Tag: Tricia Helfer

Lucifer: Sin Eater – People Wobble and One Falls Down (Review)

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Lucifer carries on the mummy dearest theme in “Sin Eater.” The episode had a number of comic moments dealing with Charlotte/Mum.  Elly managed to get in a giggle moment or two and the Se7en type serial killer offsets the laughs this week.

The murderer turns out to be a long time censor on the new “Facebook”, called Wobble, and all the depravity on the site causes him to snap. In other word’s unlike Weeble’s, people wobble and then fall down.

Boom. Boom.

Lucifer has a lot of sly humor in this episode.  The scene where a melancholy Amenadiel is sitting amidst his fallen feathers and drinking wine was brilliant.  It set things up as the forlorn angel drowns his sorrows.

Maze arrives and starts pounding on the door. Amenadiel quickly grabs a “dust devil” portable hoover (vacuum) and begins clearing the feathers.  There cannot be many who did not expect the angel to break the fourth wall and do a “Foghorn Leghorn.”

“Fortunately I keep these numbered for just such an emergency.”

The character did not break the fourth wall but this did not stop the gag from sticking in the minds of viewers who are Looney Tunes fans.

Lucifer featured a killer that dispatched offenders through a means that fit their crime, except for the last victim.  Unlike the killer in Se7en this murderer does not tie the infractions to a biblical theme, i.e. the seven deadly sins.

The episode was interesting although it featured a distracted Chloe who focussed on the crimes and not the question of who Lucifer really is. To be fair she does get the only real standout line in the episode…Twice.

“Do not touch the charred crotch.”

Chloe’s distraction is all about the family camping trip that Trixie is looking forward to.

Charlotte continues to upset Lucifer with her experimentation with the human condition. (More comic moments.) Although there is a very touching scene where Amenadiel meets up with mum.

It has been opined that the angel is afraid of “mother” since he was the one who dragged her to Hell.  However, taking into consideration his character arc, it is more likely that Amenadiel is afraid that mum will guess his fall from grace.  She would know that those molting wings mean a very serious transgression.

The whole mum storyline is proving to be more interesting than the “crime of the week” as Charlotte tells Amenadiel to take her back to Hell. Mom hates this world and cannot understand it.

Charlotte’s helplessness in the human world is an act, at least up to a point. She wants Lucifer to “forgive her and let her stay” as punishment.  If God is a chess player he obviously practiced with Charlotte, aka Mum.

The bit at the end where the mugger attacks her only to be shoved into a wall so hard it apparently kills him, did surprise dear old mum. But how much? She is not shocked at this display of strength, just pleasantly surprised it seems.  (More along the lines of a self realization that “Mum’s still got it.”)

By the end of the episode, Dan and Chloe sort out their roles as soon to be  divorced parents.  Lucifer sentences his mum to stay on earth and live the life of Charlotte. The killer is caught, it was Ray Codfree, and Chloe actually saves Leila from being burnt to a cinder.

Kudos to Robin Givens who made the most of her role as possible suspect turned potential victim.

Woodside, Brandt and Ellis still continue to rock their roles and Helfer has proven to be a wonderful addition as Charlotte/Mum.

Notes to show creator Tom Kapinos:

More Trixie please and as Ella is becoming a firm favorite  more of her as well and can Chloe lighten up a tad?

Lucifer airs Mondays on FOX.  Tune in and see where this season heads next.

Cast:

Guest starring Robin Givens as Leila Simms and Vik Sahay as Ray Codfree

Bloodworkz aka Bloodwork (2012): The Things We Do For Money

Travis Van Winkle and Tricia Helfer in Bloodworkz
Bloodworkz, aka Bloodwork, is a 2012 horror film that could almost be seen as a cautionary tale. A look at the things we do for money; for instance taking part in drug trials for big pharmaceutical companies. Directed by Eric Wostenberg, his second time in the chair; the first being the 2005 film Sacrifice which he wrote as well, the film looks at the dire consequences of taking drug tests too far.

Starring Travis Van Winkle (Transformers, Friday the 13th), Tricia Helfer (Battlestar Galactica, Tiberium Wars), John Bregar (Kick-Ass 2, Servitude) and Joe Pingue (Drive, Pacific Rim) Bloodworkz follow a mixed group who participate in the trials of a new drug meant to deal with allergies, instead the corporation is testing a regenerative vaccine with deadly side effects. Eric Roberts is used in a tiny cameo as a bit of typecasting, he is the organization’s “cleaner.”

Two college students decide to take part, for a fee of $3,000. Greg (Van Winkle) and Ira (Bogaert) are typically cash strapped young men, Greg is the extrovert and Ira the more sensible of the two. Once the trials begin Greg zooms in on the woman running the trials Dr. Wilcox (Helfer). Another trial member, Englishman Nigel Denton (Rik Young) shows the two men around and explains about placebos. Something that will Greg will personally know about later on.

The film moves steadily towards its climax. The participants are each affected by the serum, or vaccine the same way; loss of inhibitions, a lowering of resistance to eating grotesque items and an increased resilience to injuries. As easily imagined, this ends badly for all involved and the film could be classed as a disturbing horror film. People eating rotting animals and, finally, other people as they overdose on the drug.

This US/Canadian film is not too dissimilar to the 2012 UK horror film The Facility. Like Bloodworkz/Phase One/Bloodwork/The Last Experiment, the British film deals with paid drug trials that go horrifically wrong. Starring Alex Reid (The Descent, Wilderness) and Aneurin Barnard (Citadel, Ironclad) and written/directed by Ian Clark (See No Evil, Ultimate Warfare) the film is comparable in terms of entertainment and it too can be seen as a cautionary tale.

It is odd that two films so alike came out in the same year. Rather interestingly, on IMDb, Bloodworkz just nudges past The Facility in ratings. The former getting a score of 5.1 and the latter a score of 4.7. It could well be down to a matter of taste, or that the American/Canadian film features more in the way of gratuitous nudity. The Ian Clark film also feel a bit like a docudrama as well as different side effects from the American film’s drug trials.

The two films both feature participants who change dramatically as a result of the trials, with the Brits all becoming psychotic homicidal monsters (literally becoming disfigured) versus becoming superhuman and disgusting eating machines. Each ends badly and preference is down to personal taste in the end although the ratings at IMDb make no real sense. There is nudity in the British film, for around a minute and it is non-sexual in nature. The US film features the obligatory bare boobs and gratuitous sex scene along with an attempted rape.

Both films are available on Hulu and fans of horror films should have a look at both of them. Each film is entertaining and of similar budgets although The Facility seems to have better FX overall. Fans of Alex Reid, one of the best character actresses in film and television, will appreciate her performance in the Brit film.

Bloodworkz does have Roberts in his two second cameo but not much else in terms of star power. As a horror/thriller film it ticks the boxes and provides an interesting story but not much in the way of character development. At the end of the day, the viewer never really gets attached to the two dimensional characters in the film.

This is a 3 out of 5 star film and pretty solid horror fare if not overly impressive in terms of plot and character empathy. Worth a look but not two.