Urban Gothic

Most of the Urban Gothic episodes have been great. They really do make a nice change for horror fans as it is the only horror series I can think of that caters for their needs. So what I would like to know is why is it that I am the only one that thinks so? The series is given hardly any recognition. This surprises me greatly as many well known British faces have appeared in both series, such as Ray Burdis, Leslie Grantham, Lindsey Coulson, Richard O'Brien and Sean Maguire. The first series contains 13 half hour episodes. The first is 'Dead Meat' which shows the story of for friends bringing a corpse back to life. The second is 'Vampirology' which is a mock documentary in the life of a vampire (and in my opinion the best episode of the series, brilliant acting!) The third is 'Old Nick' which is the story of a murderous boy who thinks he's discovered the devil. The fourth is 'Lacuna' (another excellent episode) which is about two friends trying to steal drugs from a mental institute but are caught and believed to be patients. The fifth is 'Deptford Voodoo' which is basically about voodoo (and is probably the worst episode in the series). The sixth is 'Sum of The Parts' which is a story about 'evil' organs being transplanted into patients (another of the worse ones). The seventh is 'The One Where...' which is about a group of friends that have their desires fulfilled. The eighth is 'Cry Wolf' which is about a woman who falls in love with a 'werewolf'. The ninth is 'Be Movie' which is the story of a group of students who find themselves trapped in a horror movie, which has only one survivor. The tenth is 'Boys Club' which shows the story of Lenny Scratch, a man with such a desire to be accepted as a hard guy he finds himself sacrificing his father. The eleventh is 'Pineapple Chunks' which is the story of pineapple-fuelled aliens, amazingly naff, but quite funny. The twelfth is 'Turn On' which is about a robot who thinks that she's a woman. The last episode is 'Thirteen' which is about a journalist who is searching for a story, and finds his ultimate tale. Urban Gothic is definitely worth watching!

Having seen the 1st Season of this TV Horror anthology series on DVD, I wanted to comment on it - as there are not many postings relating to this little late night gem.

Best way to describe the 13 episodes is to imagine "Tales Of The Unexpected" meets "Hammer Horror" on a cable station budget. Due to this the quality is very uneven, but this could be to do with the direction and production on the individual episodes, assuming the same money is allocated across the board...

I found all the episodes watchable, and allowed for the budget restraints - but there are a few real gems that stand out, and make the DVD purchase all the worthwhile (but it was going cheap..) - Vampirology, Old Nick, Cry Wolf and Boy's Club all romp along, look fantastic and are pretty scary, with new (ish) spins on standard horror themes. The filming is pretty basic, and tends to be in one or two locations - depending on the warehouse, theatre or hospital that's available - but making the most of the location, lighting and mood. The creepy London council flats in Old Nick are a great example, and you could just imagine real life horrors played out in those lifts and balconies.

I read somewhere that the writer Tom De Ville, was only thirteen when he penned these - this could be an "urban myth", or he spent way too much time with old Hammer and Amicus Films, taking in large dollops of 70's psychological drama and 80's splatter flicks along the way. The retro 70's feel could come deliberately from the directors, but the lovely Ingrid Pitt gets a mention in Vampirology, so that's a direct Hammer Horror writing nod.

The 30 minute format (even less on DVD as you lose the advert break) puts a strain on making the stories clear and straight - in fact, most are a bit muddled with slightly rushed "wrap end" endings, but I think this adds to the charm. The acting is also hit and miss, with some performances really great, and others very wooden.

Overall - a real nice run of "Old School" inspired horror, with some great ideas - especially if Mr. De Ville was only 13....

Urban Gothic is a little rough round the edges but an entertaining show nonetheless. As with all shows of this format, the quality of acting and scripts vary, though in this show's favour it's usually above average. As the series goes on, the shows show marked improvement as the dialogue becomes more natural and far less stilted.

There are germs of good ideas here, though only a few are developed sufficiently enough to raise this beyond the level of 'Hammer House Of Horror' to something approaching the class of 'Ultraviolet'. In particular, episodes such as 'Old Nick' and the astonishing 'Boy's Club' break free of the usual formula to show us that horror and evil aren't just about blood and gore. True horror is corruption of the soul, of the heart, and in these two episodes we get to see a darker side of the City that will linger uncomfortably long after the TV set has been turned off.

I really like Urban Gothic in a number of ways.

It's wildly uneven and you never know what you're going to get. Half the episodes are boring, predictable or just plain funny (see the episode called 'pineapple chunks' and you'll understand.) The other half are brilliant, unusual and original.

It's violent and doesn't pretend it has a moral reason to be that way. The fact is that gut wrenching violence can sometimes shock and horrify. We're not talking 'video nasty' proportions here, but you'll wince at some of the scenes. Because of this capacity for violence and its cheapness, you're always on the edge, wondering if something horrible is about to happen. This is no sanitised hollywood production and it's all the better for it. It feels grubby - the title sequence really demonstrates what the show is about.

This is really cheap on DVD - I managed to get series one for about 9 quid.

I'm off to order series 2!

if you have never heard of urban gothic then i cant really blame you, channel 5 isn't exactly associated with high quality entertainment, or a good picture quality for that matter. its one of those little gems that you happen to catch one late drunken night while flicking through the channels. it has some top rate performances from little known/haven't had a job in a while actors and the scrpits contain some of the darkest humour around (the frog in the blender scene comes to mind)urban gothic has filled the gap that there seems to be in true horror TV (im not counting buffy etc as true horror) it is pure student television and some of the episodes are true genius. one of its main strengths though, is that each time you see it it gets better and develops new and even more twisted hidden meanings and social comments. if only it had the money of a primetime bbc show it could have been one of the best television shows around. however maybe the reason it is so special is because it is so hidden and unrestrained by ratings and strict corporate bosses. long live urban gothic, spread the word and lets all hope that it gets a third series.