Category: Entertainment

Death in Paradise Season 13

Death in Paradise Season 13 finished with a bit of a whimper.
Death In Paradise s12,06-01-2023,Generics,Generics,(L-R) Darlene Curtis (GINNY HOLDER), Marlon Pryce (TAHJ MILES), DI Neville Parker (RALF LITTLE), Naomi Thomas (SHANTOL JACKSON), Commisioner Selwyn Patterson (DON WARRINGTON), Catherine Bordey (ELIZABETH BOURGINE),Red Planet Pictures,Denis Guyenon

Death in Paradise Season 13 finished with a bit of a whimper. Neville finally chooses the right path. After vacillating about just who he is in love with, the DI picks DS Cassell (Joséphine Jobert) to be his partner. The couple then leave St Marie to travel the world.

Together.

Wait how many

A little bit of shifting around took place, while Florence waited for Neville to make up his mind. Marlon gets a job in Jamaica so he can watch over his little sister. And while Cassell first shows up as a familiar face, it was not long before another “blast from the past” Officer Dwayne Myers Danny John-Jules makes an appearance.

Another face from previous seasons also arrives in Jamaica to give the commissioner a hand getting Marlon hired on. JP Hooper (Tobi Bakare) appears in a “blink and you’ll miss him” cameo.

Season 13 had one other arrival from a previous season. Zoe arrives to see if she can breathe some life into the failed relationship with Neville. She arrives just as DS Cassell returns to the tropic island.

Sailing into the sunset

While Death in Paradise does not exactly allow both Marlon and the new couple Parker and Florence to sail off into the sunset, this trio does leave. DI Parker takes on his most baffling case. He manages to solve the missing passenger issue and then goes on to decide just where he and Cassell stand. Marlon heads to Jamaica and now we must wait to see who the new DI will be.

Pundits favour Simon Bird and from the outside looking in, he does seem a perfect fit. There have been no signs of a deal here, but he would make a refreshing change from four seasons of Ralf Little. Don’t get me wrong, he was alright in the role, but he did somewhat overstay his welcome.

hello I must be going

Throughout the 13 seasons of Death in Paradise each time a new Detective Inspector arrived, he left rather quickly. Ben Miller, the first and, arguably, the best detective on the island, was murdered in the first episode of season 3. So it was exit stage left, feetfirst.

Kris Marshall flew in to solve his predecessor’s murder and hung around from season 3 to season 6. I will admit to having a bit of prejudice with Marshall. He was brilliant in My Family and darn near stole Love Actually as the overly optimistic Brit who came to America for the birds.

Ardal O’Hanlon was next. Another favorite first spotted in the splendid comedy Father Ted. He lasted from season 6 to 9. His replacement was Ralf Little who just left the series.

All this movement of good actors who each brought something to their role felt a bit like the Groucho Marx song from Animal Crackers (1930) “Hurrah for Captain Spaulding.” They were no sooner settled than they had to leave.

*Video courtesy of Catherine Thompson via YouTube*

One thing is certain however, whether Simon Bird gets the nod to be the next DI or not, Death in Paradise may well continue for quite a while. American viewers can watch the show via Britbox – all the seasons and on Pluto TV seasons 1 through 6.

Death in Paradise may have let DI Parker exit softly with the love of his life, but the final episode was an interesting take on the “locked room” scenario. And that whimper, was really just a romantic gesture after all.

Them: The Scare – Goosebumps Time

Them: The Scare Goosebumps Time

I completely missed the first season of Them. But Them: The Scare? Season 2? Goosebumps time! This second season had me literally on the edge of my seat. From the first murder, I was hooked and not once did this series let me go.

There are not many horror scenarios that can make me breakout into marching gooseflesh, but Them: The Scare has done this effortlessly. Right up to episode 5, the show creator Little Marvin. has kept the jumps and shivers coming. The ability to populate your show with believable characters who have to interact with nightmarish elements is rare. Little Marvin has created a world that feels both real and unreal simultaneously.

Synopsis

Them: The Scare is set against the backdrop of Rodney King. His beating, by several Los Angeles police officers was captured on a man’s brand new video camera. It was not long after that the city was engulfed in riots and civil unrest. It is this unrest that serves to mount the supernatural tensions at the forefront of the second season.

LAPD Homicide Detective Dawn Reeve, played to perfection by Deborah Ayorinde, catches a gruesome homicide case in the first episode. She is reluctantly partnered with Detective Ronald McKinney (Jeremy Bobb). *Side note: If ever there was an actor with the proclivity to portray an absolute arsehat, it is Bobb. Kudos to the casting department for this one.

As the pair are working the disturbing case, we are privy to the creepy want to be actor Edmund Gaines, another expertly portrayal by actor Luke James.

Suddenly there is another murder, staged almost exactly the same as the first and Them: The Scare accelerates accordingly.

The Cast

Everyone on this show have brought their “A” game to the table. Pam Grier plays the detective’s mother. Another familiar face spotted on the show is that of Wayne Knight. He plays Reeve’s boss and he, like McKinney, is not a scion of propriety. Lt Schiff holds grudges. The amount of quality players in this slice of horror is impressive:

Binge worthy but with all lights on

Them: The Scare is definitely binge worthy, but with all the lights on and with your back up against a nice safe wall. Unlike the first season, this time around there are only eight episodes. I am currently at episode 5; midway through this episode. With only three more to go, viewing the rest of the series will be done during daylight hours.

Mirrors covered.

Facing the door.

Move over Ryan Murphy. There is a new scaremeister in town.

The trailer

Infested: French Arachnophobia on Speed

Infested: French Arachnophobia on Speed.

The French horror film Infested is like Arachnophobia on speed and without the laughs. It also owes a little to the all out comedy horror; Eight Legged Freaks. This 2023 offering takes itself very seriously. Infested AKA Vermines also takes a bit from Attack the Block, lower income types living on the edge of legality.

Synopsis

A group of men gas a hole in the desert to retrieve live spiders. The little rascals are uber aggressive. One of the men moves too slowly and is attacked. The others capture as many of the spiders as they can. These arachnids will be sold.

Caleb (Théo Christine) shares his late mother’s flat with his sister Manon, played by Lisa Nyarko. He loves all creatures that are exotic in nature. She wants to renovate the flat. Caleb gets one of the spiders and adds it to his collection.

He promises the new arrival a new “5 star” home. Caleb never swears, loves his menagerie and sells “name” trainers, sneakers, from his lock up in the apartment building basement. He goes to confront Manon about turning off the heat lamps needed for his collection.

The spider escapes.

The spider kills its first victim. Police quarantine the building and remove the dead body. The rapidly spreading spider population now have a smorgasbord to feast on.

behind the scenes

Infested was co-written and directed by Sébastien Vanicek (His partner in scribe was Florent Bernard.) and was Vanicek’s first feature length effort. Alexandre Jamin was the cinematographer and his shots were all tight adding a certain amount of claustrophobia to each frame.

The editing was down to Thomas Fernandez and Nassim Gordji Tehrani and they put this tightly shot film together perfectly. The lighting and the composition of each scene sells the tension.

The CG spiders looked agreeably real and at no time are you aware of the “man behind the curtain.”

The wrap up

After a suspenseful few moments, Infested takes off like an F-16. No runway required here though as this spiderfest shoots out of the screen at the viewer. The spiders themselves do not look too unlike the common variety of garden spiders. It is their black colour and rapid growth cycle that amp up the scares.

Watching this film will make the viewer start checking for small eight legged visitors in the house or on their neck. (There is a hallway scene that will make you cringe.) The film is not on par with the 2009 French film Le Horde, zombies in a derelict apartment building, but it could be called a kissing cousin.

The film is in French and utilizes subtitles to translate the story. Those who do not mind those pesky subtitles can catch Infested on Amazon Prime via AMC+ (On Shudder.)

The trailer

Parish Episode 5: The Dead are Heavy

Parish: The dead are heavy.

Right up until Episode 5, Parish has followed a certain formula. But, this latest episode, Kumba, jumps to the front of those cliches. Dead bodies are heavy, dammit, and they show this as Gray and his cohort in crime remove a corpse from chez Parish. This one little attention to detail has made all the difference here.

Almost every cop show and other forms of televised violent action, time and again, show dead bodies being very easy to move about. Disposal is easy. Wrapping them up in a rug, or tarpaulin is not an issue at all.

Wrong.

There is a reason that the phrase “dead weight” exists. Suddenly Parish has left behind the candy floss world of television violence and struck a realistic chord with its intended audience.

The series strides forward with a new awareness.

Episode 5

This is the aftermath episode of Parish. Two men killed in Gray’s house, not by Gray, need to be removed. Meanwhile, the axis of power is being shifted. Anton Valmont (Bradley Whitford) has, he believes, cut off The Horse (Zackary Momoh) from his crown and throne. Mr. Tongai is not out just yet though.

It is also an episode that looks back at a lot of grief and pain.

Backstory

Backstory is just another name for memories. In Parish these walks down memory lane are painful. Between Gray’s reliving his past for the remaining family he has and the politician recounting how her parents came to this country, they are not joyous.

Gray is remembering things he would like to forget. Rose reveals that she has memories that are painful as well. The recording Gray receives that references Maddy’s death, brings back more pain and regret. It also makes him become proactive once again, trying to find out who killed his son.

moving forward

Gray will have to reconcile things with Mak and Rose. Before that, however, he will have to face the latest task from The Horse. We also learn the price that some newcomers to America must pay to become citizens; Kumba.

Giancarlo Esposito proves yet again that he has the chops to carry a series. He is in good company. All the actors in this episode have settled into their roles with conviction.

Parish has begun to take on a certain reality. It is odd to realise that removing a dead body could add so much gravitas to a television series. This show is streaming every Sunday on AMC and AMC+.

Dream Home (2010) Chinese Housing Horror Not For The Faint of Heart

Dream Home (Retro Review) Chinese Housing Horror
Josie Ho as Cheng Li-sheung in 2010 film Dream Home

Dream Home (2010) is a Chinese housing horror film that deserves a retro review. We warn you now: This film is not for the faint of heart. Ho-Cheung Pang co-wrote and directed this offering and it boasts the old “based on a true story,” drivel. Sure, it may well be based on true circumstances but think Coen Bros and Fargo here. It is, we think, a bit of a tease.

Pang, wrote this with Derek Tsang and Chi-Man Wan, and this may well be one of the few times that the old adage, “Too many cooks (or writers) spoil the broth,” does not apply. *By the way, Pang has no connection to the Horror Kings, Danny and Oxide Pang. While Dream Home is easily on par with the masterful creations of the brother’s Pang, Ho-Cheung is a separate entity entirely.

synopsis

Cheng Li-sheung is working hard to buy her first home in Hong Kong. The newly liberated British holding has reverted back to China. Home prices are skyrocketing and the sellers are ruthless. Li-Sheung fights to buy the home she wants while struggling to keep her family together. Her life choices include being the mistress to a married man and murder.

Background is important

Josie Ho, is an actor I noticed in The Twins Effect (2003) as the doomed first partner of a vampire killer. She struck a chord of authenticity for such a tiny cameo. Dream Home proved that she could hold her own in a starring vehicle.

Now onto background of the characters: Li-sheung has flashbacks while living her adult life. We learn of her childhood and connection to the Catholic Church. Later, when her mother dies, she appears to embrace the teachings of Buddha.

Her beloved grandfather always spoke of having a home that faced the ocean. Li-sheung has this in mind while searching for their new home.

Li-sheung’s father has cancer and the insurance policy is invalid. Her father worked as a builder and asbestos is the culprit behind his problems. She must now pay for his treatment. This leaves little left over for her dream home.

timelines are important not

Dream Home, like many other Asian films, (Most notably Takashi Shimizu‘s The Grudge.) is mostly shot out of sequence. While this may be confusing at first, eventually it will begin to make sense.

As the story unfolds, we learn just how our female protagonist learned how to live. Nothing, including sex and murder, fazes this property seeking woman. She takes it all in her stride.

the way you make me kill

Sheung kills with abandon. She dispatches victims with a variety of implements. A golf club (A driver.), a zip tie, a screwdriver, a very long and sharp kitchen knife, withholding oxygen, a hammer and, perhaps the worst of all, a vacuum storage bag. And last but not least, a pistol.

Her killing spree sees a complete dissemination of the apartment floor surrounding the home she is trying desperately to buy.

It is a seller’s market and just when she is set to buy the property, the couple who own it, back out. They want more money than she can afford.

This is the tipping point.

She sets out to get that price reduced. Amazingly, for many westerners watching this kill-fest, all this is for a high-rise apartment.

Honey this is brutal

In terms of violence and disturbing content Dream Home takes home the prize. There are scenes that are nigh on impossible to watch. The death of a pregnant woman is almost too much to take in. Josie Ho’s character takes the whole homicidal lunatic gag to the limit. Pang’s script allows this character to be so brutal that the Manson clan seem almost tame by comparison.

There are moments so graphic that it is hard to not look away. At the start of the film, we are treated to a prophetic statement about the rise of home prices in 2007 Hong Kong. It then tells us that the film is based upon a true story.

The first murder is about to begin.

its a wrap

Dream Home is easily one of the best horror films on offer anywhere. It earns a full 5 stars and it never lets up. Bouncing between murders and the backstory, we are on the edge of our seats.

There is some nudity, sex and no foul language at all. The movie does contain an incredible amount of gore and, of course, multiple murder.

This is available on AMC + and it can be rented on YouTube. Check out the trailer:

Verified by MonsterInsights