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New BBC TV on DVD: Halloween Horror Releases

  • Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
  • Number of discs: 1
  • Rated: NR (Not Rated)
  • Studio: BBC Home Entertainment
  • DVD Release Date: October 8, 2013
  • Run Time: 180 minutes




  • In the Flesh

     

            It is completely unfair to make even the slightest comparison of “In the Flesh” to “The Walking Dead,” although it is inevitable that this association will be made between the two zombie television events. For one thing, “In the Flesh” is not a post-apocalyptic storyline. We join the story after civilization has recovered almost entirely, and it instead becomes a story about integration and acceptance. The horror elements are all but removed and zombies instead become a symbol for diversity and a metaphor for homosexuality.

     

            The main narrative decision to remove the horror from this story is the choice to make the protagonist a zombie, and to make those monsters nearly indistinguishable from humans. Normally this might add an element of fear, as if having them hidden amongst us would make them dangerous in new ways, but not in this miniseries. Instead they are integrated back into society in secret for their own protection, with the humans being the monsters with the capacity for destruction. My biggest issue with the zombies in Dominic Mitchell's “In the Flesh” is that they don’t really resemble zombies in their monstrous form. The storyline almost seems to insert the zombies simply because they are the hot-ticket horror monster of the moment, although it seems to be a narrative better suited for vampires or werewolves.

     

            We follow teenager Kieren Walker as a zombie returning home after being rehabilitated and placed on medication which removes the flesh-craving tendencies of the undead “disease.” His demise is somewhat of a mystery, involving a relationship he had with a hometown hero. The homosexuality is even more of a secret than being undead in this series, which is a metaphor which is a bit too transparent and overdone for this day and age. It pounds the message in until the zombies are a distant memory.

           

    Entertainment Value: 6/10

    Quality of Filmmaking: 7/10

    Historical Significance: 4/10

    Disc Features: 2/10

     

     

  • Number of discs: 1
  • Rated: NR (Not Rated)
  • Studio: BBC Home Entertainment
  • DVD Release Date: October 8, 2013
  • Run Time: 180 minutes





  • The Secret of Crickley Hall

     

            As difficult as it is to compare BBC’s “In the Flesh” with the vastly different AMC series, “The Walking Dead,” I find my memory of “The Secret of Crickley Hall” blending with the first season of “American Horror Story.” This is a classic ghost story, with a little more emotional integration and less of the visceral thrills. Based on the novel by best-selling author James Herbert, “The Secret of Crickley Hall” is moderately entertaining and mildly frustrating due to the difficulty of a blindingly obsessed protagonist.

     

            When Eve Caleigh (Suranne Jones) loses track of her son Cam at a public playground, his disappearance has a devastating effect on her and her husband, Gabe (Tom Ellis). The guilt alone has Eve unable to accept that their son is gone, even long after they must presume him dead. Moving into a new home is meant to be a fresh start for Eve, Gabe and their two remaining children. Their countryside home of Crickley Hall comes with a history, once housing children who met an unfortunate demise.

     

    When random ghostly occurrences frighten the family, they only remain because of Eve’s insistence that the spirit of the children will help her find her own child. She hears Cam’s voice amongst the other spirits but refuses to see this as a sign that her son is dead, and her blinded dedication to find the lost child leads to a neglect of those remaining amongst the living. Though there is a vengeful spirit with a cane and flashback storylines involving cruel treatment of the children, these strengths in the film are overpowered by the troublesomely selfish protagonist of Eve.

     

           

    Entertainment Value: 6.5/10

    Quality of Filmmaking: 7/10

    Historical Significance: 4/10

    Disc Features: 2/10

     

     

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