Really bad episode
Yeah a twist at the end, but all that for some corny twist was just not worth it.
Have liked pretty much every previous episode so maybe I'm missing something but as a series opener it did absolutely nothing for me and was actually a rather irritating episode from the start
I also did not like Nanna's Party, Last Gasp, or Seance Time but this was the worst one of them all. The ending was really forced and anti-climatic.
shareHow was it forced or anti climatic? You did understand what was happening at the end, right?
shareI wasn't keen on it, either. I too have loved pretty much every episode - not so much The Last Gasp or The Understudy - but this one was just a bit dull!
So whilst you're watching it, you're thinking that the voiceover is the director's commentary or whatever. Then you find out it's actually the perpetrator's confession. I may have to give it a re-watch to see what was actually said and see whether it gives it more of a "kick".
My main problem with this episode was the fact that it was too obvious that they were playing at being over the top. It was just a bit too knowing for it to work.
shareI forgot about the Understudy. That was bad too. They can be hit or miss.
shareHe said something that was like "if only I'd got the gummage" but I couldn't understand.
shareThe Director doing the "voice over/commentary" was saying that he was in contention to direct episodes of the popular 1970s/80s British Children's TV Series Worzel Gummidge (about a scarecrow come to life) and that if he had got that job he would not have had to take this job - directing a cheap TV Christmas Movie that then
turns into a snuff movie.
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Sparks Moran: "It was dusk. I could tell 'cause the sun had gone down"
At the end he said "this one resurfaced..." meaning he'd done that multiple times. So was this meant to just be a snuff film or was it an actual production? I mean, he's actually getting paid to direct murders?
shareIt was both. They were filming a cheap TV movie/Christmas Special for broadcast on television over the course of a single days filming.
Then when the other cast members had gone and presumably some of the crew, a small group were left to film the final scene which certainly would not have been for television!
That's my interpretation anyway.
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Sparks Moran: "It was dusk. I could tell 'cause the sun had gone down"
Eh, possibly, but I still think it's likely that everyone knew what was going on apart from the actress. Remember the director saying they were lucky to get any kid actor "given what it was for", plus the Reece character walking off quickly, past the killer at the end, while the crew were putting down the plastic sheeting. They could have shown it on tv, but that would be a lot more questionable if anyone noticed that she'd gone missing afterwards. Not to mention that sales of the snuff film probably would have been affected if people had already seen most of it on tv...
shareMy take on the end was a brutal murder which was probably a pagan ritual or something to do with Baphomet followed by the reveal of it all being a confession rather than a director's commentary which we'd been lead to believe.. I know they push the envelope but are they killing actresses right and left? entire film crews? I guess I'm over thinking.So when it first began I thought it was an homage to "and all through the house" and I really liked the way they mimicked the 70s film style. But the bulk of it was practically as boring as actually watching one of these a dull show from the 70s and the reveal and the twist came in the last minute and it was a crunch.
shareMy take on the end was a brutal murder which was probably a pagan ritual or something to do with Baphomet
I covered that with a spoiler tag and you revealed it in your quote. So the entire production was a snuff film? He didn't get one job so he just took a job from a murderer rapist? How would they make money from that?
edited: Ok, now that I've thought about it of course he wasn't paid for it. It doesn't even need to make as much sense as a Baphomet sacrifice if they're already wearing goat costumes. Lines like getting a different job are rendered completely irrelevant when nothing has to make sense. Basically this was just a standard Tales From the Crypt ending where some girl is tricked into being murdered. Reece even said "I'm the Krampus". So next week they'll probably have him pop out of a coffin and say some corny concluding line.
Well, there's no need for a spoiler tag this far into the topic.
Yes, the entire recording was a snuff film. Yes, he didn't get the Gummage role, so he directed snuff films instead. How would he make money? Quite easily, by being paid to do it. You do get that people supposedly pay a fair whack for snuff films, right? This probably wasn't his first time doing it. Remember near the end he said something like "I always like the look on their face when they work out what's going on. That's not acting".
Yeah, they were pretty bad too.
shareI quite liked it and it had quite a clever twist. Not one of the best episodes, but I preferred it to series 2's conclusion.
People like Coldplay and voting for the Nazis. You can't trust people, Jeremy.
I believe it was intentionally dull, not just badly produced/acted to match TV productions of the period. It is my understanding that film stock from the period was used to make it even more authentic. As for the ending I thought it was truly horrifying and fantastic.
shareFor me, this was one of the best ones so far. I liked the whole low-budget horror film set-up and the twist was the best one in any episode in my opinion.
shareThe ending is also a nod to a film called "Snuff" from 1975, where a filmmaker kills an actress on set. She thinks its a wrap for filming and then suddenly some people hold her down and kill her while the camera is still rolling. Good episode, sinister.
shareI thought this was easily the best episode they've done.
The twist was great. I certainly did not see that coming.
But the episode itself hit the mark for me for two reasons. One, I love old campy horror movies, so seeing them mock that genre worked. Two, the actual story itself sucked me in. I was wondering how the actual The Devil of Christmas would end.