My Review of Dead Boy Detectives: "The Case Of The Devlin House"

 

Written by Ian Weinreich And Kristy Lowrey

Directed by Cheryl Dunye

Charles: "It's like, it's like they're stuck on repeat."

Edwin: "That's exactly what it is. If I'm right, it's a loop and they've been stuck in it since 1994."

After two very solid episodes, I felt this one was where things got a tiny bit more interesting, both with the main case itself and the development of one of the particular Dead Boy Detectives. Of course I'm talking about Charles.

So far, he's been a rather cheerful cheeky chappy and the voice of reason among Edwin and Crystal. He's also the very thing that would focus Edwin and Crystal to put their differences aside and actually get along. Getting caught in a traumatic loop would do such a thing.

The case of the week involved the Devlin family, murdered by their father, Brandon. Having the Team watch the killing over and over again when investigating the house especially did a number on Charles. Enough of one to get him caught in the loop when he recklessly tried to defend the family. However, it also shed light on his own trauma during a revealing conversation with Crystal.

This episode largely sign posted a future romance between Charles and Crystal and both Edwin and Niko's opposite reactions to the idea was amusing enough. However helping Charles break out of the loop and breaking the loop itself did make Edwin and Crystal work better together than before. That and both were lucky enough to take out a Misery Wraith as well.

I liked that the episode gave us more on Charles's backstory and while I'm mixed on him and Crystal as a couple, I do think it's amusing that Charles also seemed jealous of Edwin getting closer to Monty. I mean he did seem put out by Monty's appearance at the end while Edwin was warming to the latter wanting to do an astrological reading on him.

As for the ongoing threat, Esther popped up in Jenny's butcher for a beauty regime, antagonised Charles and Crystal as well as spied on Edwin and Monty. Of course the Cat King was also keeping tabs on Edwin and the Night Nurse got her own breakthrough in locating the Dead Boy Detectives. Threats from all sides basically.

- Niko admitted the Sprites caused her hair to go white. They're a fun nuisance for her.

- Esther struck a deal with Lilith for immortality. I'm curious about her rivalry with the Cat King.

- We got glimpses of some of the things David made Crystal do when he had possession of her. Or was it Crystal acting out on her own volition all along?

- Chronology: February 16th and 17th 2023. The Devlin family were living on Haywood Drive.

The Case Of The Devlin House did well with The Stone Tape Theory concept and while I kind of wish the show was more focused on Edwin and Charles together, I do get why the show has opted for an ensemble here.

Rating: 8 out of 10 

My Review of Love Lies Bleeding (2024)

 

Written by Rose Glass And Weronika Tofilska

Directed by Rose Glass 

Jackie (to Lou): "Anyone can feel strong hiding behind a piece of metal. I prefer to know my own strength."

Watching this film, I couldn't help but think of the movie Bound. I mean, I'm not saying this movie a rip off but it did feel like it was very similar to it, tonally at times.

In this movie, set in 1989, we had gym manager Louise "Lou" Langston (Kristen Stewart). When she wasn't gently rebuffing advances from local girl Daisy (Anna Baryshnikov), she was finding herself in the crosshairs of new girl Jackie (Katy O'Brian) and it was a romance that cause of chaos for everyone involved.

Yes, we learned quickly that Jackie was into bodybuilding and had not only gotten a job at Lou's (Ed Harris) shooting range but that her new employer was her girlfriend's father and that was the least of it. Jackie also had sex with Louise's brother in law J.J. (Dave Franco) to boot.

Those things alone should've been enough to have derailed Lou and Jackie as a potential pairing but there was more to come. Notably Jackie losing it as she got addicted to steroids and yeah, J.J. also getting murdered by her after Louise complained about him abusing her sister, Beth (Jena Malone).

The rest of the move just got crazier as it went along. We had Louise and Jackie trying to get rid of J.J's body, Daisy trying to blackmail Louise into a relationship and Lou trying to kill both Jackie and his daughter. Oh and that wasn't even the weirdest thing to happen in a very weird film.

The weirdest thing would be Jackie going all gigantic during a scene where Louise came close to taking out her own father. I have no idea how or why that moment even happened in the movie and it sort of took me out of the film. As for the ending, yeah, I saw that coming. 

- Ed Harris's dodgy looking hair was actually down to him. 

- Katy O'Brian used to be a competitive bodybuilder and heard about the role through a recommendation on social media 

- Standout music: Harald Großkopf 1847 - Earth and Nona Hendryx Transformation. 

- Chronology: The movie was set in 1989 and was filmed in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

For the most part, I liked Love Lies Bleeding but it's definitely for a niche crowd and only them. It's just too out there as a flick to generate a wide enough appeal or even be fodder for memes. Saying that, it's worth a watch.

Rating: 7 out of 10 

My Review of Dead Boy Detectives: "The Case Of The Dandelion Shrine"

 

Written by Shoshana Sachi And Cheech Manohar

Directed by Glen Winter

Cat King: "I am fascinated by you."

Edwin: "What the bloody hell is this?"

Cat King: "Oh that? That's your punishment. It's a caging spell."

On to the second episode of this supernatural YA series and consequences are being felt. First of all, never use magic on a talking cat. Edwin learned this lesson the hard way.

Enter the Cat King (Lukas Gage). If you found Desire to be a charming menace with glowing eyes on The Sandman, then you'll love this guy. As someone who finds Lukas Gage a bit of a mixed bag as an actor, this role absolutely played to his strengths here.

The Cat King was affronted by magic being used on his followers and while he was openly dismissive of Charles and Crystal, his demeanor with Edwin was more flirtatious. He played on Edwin's sexual repression and use that moment of weakness to bind Edwin to Port Townsend.

Fortunately for the Dead Boy Detectives and Crystal, next door neighbour Niko gave them their case of the week. All that glowing pink light that screamed "manic pixie dream girl" had a purpose to it. Turned out that she had a sprite problem.

The sprites being of the Dandelion variety and that lot needed to be flourishing with attention in order to survive. Niko's story was a good way to offer context to her as a character while building a nice rapport between her and Crystal as they bonded over dead/missing parents. While I'm more interested in the Dead Boy Detectives themselves, the show is doing a decent job with it's female characters too.

As for the Sprites themselves - Kingham (Max Jenkins) and Litty (Caitlin Reilly). Well, they were foul mouthed but got tricked into being trapped into a jar/vessel after Crystal used herself to lure them out of Niko. Crystal's near sacrifice did however endear herself to Edwin, who took to Niko a lot quicker than expected.

Last but not least, two other problems for the boys were the Night Nurse not happy with Edwin and Charles wandering about as well as Esther. The latter chose a more direct means of revenge on the meddlesome detectives, which involved turning her crow familiar Monty (Joshua Colley) into a human. As a witch would do.

- This episode also introduced Tragic Mick (Michael Beach). He's a former Walrus turned human, running a magic shop. 

- Niko's near death experience makes her able to see Edwin and Charles. Both the Cat King and Crystal likened Edwin and Charles to a couple.

- Charles was confirmed to have died in 1989 due to hypothermia and blood poisoning. Edwin escaped Hell the same time.

- Chronology: From where the first episode left off. Every episode seems to break things down in chapter titles and has a "To Be Continued" title card.

The Case Of The Dandelion Shrine did have fun with it's main story and confirming that Port Townsend was going to be where the season would remain in. Saying that, I would've loved of the Cat King but undoubtedly we'll get that as things progress.

Rating: 7 out of 10 

My Review of Bates Motel (1987)

 

Written And Directed by Richard Rothstein

Alex (to the audience): "If you ever need a room, come on by. I can't say for sure what you'll find, but that is what makes the world go around".

First of all, not to be confused with the fantastic prequel series we'd get in the 2010s and secondly, this was more of a spin-off and the first time this world got sent to TV. I have to admit, I didn't know this even existed until a week ago.

If you're expecting Anthony Perkins to emerge at any point in this television movie, you're in for a world of disappointment. This movie not only doesn't feature Perkins but for the limited screen time that Norman Bates did have, the character was played by Kurt Paul.

I also say limited because for once Norman isn't the main focus. In fact he's quickly killed off in this movie and the emphasis instead fell on to a fellow inmate named Alex West (Bud Cort) whom Norman had befriended and guided in the asylum prior to his death.

Anyways, Alex got released from the asylum and inherited the Bates Motel and needless to say, that came with plenty of complications in itself. Notably the fact that teenage runaway Willie (Lori Petty) was squatting in the abandoned motel and wasn't keen on the idea of potentially having to move elsewhere.

Saying that, there's a delightful friendship between Alex and Willie that anchored a lot of the movie and along with retiring handyman Henry Watson (Moses Gunn), the trio managed to get the Bates Motel up and running. Surely, that's where the horror was going to happen, right?

Actually things went a bit more Scooby Doo than Psycho to be fair. When the film didn't have bank manager Tom Fuller (Gregg Henry) playing ghost to scare Alex out of business, there were actual ghosts of teenagers and a woman who came to ending it all before changing her mind. Not the sort of thing you'd expect in the particular franchise.

- Anthony Perkins didn't boycott the movie but he did say it was terrible at a convention.

- This TV movie was actually a pilot for a TV series that didn't happen due to low ratings.

- Kurt Paul who played Norman Bates actually was Anthony Perkins stunt double for both Psycho II and Psycho II.

- Chronology: Over twenty years since the events of Psycho.

Bates Motel wasn't that bad to watch but it definitely felt like something that would've worked better as it's own thing than being attached to this franchise. Saying that, it's weirdly watchable.

Rating: 6 out of 10 

My Review of Morbius (2022)

 

Written by Matt Sazama And Burk Sharpless

Directed by Daniel Espinosa

Michael (to Martine): "I went from dying... to feeling more alive than ever. Increased strength and speed... the ability to use echolocation... and an overpowering urge to consume blood."

I finally got to the worst of the Spider-Man adjacent movies and yeah, it's reputation preceeded it. If there was an actor potentially incompatible with the comic book genre, it's Jared Leto.

From playing the worst live action iteration of the Joker in the now ended DC Extended Universe to going to playing a familiar Spider-Man antagonist. Well, anti-hero in this instance.  Enter Michael Morbius. 

We opened with a flashback to Michael's childhood in Greece being cared in a hospital by Nicholas (Jared Harris) while also bonding with a other kid named Lucien over their mutual blood illness. That bonding also included Lucien being called by Milo by Michael and Lucien embracing the new name foisted onto him by his "brother".

Cut to a quarter of a century later, a grown up Michael (Jared Leto) was working on a cure for their blood condition with Milo (Matt Smith) very much in his corner along with Martine Bancroft (Adria Arjona). However, the use of general splicing vampire bats came with consequences that Michael could've easily avoided.

Yes, Michael literally became Morbius, people died, he went to prison and Milo (who also went the same vampiric route) embraced the bloodlust. If Leto slept walked his way through this movie, Smith on the other hand completely embraced the sheer nonsense of the script and went with it.

Like the Venom movies, there's an incredibly messy third act with both brothers battling it out and Martine getting caught in the crossfire. As a love interest character, it's a thankless role for Arjona and the outcome for Morbius was basically the same as Eddie Brock's. However there might be a narrative point to that.

- This movie managed to flop twice for Sony and the second time was down to the company falsely believing the memes it generated would help save any losses.

- Matt Smith was originally announced to be playing Loxias Crown/Hunger. Milo does seem to be loosely based on the character.

- The mid credit scenes introduced Adrian Toomes (Michael Keaton) into this universe. He wasted no time in suiting up as Vulture and recruiting Morbius to his cause.

- Chronology: Twenty five years for both Michael and Milo, taking in Greece, New York and Costa Rica.

Morbius turned out to be as bad as expected. I wish I could say there was a guilty pleasure aspect to give it some glimmer of redemption, but it's crap, through and through. Leto's terrible and while Smith tried at least, it ain't enough to make me want to revisit this one anytime soon.

Rating: 4 out of 10

My Review of Dead Boy Detectives: "The Case Of Crystal Palace"

 

Written by Steve Yockey

Directed by Lee Toland Krieger

Edwin: "We are the Dead Boy Detectives and we rescued you. You're welcome."

Crystal: "The Dead Boy Detectives?"

Charles: "It's aces, right? We're ghosts and we solve mysteries."

There was a time when this show was not only meant to be released on HBO Max but it was also meant to be a spin-off of Doom Patrol. Then things dramatically changed. 

Not only did our three leads get recast from the backdoor pilot they debut in, but now this show became a Netflix series and connected to The Sandman universe. It's funny how things turned out. Oh and this was basically a do-over as well.

Present day London had ghostly duo of Edwardian posh boy Edwin Paine (George Rexstrew) and punkish cheeky chappy Charles Rowland (Jayden Revri) doing their job and trying to contain a World War era ghost named Wilfred. On top of that, they're also trying to avoid Death (Kirby Howell-Baptiste), despite leading her to their office.

Of course Death was the least of their problems when Victorian ghost Emma put the Dead Boy Detectives in the crosshairs of American psychic Crystal Palace (Kassius Nelson) and she's a girl that literally had a demon ex named David (David Iacono) that the boys managed to get out of her. However, Crystal lost some of her memory and also caused a bit of upset with Edwin and Charles dynamic.

Edwin wasn't particularly happy with Crystal hanging around and Charles was more than happy to keep Crystal around until her memories returned. The case of a missing girl named Becky Aspen however saw the trio trade London for Port Townsend in the US.

I'm a tiny bit disappointed this episode quickly changed locations but I guess it was essential for introducing three prominent characters. The characters being Jenny Green (Briana Cuoco), who owned a butcher shop where Crystal rented a room from as well as Niko Sasaki (Yuyu Kitamura), who seems to be a fan girl of sorts but got less screentime than Jenny did here.

The biggest character though was the youth obsessed witch Esther Finch (Jenn Lyon). She snatched Becky for her youth and was amused by Edwin, Charles and Crystal's attempts to rescue Becky. That was until they actually succeeded and she got rather mad about being bested by two ghosts and a psychic sad girl. Then again, a talking cat led to her defeat in this episode.

As for the rest of the episode, Crystal proved to be a needed addition to the boys club but Charles possessing Esther put both him and Edwin in the Night Nurse's (Ruth Connell) line of fire. Yeah, these boys might not be the brightest detectives out there.

- The title sequence was rather nice, playing around with the theme of death.

- Charles comes armed with a cricket bat, can access points to see his parents, has a bag of tricks that can contain everything and ghosts can travel through mirrors. Edwin's the brains of the duo and was in Hell for over 70 years.

- Ruth Connell was the only one not recast from the backdoor pilot. 

- Chronology: Present day London and Port Townsend. We saw a bound and gagged Edwin sacrificed to the demon Sa'al in 1916 thanks to his cruel classmates. They died too in the ritual.

The Case Of Crystal Palace kicked things off to a modest. It's not a pilot that will grab you the same way that The Sandman did but the three leads are likable, so it's off to a decent start. I'll watch the rest of the season.

Rating: 7 out of 10 

My Review of Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021)

 

Written by Tom Hardy And Kelly Marcel

Directed by Andy Serkis

Cletus: "Welcome back, Eddie Brock. It's been a long time. I miss you ... so much."

The biggest trick ever played on a studio was Sony gaining success with their Venom movies. It gave the false impression that audiences wanted movies adjacent to Spider-Man when in reality, I think they just like Tom Hardy in this role. Anyways, on to the review.

The end of the first movie had Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy) meeting Cletus Kasady (Woody Harrelson) in prison. This was at the behest of Detective Patrick Mulligan (Stephen Graham) and it was a meeting that didn't exactly go all that well either.  Not dissimilar to Eddie's life in general as this movie pointed out.

Yes, Eddie and Venom had this odd couple dynamic going well, until they didn't. There was only so much chocolate and chickens that Venom could consume and Eddie was tired of having to try and reign the symbiote in at times. Worse than that, another encounter with Cletus Kasady only resulted in the latter getting his own symbiote and Eddie and Venom going their separate ways.

Watching Venom trying to get new hosts while going to Mrs Chen (Peggy Lu) for comfort was amusing while Eddie was coping without being bonded to Venom as well as his ex-girlfriend Anne Weying (Michelle Williams) being engaged to nice doctor Dan Lewis (Reid Scott). Dan was also dealing with Venom being back on the scene again.

As for the main villain plot, Carnage bonded to Cletus. Cletus wanted to free his girlfriend Frances Barrison/Shriek (Naomie Harris) and Shriek wanted to kill Mulligan. Oh and Carnage didn't especially care for Shriek, creating conflict between him and Cletus. Not to mention the links between Venom and Carnage to boot.

Like the first movie, you've got a rushed third act that's a bit messy on the CGI battle between Venom and Carnage. Annie's got the thankless damsel in distress role, Shriek's poorly utilised and even Cletus got swiftly dealt with after being separated from Carnage. Oh and the movie totally rifled off the end of The Dark Knight and not in a good way.

- Tom Hardy got a story by credit for the movie as well as a producer credit too.

- Mid credit scene had Eddie and Venom see Spider-Man (Tom Holland) on the TV along with J. Jonah Jameson (J.K. Simmons).

- Andy Serkis agreed to make the movie if he got to film it in the UK. He was also in the MCU.

- This was originally scheduled for October 2020 but got pushed to 2021 due to COVID.

Standout music: Carl Cox's Carnage, Johnny Cash's San Quentin and Little Simz's Venom.

- Chronology: A few months from where the first movie left off as well as 1996 for the Cletus and Frances backstory.

Venom: Let There Be Carnage isn't the worst sequel you'll see but it's definitely not without its problems. The pacing was rough in parts, Carnage and Shriek are poorly developed and its got a very messy third act. Still the buddy duo between Eddie and Venom did a lot of heavy lifting.

Rating: 6 out of 10

My Review of American Horror Story: Delicate - The Auteur

 

Written by Halley Feiffer 

Directed by Gwyneth Horder-Payton

Anna: "You're a monster."

Siobhan: "Oh, no babe. I'm so much worse."

The last few seasons this show has developed a very annoying habit of short changing viewers with shorter and rushed finales and it's a habit that very much needs to stop. The sad thing was that I saw this coming.

Picking up from the last episode, Anna got into ambulance with Dex and Kamal. Within moments, Ivy was revealed to be the driver and both Dex and Kamal were killed off, along with some pointlessly misandry from Ivy to boot.

Then we had Anna surrounded by Ivy, Nicolette, Talia, Sonia and Susan (yes, that's the superfan's name), only for her then to give birth to a demon baby and become paralysed. Trying to renege on a devilish deal does have it's drawbacks.

So, what was the endgame of this season along? Well, this witchy cult are called Delicates and their Auteur was Siobhan (surprising no one). Their goal was to recruit women who wanted it all, birth super powered children and basically live in a matriarchal society. Thematically, it did make sense.

Unfortunately, it's all very rushed exposition with Siobhan also admitting that she was Dex's real mother and that 75% of Anna's baby was hers too. Oh and despite goading Ivy into killing her, Siobhan had no problem in killing Ivy as well. Then there was Anna's choices.

Truth be told, Anna either had misfortune if she refused to join the Delicates or join them and keep producing demon kids. When it seemed like Anna was going to submit, along came Adeline to help Anna using Hestia's power in order to wipe Siobhan out. That scene alone was extremely rushed.

Anyways, if the season had the ongoing narrative of whether or not women can have it all, this episode proved they could. Anna ended the season with an Oscar, a human child and power of her own. It's just a pity the season didn't do a stonger job of having her get all of this stuff organically. Things really just kept happening to Anna. As a character, she had very little agency.

- An opening flashback showed Siobhan meeting Anna at an IVF support group while another one had Siobhan recruiting Dr Hill.

- Anna was sporting the Delicates spiked green heels. Nicolette was recruited to groom Anna for this entire plot.

- Ms Preacher's first name was revealed to be Mavis. She was killed off screen.

- I was hoping this episode would show us clips from the very movie that Anna won a freaking Oscar for. 

- The Ashleys really were just there to make up the numbers, though one of seemed happy about having male sex slaves.

- Chronology: Early 2024 as well as 2019 flashbacks for Anna/Siobhan and a 1970s one for Siobhan/Dr Hill.

I didn't hate The Auteur as a finale but it was unsatisfying and very rushed. I don't know what future the show will have beyond next season but changes in how it's approached need to be taken on board. The finales definitely need to be longer and the heavy focus on Anna would've worked had she been better developed, which she wasn't. 

Rating: 6 out of 10 

A Varied Mood Board Of Shows

I know it's been freaking long since I've done one of these but here's another snapshot of stuff I've been watching over the last few months.

Big Mood: Channel 4 have found a new niche of comedies with a more serious undertone and none serious than this one. Lydia West and Nicola Coughlan are on fine form as the level headed Eddie and the flightier Maggie, and both make for a believable friendship. Throughout the six part series, you had Maggie battling both her bipolar and writers block while Eddie struggled to keep her dead father's along pub alive and dealt with an unwanted pregnancy. There's not many laughs to be had with the show but there's a good insight into friendships and mental health.

Celebrity Big Brother: While ITV2 certainly got the parent series right, I have to admit the celebrity version on ITV was something more of a mixed bag. Way too many influencer types, other unrecognisable celebs and one that seemed more fitted for the Daily Mail style audience. On the other hand, there was something entertaining in watching Louis Walsh make a prat out of himself yet while the winner was decent enough I suppose. It just felt a bit of a letdown after last years much better civilian series.

Ripley: Prior to watching this, the reception seemed to be mixed at best. Some loved seeing a newer version of The Talented Mr Ripley. Others were put off by the black and white format and felt Andrew Scott was too old for the role of Tom Ripley. Personally, I think he's the best thing but there were times where Ripley was almost too inept to live (that boat scene in the third episode being the best example). The show's gorgeous looking, beautifully capturing the 1960s time period and Italian setting. The lacklustre ratings on Netflix and audience antipathy on the other hand does however indicate that we shouldn't expect seconds for this one.

True Detective: I don't know. I liked the first episode of this season but I have to admit, the show just fell apart as it went along. The finale both felt rushed in some parts and a slog in others and despite a good partnership with Jodie Foster and Kali Reiss,  just didn't care enough about either Danvers or Navarro to be really invested as the season concluded. Some wasted actors and a barely contained misandry in the writing didn't help at times either.

Wreck: Back in late 2022, the returned BBC3 struck gold with this nautical slasher/horror series and while the second series traded the cruise ship setting for a wellness centre in Slovenia, it lost none of it's groove. Throughout the six episodes of this second series, we lost so many characters, gained some new ones (and lost some of them), got some great character development, inventive kills, bits of romance, alliances switched up and a promise of more vengeance. What I'm trying to say here is that I really hope BBC3 commission at least one more series of this delightfully batshit crazy show. 

• Joshua Jackson will lead upcoming ABC medical drama, Dr Odyssey, created by Ryan Murphy.
• Speaking of Ryan Murphy, he will produce another horror series on FX called Grotesquerie with Niecy Nash, Leslie Manville and Courtney B. Vance heading up the cast.
• So Help Me Todd has been cancelled by CBS after two seasons.
• Fallout has been renewed for a second season by Amazon.
• Production for the second season of Gen V has been halted following the recent death of Chance Perdomo last month.
• Season 4 of The Boys will premiere on Amazon from June 13th.
• Grey's Anatomy has been renewed for a 21st season while spin off Station 19 will conclude next month after seven seasons.
• CSI: Vegas has been cancelled after three seasons by CBS.
• Seth McFarlane has admitted that Family Guy won't be ending any time soon.
• The third season of Netflix's Sweet Tooth is coming soon and will be the show's last one.
• ITV have announced that the fourteenth series of Vera will be it's last.
• CBS have changed their minds again and given S.W.A.T. an eighth season.
• Netflix have renewed The Witcher for a fifth and final season ahead of it's fourth season. Liam Hemsworth replaced Henry Cavill in the lead role. 

My Review of Late Night With The Devil (2023)

 

Written And Directed by Colin Cairnes And Cameron Cairnes

Jack: "Ladies and gentlemen, please stay tuned for a live television first as we attempt to commune with the Devil."

Time for a horror trip, and what a trip of a movie this one turned out to be. Formatted in a documentary style, here was a movie about a show where the unimaginable happened on live air.

The show in question being late night show, Night Owls where the host, Jack Delroy (David Dastmalchian) was not only dealing with the loss of his wife, Madeleine (Georgina Haig) but also his talk show in desperate need of ratings. Cue Halloween night.

A night appropriate for some spooky shenanigans, Jack's first guest included a psychic named Christou (Fayssal Bazzi) who tried to talk to the audience with spirits that had mixed results. The mixed results being something that the second guest of the night was willing to use to their advantage.

Former magician turned skeptic Carmichael Haig (Ian Bliss) was a bit too happy to denounce Christou's psychic abilities and was even more keen to antagonise Jack at every turn. As the movie progressed, this would be something that Carmichael would deeply regret.

The main crux of the movie however involved Jack's interview with Dr June Ross-Mitchell (Laura Gordon) and a young girl named Lilly (Ingrid Torelli). Lily in particular played host to a demon named Mr Wriggles and when the latter came out to play, shit went down in the studio and even Carmichael's attempt to disprove it with poor Gus (Rhys Auteri) went horribly wrong.

It's really the final act that made this whole movie for me. The terror of Lilly's possession along with Jack's connection with The Grove, along with the price of his fame and the last scene. Let's just say this movie ended on a very appropriately dark note.

- Lilly had been held prisoner by a Satanic church that worshipped Abraxas before she was rescued by June. June wrote a book called Conversation With The Devil.

- David Dastmalchian got cast as Jack Delroy due to the directors reading article he wrote for Fangoria about late night regional horror TV hosts.

- The Grove in here were a reference to a real life sect of a similar name.

- Chronology: Halloween 1977. Despite being an American movie set in New York City, this was filmed in Melbourne, Australia.

Late Night With The Devil might be one of the creepiest horror movies to come out this year. The studio setting along with the time period worked brilliantly. David Dastmalchian gave such a brilliant performance and that end scene was brutal. I loved this one.

Rating: 9 out of 10 

My Review of Rebel Moon - Part Two: The Scargiver (2024)

 

Written by Shay Hatten And Kurt Johnstad And Zack Snyder 

Directed by Zack Snyder

Kora: "Their nightmare is you and I fighting together."

Jimmy: "You must know, you cannot win."

Has it really been four months since the first part of this wannabe Star Wars saga? Yes, it has and in that time, we've also Dune Part II finally get released too. Okay, enough snarking, review time, lads.

Four months might have passed between releases of this series but time has moved slower here. First of all, secondary baddie Atticus Noble (Ed Skrein) was revealed to be alive and needless to say, he was determined to get both the Scargiver and nuke the planet/moon Veldt and not entirely in that order.

The Scargiver being deserter soldier, Kora/Arthelais (Sofia Boutella), who with her own band of misfits and warriors were going to be a massive pain in the backside for Noble and still largely unseen Regent Balisarius (Fra Free). I mean, they're really holding off that inevitable reunion between Kora and Balisarius for a reason, but the little we actually saw here left a lot to be desired.

Kora's crew again comprised of General Titus (Djimon Hounsou), skilled assassin Nemesis (Doona Bae), slave Prince Tarak (Staz Nair), soldier Millius (Elise Duffy) and humble farmer, Gunnar (Michiel Huisman). Yeah, it's them along with Sam (Charlotte Maggi), Aris (Sky Yang) and Jimmy the mechanical Knight (Anthony Hopkins) along with glorified redshirts to keep Veldt from getting massacred by Noble and company.

The first of this movie felt like a lot of padding. Between an overemphasised montage of wheat collecting and well intended flashbacks sloppily done, I felt like some of the first half could've been shorter. As for the second half, I had the opposite issue to be honest.

If the first half dragged like hell to get to the main battles, the second half almost went overboard with it. Yes, it descended into mindless violence, certain characters died and others that were assumed to be dead. Well, one of them turned out to be alive and there's the hook for the next movie.

- The director cuts for both parts will be released on Netflix later in the summer. You'll get six hours of this.

- Kora "killed" Princess Issa in flashbacks and I actually thought the character was going to regenerate. The romance with Kora and Gunnar was very rushed.

- I did like the various banners that Sam made for the characters.  It seemed like a secondary romance between her and Aris was being hinted at.

- The Bloodaxes have done sweet naff all to help so far. Maybe the cuts are where they're better utilised.

- Zack Snyder has mentioned wanting this to be a six movie saga. Now whether Netflix let that happen is another thing.

- Chronology: Essentially where the first movie left off. Not a lot of time passed either. 

Rebel Moon - Part Two: The Scargiver should've been a marked improvement on an underwhelming first entry. Look, I've seen worse movies but this wasn't good. It should've been but it's all over the freaking place and if I were Netflix, I'd be hesitant to continue this franchise unless major improvements were made to it.

Rating: 6 out of 10

My Review of Psycho IV: The Beginning (1990)

 

Written by Joseph Stefano

Directed by Mick Garris

Norman (to Fran): "Oh, I've killed before and now, I'm gonna have to do it again."

Into the fourth movie of this series and we got something that not only served as a prequel but also a sequel that only went and ignored the previous two sequels. Don't you just love it when a horror franchise does that?

Ignoring the crazy aunt that pretended to be his mother, we have a Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins) who was released from the asylum he had spent a long time in calling a late night radio show, hosted by Fran Ambrose (CCH Pounder). This would be the main plot of this movie.

The radio show in question was about men who killed their mothers, a topic that Norman was well versed in and one where he was better to articulate than the experts Fran had on her show. Fran got so enamoured with Norman, the experts themselves were almost quickly written out of the movie to accommodate Norman himself.

Getting to the prequel aspect of the film we had a lot of flashbacks with a young Norman (Henry Thomas) and the toxic, co-dependent relationship with his mother Norma (Olivia Hussey). Throughout the flashbacks we had Norma emasculate her son incessantly, only for Norman to eventually snap and kill both Norma and her lover, Chet Rudolph (Thomas Schuster). To be fair, Norma had it coming.

Of course Mommy Dearest and her feckless boyfriend weren't the only victims of Norman's in flashbacks. Norman's dalliances with two different women, spurred his "mother" persona into murder. Then there was also the fact that Fran realised Norman was on the verge of killing again.

The would be victim being Norman's own wife, Connie (Donna Mitchell). Norman was tempted to murder his wife because she fell pregnant against his wishes and a reunion between the couple in the Bates family home really could've the same way as the sequels did. Norman came close to succumbing to his mother yet again before choosing a different path.

- The writer for this movie was the same as the original movie. However this aired on Showtime instead of being a theatrical release.

- Janet Leigh (Marion Crane from the first movie) did an introduction for the movie's broadcast.

- Anthony Perkins has a different pitch that was more akin to a black comedy that the studio rejected in favour of what we ended up.

- Chronology: 1940, 1949, 1951 and 1990. Norman's birthday factored into the movie, set during one night.

Psycho IV: The Beginning does feel like a marked improvement on the previous movie and managed to pull off the prequel with a sequel idea rather well. Anthony Perkins gave a strong final performance as his most infamous character with Henry Thomas, Olivia Hussey and CCH Pounder all providing fantastic support. It's a bit underrated this one.

Rating: 7 out of 10 

My Review of Immaculate (2024)

 

Written by Andrew Lobel

Directed by Michael Mohan

Sister Cecelia: "I know God saved me for a reason but I'm still searching for what that reason is."

Time for a religious experience. I'm sure this film won't be unsettling at all. Well, that a brief hope but then we had an opening scene where poor Sister Mary (Simona Tabosa) got buried alive for trying to escape a Roman Catholic convent. That scene alone was the tip of the brutalness we'd get here.

For the main focus pivoted around a young nun named Cecelia (Sydney Sweeney). An American nun who was brought to the same Roman Catholic convent that Sister Mary failed to escape from. For Sister Cecelia, she was about to undergo one hellish experience throughout the movie.

The experience being a mysterious pregnancy and one that Father Sal Tedeschi (Alvaro Morte) would take an overt interest. During the first half of this movie he appeared to be an ally to Cecelia, sympathetically listening to what drove her into the church in the first place but then, Cecelia's miraculous pregnancy changed everything at the convent.

There was fellow Sister Isabelle (Guilia Heathfield Di Renzi) trying to murder Cecelia and berating the latter for being chosen instead of her while poor Sister Gwen (Benedetta Porcaroli) also paid the price for trying to warn about the strange goings on. Of course, for Cecelia, it'd only get worse.

With her health getting worse, nuns dying around her and a conveniently placed warning via 2 Corinthians 11: 14, it turned out that Cecelia's pregnancy was more planned than divine intervention. I mean, not that much of a shocker but for poor Cecelia, finding out that she was a pawn in a much larger scheme wasn't what she was hoping for.

The idea of the convent using nuns to try and bring about the next messiah was delightfully demented as an idea. No wonder Cecelia ended up snapping as she ended up killing Deacon Enzo (Giuseppe Lo Piccolo), the Mother Superior (Dora Romano) and of course, the mastermind himself, Tedeschi while the birth scene itself and how Cecelia dealt with the "miracle" ended this movie on a dicey note.

- Sydney Sweeney auditioned for this movie a decade ago, it didn't work out back then and a few years ago she got a director and the movie made.

- The movie literally has it's own "twin movie" with The First Omen, which came out the same month and with the same idea.

- Standout music: Carol Of The Bells and Ave Maria, the latter used in an unsettling way.

- Chronology: I initially thought this was going to be a movie set in the past but a few incidents did indicate it was a present day story.

Immaculate made for a rather creepy look into religious horror, evoking a seemingly forgotten subgenre of film while giving a stellar performance from Sydney Sweeney and good scares and gore. However the third act/trimester did feel a tad rushed but other than that, I liked this one.

Rating: 8 out of 10

My Review of Psycho III (1986)

 

Written by Charles Edward Pogue

Directed by Anthony Perkins 

Sheriff Hunt: "Why, Norman, why? Good God son. You'll never get out again. We're gonna have you locked up forever."

Norman: "But I'll be free. I'll finally be free."

Following the events of the previous movie, any hope for Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins) to be rehabilitated had gone out the window. He had relapsed and murdered Emma Spool (Claudia Bryar) and was keeping her body like he had done with his mother beforehand.

On top of that, he had more threats coming out of the woodwork. Emma's disappearance had been noted and none more than by journalist Tracy Venable (Roberta Maxwell), who seemed determined to prove that Norman was bad again. Unfortunately for Norman, she wasn't the only problem he had to face in this movie.

Norman also had to deal with the slippery wannabe musician Duane Duke (Jeff Fahey) who charmed himself into Norman's good graces by getting a job at the motel but then also teamed up with Tracy to stab him in the back. Duane however overplayed his hand when he realised that Norman didn't respond well to blackmail.

With two foils for Norman, there was also the fallen nun Maureen Coyle (Diana Scarwid). Yes, she looked too much like Marion Crane and there was certainly a point to that too. It also didn't take too long for Norman to fall in love with her, sleep with her as well as save her from a suicide attempt.

Norman's love story with Maureen certainly presented a new element to the character but his issues towards women and sex were further compounded by his mother's influence on him. Needless to say, it didn't end well for Maureen and it nearly didn't end well for Tracy either, until Norman broke his mother's hold on him.

The last scene where he was arrested by Sheriff Hunt (Hugh Gillin) seemed more like a victory for Norman where he admitted to finally being free. Also the movie's decision to reverse the Emma Spool revelation from the last one was a wise decision.

- Anthony Perkins made his director debut with this movie. He'd only direct one more prior to his death. He wanted it in black and white but Universal said no.

- Was it me or did the opening scene feel like a homage to The Exorcist? I thought I was watching the wrong movie at first.

- The last movie for Virginia Gregg who played Norma Bates in the first three movies.

- Chronology: A month has passed since the events of the second movie.

Psycho III certainly did it's best to keep up the momentum from the last one and I did appreciate the continuity from it. It's not quite as strong but in spite of his technical inexperience, I think Anthony Perkins did a decent job pulling double duty here.

Rating: 6 out of 10 

My Review of Baby Reindeer (2024)

 

Written by Richard Gadd

Directed by Weronika Tofilska And Josephine Bornebusch

Donny: "Ladies and gentlemen, this is, uh, my stalker. Say hello to Martha."

Ah, Netflix. This month you spoil us with two shows focusing on male protagonists and very different ones too. While Ripley revelled in a cold and chilling turn with a murderous main character, this show went in a darker route without murder on the table.

The premise seemed simple. You had aspiring comedian Donny Dunn (Richard Gadd) working in a pub where one day he showed a bit of kindness to a sad woman named Martha Scott (Jessica Gunning). It was a kindness that Donny would soon regret when Martha would become fixated with him, a fixation that got extreme as the seven part series progressed.

Throughout the series, we saw Donny both try to fend off Martha's volatile advances while somewhat being fascinated by her obsession with him. However with Martha revealed as a lawyer with a history of stalking and a better knowledge of the law that Donny, it was hard for the latter to get the authorities to take his plight seriously. That's often the most frustrating but realistic part of this series.

Martha's obsession with Donny not only had him suffer but the loved ones around him. Throughout the series we get to see his relationships with an ex girlfriend named Keeley (Shalom Brune-Franklin) and her mother, Liz (Nina Sosanya) as well as his parents, Gerry (Mark Lewis Jones) and Elle (Amanda Root) and the effect Martha's reign of terror would have on them as well.

A big relationship that was emphasised was Donny's relationship with a transwoman named Teri (Nava Mau). It's a beautiful relationship, sadly marred by Martha's presence but also one where Donny got some insight into his bisexuality. There's a gorgeously written coming out scene that Donny had with his parents in the last episode, coupled by a funny moment where Gerry encouraged his son to win Teri back. 

The highlight of the series though came at some of the most brutal moments and they stemmed from Donny being mentored by TV writer Darrien (Tom Goodman-Hill), with the former being sexually assaulted by the latter. There's a scene where Donny broke down at a competition and went into painful, raw detail about his attack to a moved crowd that might contain one of the best performances I've seen in a long time.

By the time the series came to its conclusion, Donny's life had gotten better through getting work and Martha being charged for her relentless harassment of him and his loved ones but the end scene. That scene really added a very complicated sting to a compelling series.

- The series was largely based on Richard Gadd's own experience with a stalker. I did like how he's talked about giving Martha layers as a character.

- The title for the show got explained in the finale. It involved Martha having a toy Reindeer that gave her comfort as a child.

- Donny gave Martha a cup of tea as well as free diet Coke when she visited the Harp. A barman gave Donny a free double Vodka and Coke.

- At least two of the episodes have the link www.wannatalkaboutit.com 

- Throughout the episodes, there's a lot of emails shown onscreen between Donny and Martha.

- Chronology: August 2015 to March 2017, detailing Martha's obsession with Donny. Edinburgh and London based.

Baby Reindeer might easily be the best series of 2024 so far and there's still eight months left in the year. Star making performances from Richard Gadd and Jessica Gunning along with an unflinching look into stalking, mental health, sexual assault and coming to terms with sexuality, this show's an absolute must see.

Rating: 10 out of 10

My Review of Psycho II (1983)

 

Written by Tom Holland 

Directed by Richard Franklin

Norman: "I don't kill people anymore."

I've been meaning to rewatch this series and review the sequels for a while. Advance warning: I actually dig sequels to a movie that didn't need them in the first place. It's largely down to Anthony Perkins of course. 

Over twenty years after the events of the first movie, a seemingly rehabilitated Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins) has been released from the asylum and needless to say, he's got quite the battle ahead of him. It's a battle from different sides.

For Norman, there's an effort on his part to atone for his actions by working in a diner and it's there where Norman struck up an unlikely friendship with young waitress Mary Samuels (Meg Tilly). Perhaps he saw Mary as a means of amending what he did to Marion all those years ago.

However in spite of his best intentions to get on with his life, others weren't so keen on letting him be. Former motel manager Warren Toomey (Dennis Franz) went out of way to antagonise Norman and later ended up dead as a result and worse than that, Norman was both seeing and getting phone calls from his "mother", which did a number on his sanity.

Of course the main reveals from this sequel came in pairs. First of all, it was disgruntled Lila Loomis (Vera Miles) who was behind Norman's distress for most of this movie along with the reveal of Mary being her daughter. Mary felt bad about her part in Norman's downward spiral but it came at a massive to both of them.

As for the real big twist. No, it wasn't Norman eventually snapping and reverting back to his dependency on his mother. Instead it was the reveal of Emma Spool (Claudia Bryar) being supposedly Norman's real mother and the actual killer in this movie. I'm not sure I liked that reveal in itself but the aftermath of it certainly ended the movie on a macabre note that worked for me.

- The book Psycho II came out a year before this movie was released with an entirely different plot and outcome for Norman.

- Anthony Perkins son, Oz played a younger version of Norman during the movie as well.

-  This sequel would've been a TV movie had they not gotten Anthony Perkins to play Norman Bates again.

- Chronology: 22 years since the events of the first Psycho movie. Sam Loomis died between movies.

Psycho II easily could've been a disastrous sequel but it more than acquitted itself. Both Anthony Perkins and Meg Tilly (who apparently didn't get along) are excellent and play off each other so well. There's a tragedy in Norman trying his hardest to be good, nearly succeeding and slipping back to his old ways. 

Rating: 8 out of 10 

My Review of American Horror Story: Delicate - Little Gold Man

 

Written by Halley Feiffer 

Directed by Jennifer Lynch 

Siobhan (to Anna): "Congratulations. Go get that high road, baby."

After last week's episode, I was hoping this would have a bit more bite to it and it kind of ... didn't.  Awards season really came and went and speaking of the latter, the timing of Anna going into labour certainly worked out. Just not for her.

Of course this was another episode where the strangest of things was happening to Anna, people kept warning her that she was in danger and she made no effort to try and prepare herself. The Oscars stuff fell surprisingly flat with Anna predictably winning for The Auteur after she effectively sold her baby to Siobhan.

Speaking of Siobhan, we're eight episodes in and the most interesting thing happened with her here and funnily, it didn't involve Anna. Instead, it involved a trip back in time where she had a similar relationship to Mia Farrow that she had with Anna in the present day. The movie she worked with Mia will not shock in the slightest. After all this season has largely been riffing off that movie in particular.

When Anna wasn't selling her baby to Siobhan and going into labour, she made an effort to try and seek out Ms. Preacher after the latter disrupted Virginia's funeral. Not that much came out of it as Preacher ended up being taken away by the women.

Fortunately, Anna's confrontation with Cora fared a bit better. Cora revealed as Anna's stalker but not actually involved with the women and Dr Hill was a bit surprising. Cora being Dex's mistress was a tad disappointing but of course, Dex had to be a cheater. This season definitely hasn't portrayed any of the male characters positively.

Anyways with Oscar wins, more crazy hallucinations and Siobhan and the women circling in on Anna, I'm definitely ready for this season to wrap up. I do have a feeling though the ending might quite deliver as it should do. I hope I'm wrong.

- In the opening flashback we saw Mia Farrow, Frank Sinatra, Roman Polanski and Sharon Tate. Mia was filming Rosemary's Baby.

- The Academy Awards presenter who gave Anna her win was Hamish Linklater. He's the husband of series alumni Lily Rabe, who the show needs to get back next season.

- Anna hallucinated seeing black skin on her legs as well as both Babette and her mother at the Oscars.

- No Ivy, Sonia, Nicolette, Talia or Kamal in this episode.

- Crass of Dex being the one to get Cora the apartment next door as well as giving her access to spy on him and Anna.

- Chronology: 1967 Manhattan in flashbacks and 2024 in the present day. Anna's thirty weeks pregnant.

Little Gold Man did feel like a step down after the brilliant previous episode. Overall, I'm not confident this season will be a fan favourite, even in retrospect and I worry the finale will be a letdown. I hope that's not the case.

Rating: 6 out of 10 

My Review of Mary & George: "War"

 

Written by D.C. Moore And Laura Grace

Directed by Florian Cossen 

King James (to George): "An old fool's lust blinded me, but now I see. You're the traitor."

It's been seven episodes but I went the slow path and chose to watch this on a weekly basis. I think that was a good decision. This finale certainly brought things to a fiery ending for both George and King James.

Their relationship had effectively soured between episodes with James in isolation in the woods and George getting a bit too big for his boots and acting like the King himself. That of course would backfire on him here. Sadly for George, not everyone shared his ambition.

Trying to get Charles married to the Spanish Princess came to a screeching halt this week and George only made the situation worse. He pretty much exaggerated to Charles why the marriage wouldn't go ahead and he effectively declared war on Spain in the King's. Of course, Mary tried to step in to save the monster she created but it was definitely a case of too little and too late.

George would no longer listen to her and her attempts to manipulate the King were initially countered by George fucking him in the woods. Then word of war with Spain got out and whatever hold George had on the King was gone in an instant. James had quite the wake up call. He even stripped George of his titles but before he could put his lover to death, things went badly for the King.

Yes, George proved that power always meant more than any loyalty to the King. George didn't hold back on killing King James and he almost got away with it. Given the amount of lives that George ruined in his mother's (and his own) quest for power, there's a suitable irony in his death coming a very unexpected person. 

As for Mary, she didn't quite suffer as much as the King or her son, but it's clear that Sandie's death affected more than she wanted to admit, along with knowing that George had a part in it. That and her inability to get the King back on side and her son's demise. Whatever she achieved definitely came with a hefty price overall.

- Sir Francis Bacon was missing his nose and had the stench of death. Mary saw that as enough reason not to kill him.

- George's second child was born shortly before his own demise while him and Charles were likened to brothers.

- George had flashbacks of various men and women he fucked over the years during this episode.

- Chronology: The series ended with 1628, marking George's death.

War marked a very strong ending for the series. Throughout these seven episodes, Julianne Moore, Nicholas Galitzine and Tony Curran delivered with their performances and didn't put a foot wrong. I had a great time with this show.

Rating: 8 out of 10

My Review of Venom (2018)

Written by Jeff Pinkner And Scott Rosenberg And Kelly Marcel

Directed by Ruben Fleischer

Eddie: "All right, fine, I'm sorry. So, what do you want to do now?"

Venom: "The way I see it, we can do whatever we want."

With the MCU having their way with everyone's favourite Web slinger and Tom Holland proving successful in that role, of course Sony weren't going to sit back and let the rest of the IP do nothing. This line of thinking has been a blessing and a curse for them.

With Sony garnering success with Miles Morales in the Spiderverse movies, for live action,  the idea was to play around with some of Peter Parker's known villains turned antiheroes for ideas. Starting with one of his biggest rivals made sense.

Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy) was a smart mouth journalist who rubbed people up the wrong way but seemed to have the charm to fall back on. He also had a loving girlfriend named Anne Weying (Michelle Williams) but when Eddie pissed off the wrong guy aka, Carlton Drake (Riz Ahmed), his relationship with Anne soon ended.

Eddie's mistrust of Drake however ended up being justified as the latter had found an alien parasite from space and he wasted no time callously using unwitting subjects to experiment on with it. One of the parasites named Venom attached itself to Eddie when Drake's scientist Dora Skirth (Jenny Slate) let him investigate the Life Foundation. Needless to say, this was where the movie picked up.

Eddie's symbiotic relationship with Venom definitely provided a source of comedy, battle of wits, a team up with Anne and her new man, Dr Dan Lewis (Reid Scott) and of course, the wrath of a very annoyed Drake. Oh and when Eddie wasn't trying to calm Venom's almost insatiable appetite, there was also another parasite named Riot that took control of Drake with similar results.

While this movie certainly has the entertainment factor, it's the big battle where things went off the rails. Carlton Drake isn't particularly intimidating to begin and his possession of Riot isn't as well thought out as it could've been. The fights between Venom and Riot alone are surprisingly rushed in a rather flat third act. 

On the plus side, once the big fight was dealt with, Eddie managed to get back into Anne's good grace and strike a compromise with his new best friend. We even got a scene where the pair help snarky convenience store owner, Mrs Chen (Peggy Lu) from getting robbed without killing. 

- Mid credit scene had Eddie make a prison visit to serial killer Cletus Kasady (Woody Harrelson) who promised "Carnage".

- Post credit sequence was a long clip for Spider-Man: Into The Spiderverse. 

- Stan Lee had a brief cameo near the end of the movie, walking g a dog and talking to Eddie.

- John Jameson (Chris O'Hara) appeared at the start of the movie to introduce the symbiote into things.

- Standout music: Enimem's Venom and Pusha T's No Problem.

- Chronology: There's a six month time jump during the movie.

Venom definitely has an entertaining factor that for the most along with a lively lead performance from Tom Hardy does carry this movie more than it should. The third act is a letdown with Riot being a poor counter villain and the love story with Anne does feel a tad tacked on. Saying that, the fun factor does outweigh logic gaps and certain creative choices.

Rating: 7 out of 10

My Review of Scoop (2024)

 

Written by Peter Moffat And Geoff Bussetil

Directed by Philip Martin

Prince Andrew: "If I do an interview, the question is, why you?"

Sam: "With respect, you know how people see you."

Prince Andrew: "Spell it out."

Sam: "Randy Andy."

After six seasons of The Crown, I guess Netflix's appetite for Royal Family wasn't sated enough. So, came this movie where the public downfall (but not really) for Prince Andrew (Rufus Sewell) came to the forefront.

If the poster was anything to go by, you'd almost think that BBC newsreader Emily Maitlis (Gillian Anderson) was going to be the central figure of this movie or even the disgraced Andrew himself. Nope, instead the film quickly established that TV producer Sam McAllister (Billie Piper) was really the main character of this piece.

Sam's a single mother and a determined career woman. When she's not getting the interviews and stories that others aren't, she's confiding in her mother, Netta (Amanda Redman) about her worries while also noticing that her son Lucas (Zach Colton) has a crush on a girl a class above him. However the main emphasis for Sam here of course was her job.

A job that she's great at but at the same time, her determination rubbed certain co-workers like Freddy (Jordan Kouame) the wrong way. Saying that with a contact like Jae (Connor Swindells) in New York, Sam soon realised that the story between Prince Andrew and his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein (Colin Wells) was going to hit the fan.

Sam's determining got her a meeting with Andrew's private secretary Amanda Thirsk (Keeley Hawes) and once, Epstein's home had been raided, Sam had the upper hand in getting Andrew into agreeing with the BBC Newsnight interview with Emily Maitlis. Needless to say, an interview that wouldn't benefit the grubby Prince either.

There's a masterclass of acting between Gillian Anderson and Rufus Sewell during the big interview itself. An interview that undid whatever good will Andrew had with the public while also redefining both McAllister and Maitlis's careers. Both women really exposed a monster in quite a public fashion.

- The movie was based on McAllister's book, Scoops: Behind the Scenes of the BBC's Most Shocking Interviews. 

- Amazon will have their own counter to this movie with upcoming miniseries A Very Royal Scandal. Emily Maitlis will be an executive producer for that.

- Billie Piper's wig for playing Sam McAllister cost over £11,000, which was ludicrous.

- Chronology: Started in 2010, New York with the majority of the film in 2019 and the interview taking place on November 16th.

Scoop delivered some strong performances from all four leads but if I'm honest, it's Billie Piper who well and truly delivered the most. It's her central performance that does anchor the whole thing long before the big moment appeared.

Rating: 8 out of 10