Tag: E4

Crazyhead: Beaver With a Chainsaw – Balls Out Together (Review)

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Crazyhead “Beaver With a Chainsaw” (“What does that even mean,” asks Amy.) is the very short season’s finale.  Raquel does indeed open the gates of Hell releasing a legion of demons.  Amy saves the day, along with a little help from Mercy, and Jake is possessed. By the time the end credits roll, however, the two demon hunters are back together; extendible batons at the ready.

In the last episode, Raquel learns that Harry is actually a demon and that Dr. Weaver is the big leader of all the escapees from Hell.  Amy tries to warn her friend and even threatens to get Tyler; Raquel’s brother,  involved to keep the “key to Hell” from going to see Harry.

Raquel drugs everyone and as they play Jinga on Halloween, Tyler, Jake and Amy collapse and pass out. (Tyler loses the Jinga game by knocking over the wooden tower with his head as he passes out.) Amy wakes up and gets Jake to drive after Raquel.

Both of her potential saviors are colossally messed up from the combination of vodka and prescription medication. Jake insists he can drive and takes off at a snail’s pace to catch up with Raquel. After a short, but very funny, journey, they arrive in time to see Raquel being taken away.

After getting Halloween costumes, in order to blend in at the big party and Hell gate opening, they chase after Raquel again.

At the mansion, Callum is gloating about releasing a legion of demons. Raquel asks for, and gets, a cigarette. Immediately after lighting it, she shoves the lit end into Dr. Weaver’s ear. “Can we get that painkilling spray,” he asks Harry later.

Mercy is not pleased that her son is set up to be possessed by demons and while Callum and Harry get things ready, she spends a lot of time with her boy. Amy and Jake arrive and Mercy gives her a demon kiss rendering the young woman unconscious.

Raquel learns that Harry was a demon all along and her fury at being lied to creates a little meltdown action. The gates of Hell open and demons come flooding into the mansion and the innocent party goers.

Amy, who had a vision showing her dying at the Halloween party, stops Raquel’s rage fueled grief by telling her friend  she loves her. Kissing her pal causes Raquel to calm down and this closes the gates of Hell.

Callum is furious. He and Amy struggle and they plunge off the edge of the balcony. Amy, seen falling in slow motion, lands on a zombie decoration. Raquel screams her friend’s name and Amy’s eyes open. She has been saved by an inflatable zombie decoration.

The three friends leave the mansion. Jake turns out to be possessed. After a quick chase through the woods, which ends with the young man being zapped by Raquel’s taser mobile phone, Amy performs an exorcism.

Later she tells her friend that Jake is back and that he was extremely excited that she urinated on him. At the end, Suzanne – drinking what looks suspiciously like blood from a  five liter plastic bottle – watches as the two demon hunters go after their latest prey.

This was a brilliant end to the six episode season. Everything about this series worked well. From Kiwi songstress Gin Wigmore’s  Kill of the Night theme song to the raunchy, aka earthy, slang for all things sexual from Raquel, this was funny and entertaining.

The scene where everyone apart from Raquel are stoned while playing Jinga is hysterically funny. So too is the low speed chase with a loaded Jake and Amy going after Raquel. Rather interestingly, Mercy’s last moment change of heart was touching.

Misfits creator Howard Overman has given us an irreverent and amusing look at two English demon hunters who have little in common. There appears to be a good chance that the show will come back for a second season as it seems that E4 put the series on with an eye on Netflix acquiring the show.

With an ongoing mission to find all the demons that Raquel released into that mansion, the two heroines are going to be very busy for at least another six episode season.

Crazyhead is available on Netflix to stream or download for offline viewing.

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‘Crazyhead’ Episode 5: Downward Facing Dog – Namaste B*tches (Review)

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Crazyhead episode 5: “Downward Facing Dog” sees Raquel getting closer to Harry and Amy struggles to convince her friend that her new guy pal is going to attack her.  Apart from her prophetic dream showing that Harry is not what he claims to be, Amy also seems to see her own death.

Amy attempts to warn Raquel about Harry but the half-demon has shut her mobile phone off.  The date goes well right up until one of Weaver’s henchmen follows Raquel into the bar’s  restroom . Harry intervenes and shoves the demon’s head into a faeces filled toilet bowl.

He then reveals that Sawyer, Raquel’s dad, sent him to protect her. Harry is a demon hunter who was friends with her father, he says. Raquel is upset at first but then forgives Harry for lying to her. They kiss in the public lavatory and he walks her home, forgetting that his car is back at the bar.

Amy and Raquel have their first real falling out over Harry after revealing that he is a demon hunter. She tells Amy everything that Harry told her but Amy insists that he is going to hurt her.

Amy insists that they should double-date. Raquel reveals that she snogged Harry’s face off in the toilets and that he attacked a demon for her.  Mercy and Weaver talk about “the plan.”

The two couples go bowling. Jake meets Tyler and is not impressed, he is also very aggressive toward Raquel’s brother.  Amy gets Harry some bowling shoes and quizzes the demon hunter.

Harry tells Raquel that Amy does not like him and she confronts Amy about her attitude.

Raquel is completely swept away by Harry and later, when Callum’s henchmen try to kill Amy, she and Harry save Jake and Amy. Harry even leaps in front of Raquel and takes a bullet for her.

The wounded demon hunter goes into hospital to recover. After Raquel goes to visit him, Callum drops by and we learn that Harry has been possessed by a demon.

Mercy seems to have second thoughts about having her child possessed by a freshly released demon from Hell.

Raquel, whose nature allows her to react rather spectacularly when use, is the key and in the rescue scene, she once again moves things about telekinetically.

The best bit of the whole episode had to be the kidnapping of Amy and Jake. Flung into the boot of a car, the two have their hands and mouth’s taped up by Callum’s henchmen.

Amy’s friend discovers a sharp piece of metal and begins struggling to cut the tape on his wrists. As he rhythmically rubs the tape against the object, it looks, and sounds, as though Jake is having sex with Amy.

Funny and awkward, it is the highlight of the episode and may just qualify as the comedic high point of the series. Show creator Howard Overman is letting his Misfits roots shine through here and it results in making this supernatural comedy horror a cut above the rest.

Crazyhead is streaming on Netflix and can be downloaded as well.  Head on over and catch this one. This series  is irreverent, funny, rude and worth every minute that one spends watching this brilliant offering from E4.

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‘Crazyhead’ Episode 4: Penguin or Cow? – Burger King (Recap/Review)

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Crazyhead Episode 4 “Penguin or Cow?” Suzanne is being held prisoner by Callum Weaver and he plans to use her to lure Amy away from Raquel. We learn more about why the half-demon girl is so important; she is a portal.

The two girls spend the night at Raquel and Tyler’s apartment since Amy does not want to stay in her flat with Suzanne missing. Raquel has two sets of pajamas; both are onesies and she offers Amy the choice of “penguin or cow” onesie.

Amy takes the penguin and goes to make them both a cup of tea. Earlier Jake professes his love for Amy who explains that the timing is a bit off at the moment. Later she and Tyler have sex. She has a prophetic dream about Suzanne and a bloke attacking Raquel.

She also wets the bed. Sneaking out she starts dressing when Raquel asks what she is doing. Amy explains that it now appears that she can tell the future and that she wet the bed.

Tyler comes out of his room with the soiled bedding and Amy lies saying that the sex was so good that it caused her to wet the bed.

Amy and Raquel get Jake to take them to single mum/demon Mercy’s house so they can question her. The girls send Jake back to the car and go into Mercy’s house. She is there with her son and she is baking muffins.

Raquel comes up with Mercy who is putting her son to be and Amy stays to take out the burnt muffins. Mercy knocks Raquel down the stairs and Amy goes up to get the demon.

Mercy wins out over Amy but not until after she stabs the demon with a model jet plane. She also tries to strangle Mercy with a toy snake. The demon escapes and heads over to Weaver’s house.

She learns of his plans to remove Amy from the equation and that they need Raquel to open the gates of Hell. He also explains that he never reveals his demon face as a sign of self control. Instead, Callum says, he beats someone to death and releases all his frustration that way.

Callum brings Suzanne a meal, an innocent bystander picked up at Burger King by his henchmen. “That’s why you shouldn’t go to Burger King,” says Callum. Amy’s roommate holds off as long as she can but caves in and calls Amy giving her the address where she is being held.

The head demon then takes out her “takeaway” meal and snaps the lad’s neck. He wants Suzanne good and hungry for when Amy shows up.

Raquel, Jake and Amy go to rescue Suzanne. They split up and Amy goes to rescue Suzanne. They go into the lift (elevator) and Callum’s demons shut the electric off, trapping the ravenous Suzanne and Amy on the fourth floor.

Jake and Raquel try to open the lift doors and Amy cuts herself so that Suzanne can feed.  The demons turn the electric back on and the lift goes back to the top floor.

Suzanne leaps from the opened door. Grabbing the waiting demon she takes them both out of the 12th floor window. They both die and part of Amy’s dream has come true. The second part, where Harry attacks Raquel has yet to happen.

Harry has tracked Raquel down to her flat and calls her for a date. Raquel agrees and Amy sees Harry from the window. She rushes downstairs to warn Raquel but she is too late.

So far Crazyhead continues to be that perfect blend of “Misfits” irreverence and comic horror. Tony Curran is still the master at downplaying his role as the demon leader. (Such as change from his character on Defiance. Cara Theobald and Susan Wokoma are the perfect double act and Lu Corfield is just brilliant as Mercy.

The comedy still verges on the rude and crude, the whole “portal to Hell is Raquel’s vagina” was hysterical. (As was the “would you rather it be her arsehole?”)

The dynamic between all the characters is spot on and the “love triangle” between Tyler, Jake and Amy is amusing.  It looks like Jake may be left out in the cold after Amy’s inadvertent affair with Raquel’s brother Tyler.

It looks like Raquel may be in danger with Harry and Amy will have to pull out all the stops to help her new friend.

Crazyhead is streaming on Netflix and can also be downloaded to watch offline. All six episodes are available right now.

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Crazyhead: Shave the Cat – Keep Smiling (Recap/Review)

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 Crazyhead episode 3 “Shave the Cat” sees things carry on with Suzanne back from the dead. She has a snuggle with Amy and a new character is introduced while the demon hunters, plus Jake, take their newly returned from the dead mate camping.

Amy rings Raquel to tell her that Suzanne has returned.  Getting the message late, means Amy spends the night with Suzanne breathing on her neck. Raquel reveals that Suzanne is now a blood sucking monster who will kill Amy if she gets the chance.

Meanwhile Suzanne gets a call from her boyfriend. She heads over and before Amy and Raquel can get there, kills the poor chap and is busily drinking his blood when the duo arrive.

The two enlist Jake’s help, he has a car (and a canoe), to take them all to a cabin in the woods. Along the way, the girls stop off and buy some guinea pigs for Suzanne to eat/drink their blood.

Jake chats with Suzanne while the girls are getting the snacks and he asks what dying was like. She tells him is was very hot, dark and that she liked it. The cabin belonged to Sawyer who warned Raquel that other demons would be after her.

The leader, she tells Amy, is a real “bell end,” apparently. As the girls split up, Raquel to find a mobile phone signal and Amy to watch after Suzanne, The “bell end” aka Dr. Weaver, turns up at Tyler’s flat looking for his sister Raquel.

Weaver learns that Raquel and Amy are in Lymebridge. He sends his demon helper up to get them and tells him if he fails, that he will feed his genitals to the badgers.

On top of a hill, Raquel finds a signal and bumps into Harry. She takes out her collapsible baton and demands to know who he is and why he is there. He explains that it is the only place where you can get a phone signal.

After some uneasy conversation, they agree to share the hill. At night, the group get settled by the fire and Jake tells a scary story that he has to explain.  Suzanne reveals that on a school trip Amy slept with the geography teacher.

Harry and Raquel start to bond and they meet on the hill. Later, Raquel goes missing and Suzanne talks Jake into letter her lose so she can go to the toilet. Suzanne arrives at Harry’s tent and comes close to attacking him

Raquel gets there in time to save her new friend. She then catches up with Suzanne and tries to zap her with her taser. The batteries have gone flat and Suzanne starts to drink Raquel’s blood. The demons that Callum sent to Lymebridge arrive and knock Suzanne out.

Amy finds Raquel unconscious and Suzanne missing. The two girls talk about the demon saving them and begin to think they may not be all bad after all.

Weaver has Suzanne in his flat. She is tied up and the head demon has a bloke tied to a chair across from her. The chap is, Callum says, Suzanne’s breakfast.  He wants Amy’s former flatmate to help him get rid of Amy.

This episode had less in the way of comedy and concentrated on moving the story forward. There is still a good bit about the episode that was amusing though.

Jake’s story, which would, admittedly, be pretty scary if the circumstances were different was funny. The meeting between Harry and Raquel was  amusing as well.

Curran, despite having limited screen time, is killing it as the big bad and the two women continue to have brilliant chemistry onscreen.

Crazyhead is streaming on Netflix and can be downloaded to watch as well. This is a cracking little series from E4 and well worth watching, either one episode at a time or all at once. Check it out.

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The Inbetweeners 2 (2014) Australian Adventures in Gormlessness

Poster for The Inbetweeners 2
It may not be as well known on this side of the pond, but The Inbetweeners is a bit of television gold, no…platinum. Featuring the adventures of a group of lads who bring a whole new meaning to the term gormless, the show ran from 2008 to 2010 and made stars of Simon Bird, James Buckley, Blake Harrison and Joe Thomas. Produced by the E4 network, a part of channel four, the show was an instant hit and spawned first one, then two films.

Fans of the show are again treated to the misadventures of Will, Neil, Jay and Simon aka Si. The last film had the boys heading to Malia in Cyprus, Simon was chasing the love of his life Carley and the rest of the lads acted normally, or gorm-ally.

This time round, the girl that Simon found to replace Carley in the first film has now turned into the girlfriend from hell. She cuts his hoodies off and is smothering him. Jay, according to a grinder message he sends Neil, is living it large in Australia. He claims to get “a blowie from a different bird every morning” in his spacious mansion. He is known as DJ Big Penis and runs his own club. He invites Neil to visit.

Will, Simon and Neil decide to head down under. Simon wants to get away from Luci and Will can’t stand the thought of being at university with a group of people who constantly make fun of him. Once there Will bumps into an old junior school friend, female, who is delighted to see him. She talks him into hanging with her group of friends and Will turns his back on Jay, Simon and Neil.

The first thing the lads learn is that Jay, is still Jay after all. His mansion is a two-man tent, he works in the toilet at the nightclub and there are no birds in the morning. He is staying in his uncle’s front garden and the man is an Aussie version of Jay’s dad back in England, in a word; insufferable.

We follow the lads as they bumble their way through many social settings. It could be said that the sequel to The Inbetweeners Movie, is pretty much a copy of the first one, four English inept lads in a foreign country. The gags in the film however, are a bit closer to the bone than the first one.

There is a riff, or homage, on the Babe Ruth scene in Caddyshack, except this is no candy bar and the payoff is much more disgusting. It is, however, very very funny. One laughs in horrified glee while simultaneously gagging at the sight. There are a number of ‘R’ rated moments, a set of bollocks hanging down at a pub, along with a dog licking them, and a urine scene towards the end that is grossly funny.

The Inbetweeners 2 is amusing and entertaining. However, the humor is tinged with sadness. We feel that this will be the last time Will, Jay, Neil and Simon will crease us up with their antics. The film felt a little hollow somehow. Perhaps it was seeing James Buckley in the 2014 horror movie The Pyramid. He played a bit more of a grownup in that feature, he was a cameraman and never once said “clunge”

He never said it in The Inbetweeners 2 film either. It was as though Jay, the part James plays in the show and the films, was an imitation and not the real thing. Sort of how the film itself felt. The whole thing felt more like a imitation of the original, addictive humor of the TV show. Despite the the bollocks jokes and the fecal funnies.

Still, fans of the show will find this entertaining, if not a bit disappointing since Carley is not in it, “beep, beeb, beep, beep.” Despite this shortcoming, made up a bit with the appearance of Will’s mum with Mr. Gilbert, a sight that leads her son to declare that they have all died and gone to hell, Edith Head was missed.

A good solid 4 out of 5 for this last visit with the boys and anyone who disagrees is a “Bumda!

2 June 2015

Michael Knox-Smith

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