Noticias

Twin Peaks. Sunnydale. Castle Rock. Hawkins… America’s TV monopoly on small towns where Weird Stuff Happens has gone on for too long. Britain was once home to The Wicker Man, Children of the Stones and The Prisoner, all classics of the ‘something’s not right here’ genre. Isn’t it about time the UK put a few creepy burgs back on the map?

Actor and debut screenwriter Andrew Buchan must think so, and his answer is ITV’s Passenger – a six-episode mystery series that’s Happy Valley meets…well, no spoilers here. Comedic and sinister with a terrific cast led by Loki’s Wunmi Mosaku, Passenger, from the producers of Gangs of London and Chernobyl, is a top binge-watch that’ll keep you entertained and guessing – hopefully into a second series and beyond.

Mosaku plays Riya, a police detective who, years earlier, left her job at the Manchester Met...

Mark Jenkin’s 2019 film Bait had the rare distinction of being a genuine out-of-the-blue discovery, featuring heavily on UK critics’ year-best lists after a modest arthouse release by the BFI. The black-and-white film’s experimental style was emphasized in all its press coverage, nodding to avant-garde auteurs like Stan Brakhage, Derek Jarman and Guy Maddin — all directors who are interested in the literal grain of film and video. Throw in post-synch sound, and you have a film more likely to screen to two people and a dog at a smoky underground 1960s cine-club than win a BAFTA.

For all its formal intricacies, though, Bait had a very traditional narrative, being the story of a Cornish fisherman who sees his village becoming gentrified after selling his house to a couple of rich out-of-towners. Enys Men,...

Alex Westthorp Jan 23, 2017

We revisit Dark Season and Century Falls, two children's dramas that established Russell T. Davies' early screenwriting career...

Russell T. Davies, a man synonymous with the successful revival of Doctor Who, was initially a graphic artist for Why Don't You? but he did several jobs on the show, eventually writing, directing and producing the programme. He showed his versatility when he presented an edition of Play School in its final year. Saturday morning summer filler On The Waterfront made its reputation in part due to Davies' own unique take on the classic serial The Flashing Blade. Next came Breakfast Serials, which Davies both wrote and produced. When Tony Robinson decided to take a break from making Maid Marian And Her Merry Men, an afternoon drama slot opened up and Rtd's first major breakthrough in Children's television drama began with the 1991 science fiction thriller Dark Season.

See...

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Welsh actor Gareth Thomas, the star of Blake's 7 and much, much more, has sadly passed away...

Some sad news. 

Gareth Thomas, an actor perhaps best remembered in these quarters for his role as the titular Blake in late seventies BBC sci-fi series Blake's 7, has died aged 71.

The Welsh actor's long career stretched all the way from the 1960s to the current decade, making Thomas a fondly familiar face on the small screen. Celebrated for his role as the lead in Blake's 7, he also made appearances in Torchwood, Heartbeat, London's Burning, Children Of The Stones and countless other productions over the decades.

The news of his death was reported last night on the Blake's 7 website with the following statement:

"It is with deep sadness that we have to announce that Gareth Thomas passed away this morning, 13th April 2016, from heart failure."

Rest in peace, Gareth Thomas, our thoughts...

Or if Monty Python wrote 1984. [image] With a touch of Doctor Who and Children of the Stones. [image] Prepare to lose hours at Scarfolk Council. [image] Scarfolk is a town in North West England that did not progress beyond 1979. Instead, the entire decade of the 1970s loops ad infinitum. Here in Scarfolk, pagan rituals blend seamlessly with science; hauntology is a compulsory subject at school, and everyone must be in bed by 8pm because they are perpetually running a slight fever. "Visit Scarfolk today. Our number one priority is keeping rabies at bay." For more information please reread. Quite possibly the funniest, scariest, most demented site on the Net. Seriously.

If you've ever seen the classic 1973 Christmas Special of The Goodies (called The Goodies And The Beanstalk), then you'll probably remember that bit at the end when the down and out trio come across an abandoned lamp in the street. As soon as they rub the lamp – bingo! A puff of smoke and then John Cleese in a turban. Cleese then bellows “Kids' Show!” after the Goodies tell him to clear off.

I suppose that some people regarded The Goodies as the crazy younger brother of the more adult Monty Python's Flying Circus – on the surface, with its speeded-up action sequences, giant kittens, Dougals and Zebedees, I suppose you could say it's a show that's targeted towards younger ones. But then how do you explain the satirical swipes at the Royals, advertising commercialism, talent shows or apartheid?

Which neatly brings me on to Doctor Who. I was wondering this the...

'Tis Halloween, and many film companies are observing the not-so ancient tradition of releasing plenty of horror DVDs. All pagan man could manage was sticking candles into hollowed-out pumpkins, whereas we get the full widescreen, HD and surround sound Halloween experience. In your face, pagan man.

There are two things horror has taught us. Firstly, there will always be new horror films. Secondly, most of them will be rubbish. Thankfully, enough will take a chance or try a few different moves to keep the genre in rude health. Stake Land (Metrodome) is one such plucky newcomer. A road movie with the road paved with vampires, it's a strange, often sedate journey, on which the peaceful passages impress more than the frenzied attacks.

The Dead (Anchor Bay) offers an unlikely setting for a zombie movie. Brit directing brothers Jonathan and Howard J Ford took their undead project to gorgeous Burkina Faso...

Starting tomorrow at the National Media Museum, the Fantastic Films Weekend is the UK’s fastest growing festival dedicated to horror, fantasy and sci-fi cinema and television. This dynamic annual celebration of old, new, bloody and obscure is hosted by the National Media Museum in Bradford, a unique site that can screen all film formats including widescreen 70mm, 3-strip Cinerama and IMAX.

This years 9th Fantastic Films Weekend will take place from Friday 4th – Sunday 6th June 2010, and looks set to be a great mix of films and television, old and new. Highlights include a midnight screening of James Nguyen’s Birdemic, Q&A’s with British directing veterans Stanley Long and Michael Armstrong, and screenings of The Living Dead at Manchester Morgue, Witchfinder General, and the notorious cult classic Mark of the Devil – all of which haven’t been seen on the big screen in years! There will also...

That's Cinema Retro London correspondent Adrian Smith (center) with the crazy lads who comprise The League of Gentlemen.

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Ten years ago a show appeared on British TV that was so strange, so grotesque, so dark, yet so utterly hilarious that it quickly developed a cult following and a number of popular catchphrases. It ran to three series and eventually a feature film. This was the League of Gentlemen, a weird combination of sketch show and sitcom which clearly took inspiration from old horror movies, detective dramas, sexploitation comedies, to name but a few. I took the opportunity to pin down the gents in order to unravel just what their influences were. The conversation immediately turns to Take an Easy Ride, described by Mark as almost being a snuff film. This leads to my first question:

Have seventies snuff films been an influence on you?...