checking out, especially if this sort of thing floats your boat, I know you're out there film and horror historians and lovers, so follow the link here

MM

Being Human, Series 2, Episode 1: Further Commentary

The initial piece I wrote on this was a tad rushed due to my digibox breaking and me watching it at midnight on i-player. THis situation may lead to me not being able to review any future episodes if I can't watch them so spologies for that. But I wanted to clarify a few things I said and give a bit more detail.
Firstly the bad. Iwas really annoyed at how the ahow allowed Annie to find her strength and power last year, only to rob her of it again now. She is still proving subservient to a man, lacking any social skills and trying to fit into a world she never can. Sorry but the central idea of a ghost getting a job needs more work if it's not to be ridiculous, the character seems to be filling a personality type different to what she is, if this is what you wanted then why not allow Annie to ascend or whatever you wan to call it and introduce a new, dorky female human to offset things. And stop giving her the worst faux dialogue too.
Now, the good. There were two main things I forgot to mention before as further justification for the score. Firstly the werewolf transformation scenes, especially Nina's (complete with distracting wolf boob) were surprisingly good and horror film level quality, as was the previously mentioned but brilliant scene of the poor soul in the decompression chamber bleeding out of several orifices, and a few newly created ones, and being torn apart by the curse as he was forced not to change.
Secondly I forgot to flag an excellent scene with Daisy, the vampire slut, in the hospital as she visits her now elderly daughter (the last person who really "needed her") and fights to deal with what she has become and the ramifications of the conflict between her former real life and the worst of the life she now finds herself in ("I'll kill her" she tells George who simply and beautifully responds "Go right ahead, but don't think for one second that that'll make her go away"), powerful, affecting and the kind of thing this show needs to focus on. Oh, and also how nice was the little touch when Mitchell, on a related note, found his happiness just being on the street among neighbours, being accepted and "normal" and saying so much with one word ("finally"). It won't last. Until next time faithful reader.

MM

Survivors, Series 2, Episode 1: Commentary

O.k I know I'm pushing the bar of what could be classed as horror again, but hey I am aware, besides that's simply my taste, as anyone who follows the blog will know. I do plan on writing a piece maybe, at a less hectic time, about this debate regarding what fits into a perceived genre divide (and I did have a very stimulating phone conversation with Mr B about it just this weekend). Ultimately though, my blog, my rules (well our blog but I did actually verify the validity of reviewing this here and my co-author agreed, it's also a piece which brings back great memories of the two of us reviewing the show and debating via text message last year before we ever had a blog).
Back to the show, and we pick things up a little slowly. The disparate group are still inexplicably held together (an annoying factor which, along with the perceived rank structure is never explained) but have now lost their de facto leader, hauled off by shady types, admittedly this seems like a huge cliche but this plotline points to some really intriguing sci-fi/cult bizarre and possibly cool story possibilities. Nice hints of a broader canvas than the dramas the show specialises in, let's just hope it's not a mislead and that the plot involving Abby focuses more on this and less on the morally dubious "we have to kill her to save others" stuff, though that could work to if done well enough.
In the immediate present the main conflict of the week started out as the focus to save Greg, shot by the mysterious agent-types at last seasons' close, here we see some really intriguing (and brilliantly directed) flashbacks which reveal more about this man's particular character then the whole of last season, as well as clarifying his position regarding the other members (father figure who hates the violence he sees within Tom). More of this for every cast member would be greatly appreciated.
As I said this started out being the major plot but that quickly became an attempt to save Anya and Al, who had run off to a hospital to get things to treat Greg and got trapped under collapsing rubble. It was explained in the show, and there was a reason for it, but yes this particular plot, and the rescue attempts it spawned, were as cliche and ludicrous as they sound, though it did give us a couple of great character moments from the two trapped individuals again, Anya showing her vulnerability and Al getting what could have been a cheesy line but here was pitched perfectly to be ptentially the highlight of the episode ("I'd like to be in love. I think I'd be good at it").
Let me sidetrack here to say that it seems quite weird seeing these people in a major city, and harder to pull off the suspension of disbelief required that so few people are left alive in the world,they really must highlight the weirdness of abandoned suburbia rather than having dozens of people appear, it harms the shows central premise. And whilst we're on the subject what were the odds that the major villian, who made a point of this world being every man for himself, having two perfectly stereotypical bouncers to back him up? Little niggles can sometimes bug me.
And that brings me to the real dramatic meat of the episode, as Sarah basically had to prostitute herself, leading to the most horrific situation, to redeem herself for her misgivings last season. I hope this isn't forgotten and the extreme ramifications and injustice of this are dealt with, as it is this is potentially combustible territory, but thought provoking and that's what hooked me on this show in the first place.
Overall then, a good start. Lots to build on, plenty has me very excited. Still lots to chew over and talk about, plus things to get you thinking. And we end on something which I have personally wanted to happen long ago, Tom has to admit to being a killer and we can now see how the group fares without him, introducing whole new questions. It's good to have the show back, I shall definitely be tuning in next week but let me say great acting from the usuals (Zoe Tapper and Paterson Joseph especially), though sadly still not from Julie Graham (bad casting as the show's lead) or some of the guest stars, plenty of great scenes among some annoying things but they seem a bit nitpicky. My score?

**** (4/5)

MM

Next week's thought: Does violence beget violence or is it necessary in a world where only the strong will survive?

Being Human, Series 2, Episode 1: Some Commentary

First up let me qualify that this show will definitely not be to everyone's tastes. My good friend and co-author here, for example, claims his biggest issue with the show is being overly "emo" and not showing any characters really revelling in their dark sides and that aspect of the supernatural experience. Wow should he ever not watch the last episode.
I shan't go into the premise of the show, as that doesn't begin to sum it up, or revert to summary, watch the episode or find that in multiple other places. Do note that I am a huge fan of the show though and I feel that will colour any opinion made, it's just one of those productions. So let me begin by qualifying that I loved the episode: the drama was played beautifully, acting was almost uniformly top notch and as an extension of mythology it does a great job too, if a tiny bit slow.
Some nice touches are evident here, including the vampire couple (though the show is straying dangerously close to stealing wholesale from Buffy, a fact not helped by referencing the similarities in actual dialogue). I should also say that I thought the scene in the decompression chamber was excellent: disgusting and gory but so juicily intriguing and a great, original idea (can you fight a werewolf's curse by removing tidal/lunar forces, what if the conflict just tore the victim apart, as shown here?).
THere was some not so good though. Mitchell and George, for example, seem to have just swapped storylines from last year, with nothing new brought in. Annie is still a bit ludicrous at times but genius at others, as is the general plotting and dialogue, whose flaws are still evident (soapy, too obviously scripted, unnatural).
In short it won't win anyone over, and isn't exactly trend-setting or up there with even the best this show can do, but it whet the appetite, satisfied a craving and proved sufficient for fans. There is potential for greatness too and there were definitely some people and moments better than others, who prop the show, and score, up (probably a whole star below belongs just to Sinead Keenan as Nina). So, for me...

**** (4/5)

Tomorrow I shall be watching all new Survivors. Quite stoked for that.

MM

Being Human returns

If somehow you've managed to miss the fair amount of publicity material surrounding the return of Being Human to BBC3 I just wanted to give a heads up that the new series starts tomorrow at 9.30. Whilst not a show that my co-author particularly rates I highly recommend checking it out, it was a highlight of british horror tv for me last year and I personally think one of the best written shows of it's type to come from these shores. Can't wait to see what new trials await Mitchell, George and Annie following last years dramatic finale and the continued attempts to find humanity in a harsh world whilst, as the newest promo suggests, facing their demons.

MM

Knowing - Some Commentary

Warning - spoilers all the way throughout this commentary.

I'd heard much about Knowing, but didn't have a chance to catch it at the cinema. So, it was with some trepidation that I got the film 'on demand' from the cable provider. I was not at this stage 'Knowing' (ha ha) what to expect so approached it with a fairly open mind. What followed was worth watching, save for the final 20 minutes or so. Argh.

Knowing tells the story of a time capsule created fifty years ago, that's opened in 'modern day'. Nicholas Cage is a father and an MIT worker, who manages to get hold of a paper from the time capsule with numbers on it. He decodes the number sequences, realising that they relate to disasters and incidents that are going to happen. Unfortunately, the final sequence (discovered close to the end of the film) is the end of the world.

Angels or aliens - probably depends on your own belief system - become involved and it is apparent that these beings are responsible for the code produced and that they effectively spirit children away to a new 'eden'. This of course leaves the end of the world to occur as a solar flare blasts the planet. A most pessimistic (and unusual) Hollywood ending.

Whatever these beings are meant to be in the film, their presence is uniquely sinister, unhelpful and generally disturbing. Cage goes from a religio-sceptic through to a believer by the film, though I'm still not sure I understand his journey from the first watch. He's also blasted off the planet along with everyone else.

So, aliens or angels or whatever knew the world was coming, but did little or nothing to help, electing instead to send a bunch of kids out to pasture on a new world with what looked like a tree of life and a garden of eden? Oh please. Exactly how will they survive? A few posts on the IMDB message boards suggested they could be vegetarian and eat fruit etc - well, just how many kids know which berries are toxic for example? Oh how to manage agrocultural land to produce crops? Give me a break. Might be a step too far, but maybe those sinister alien chaps will help out?

End of the world films aren't usually my bag, as quite often they are stuffed to the gills with huge special effects, little story and dodgy acting. This film started out differently but was so high concept by the end that I was left utterly annoyed. If the aliens were so powerful, why didn't they help out with some solar shielding technology? Or, was that not possible? I might be wrong of course, but I also read that on a science journal a solar flare wouldn't have the effect shown here. Whatever. Either way, this film started out very interestingly and was in the end ruined by a high concept idea that seemed ill-thought through. Like the worst kind of haute cuisine, it failed to satisfy on any kind of meaningful level, yet promised so much at the start.

More preview info

Hi guys, just learned courtesy of a usual source at AICN that John Carpenter is returing with a new movie next year, in the horror genre that holds some of his greatest hits (Halloween, Christine,) and biggest disasters (Vampires, Ghosts of Mars). Whilst initially not as exciting to me as some of the man's more rabid die hard fans the premise did cause me to sit up and take a bit of notice. The film is entitled The Ward and supposedly the plot is a trippy little tale of an institutionalised young woman, played by the luscious but career-unwise Amber Heard, terrorised by a ghost. Not much is out there but Quint from the aforementioned site did unearth a brief behind the scenes clip, more of a slight mood setting appetite whetter than any real meat but hey it's worth a couple seconds of your day.

Something apt

Hi guys. Long time, no see. Many apologies for lack of posting but obviously the holiday season was totally crazy, more so than usual for me. Truth be told, I probably wouldn't be writing this today if it wasn't for the fact that I'm snowed in, unable to get to work and stuck in the house. How about that crazy weather huh? On the subject of that, and related to Mr B's article on things (particularly smaller scale stuff) to look out for in 2010 I thought I'd share a trailer for a little, dramatic, somewhat high-concept horror piece that I found. I'm told that it doesn't convey the genius of the dramatic touches, writing or character work but the concept sure got me interested, and suitably chilled (pun not intended). In any case sorry about the fitting nature but see what you think...



MM

Is There A Horror Film In 2010 You're Looking Forward To?

Yes, of course there is! Probably plenty, but I'm only just catching up with the news so there'll be a lot of them I don't yet know about. However, The Wolfman is coming soon though (Feb 12th US?) and Daybreakers (maybe a decent vampire film) could be worth a watch.

As you all know, I'm not always the most mainstream of horror film viewer so I'm looking for something a little more interesting to scare the nights away with. Tony looks like a decent British indie slasher, whilst from last year I'm still keen to see The Box, if not keen enough to have went to the cinema in the first place.

An interesting trend to notice is that there's two similar horror/fantasy pieces due in 2010, Black Death (Sean Bean - looks like Boromir is out again) and Season Of The Witch (Nicholas Cage). Both include a witch, some sorcery and some fantasy sword play. Should be excellent!

Apparition - Dark Castle Entertainment - is being talked up for 2010 and sounds like it could be worth a watch, though whether you believe the 'based on a true story' thing is up to you.

My own personal massive recommendation is to, if you can, get hold of The Christmas Tale. I've probably mentioned it before, but it's one of the strangest, most disturbing things you'll see. The film stars Ivana Baquero of Pan's Labyrinth fame. To say more would be an injustice. Go see! In the meantime, I'm off to see if there's anything scary on demand.