Reviews
“Inside No. 9” Season 7 Review – British Anthology Series Just Keeps Getting Better
Inside No. 9, one of the best anthology series in recent years, returns with a seventh installment. Creators and co-stars Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton are back to make audiences laugh and shiver with these six diverse tales of various genres. And fans of the eerie and unexplained will surely enjoy this new batch of stories.
The season opens with “Merrily, Merrily”, which features one of the show’s most unconventional settings. After having not seen one another for some time, friends reunite at a lake, where they must paddle on a pedalo to reach their destination. As to be expected among friends who’ve lost touch over the years, arguments erupt. However, the worst of their reunion has yet to come — now their paddle boat is stuck in the middle of the lake. From there Inside No. 9 toys with the audience, playing on their expectations in the best way possible.
Next up is “Mr. King”, a startling fish-out-of-water story. A city teacher (Shearsmith) moves to a Welsh village cut off, both socially and technologically, from the rest of the world. And at this rural primary school, he gets a firsthand look at the locals’ unique customs and eccentricities. Highlights of this episode include Shearsmith dropping trou, incredibly awkward (but also hilarious) dialogues, and a conclusion that will make you gasp.
Things get heady in “Nine Lives”, a psychological metadrama about a troubled detective (Sophie Okonedo) haunted by an unsolved case. When it feels like this may be the most hackneyed episode of the series yet, you eventually realize that’s the whole point. As typical with Inside No. 9, appearances are deceiving in this especially twisty tale, and your patience is rewarded.
The season goes on with the funny and uneasy “Kid/Nap”. Here a woman (Daisy Haggard) is abducted by a masked man (Daniel Mays), and she struggles to escape not because her captor is particularly cruel and cunning, but because her husband (Shearsmith) and the police are not so great at rescuing. Aside from the frequent use of split screens, this story stands out because it’s not entirely set in one location. The plot of this tense tale ultimately doesn’t add up, but the actors’ performances are astounding.
“A Random Act of Kindness” concerns a mother (Jessica Hynes) who’s having the hardest time connecting to her teenage son (Noah Valentine) until a stranger (Pemberton) enters their lives. This bleak episode reveals its complicated sci-fi plot soon enough, but at its heart, this is a story about an estranged family and their regrets. Of all the offerings from this season, this one could easily be turned into a full-length feature.
Season 7 comes to a close with a dark finale called “Wise Owl”. The show creators, once again, reference collective nostalgia with amazingly constructed and executed satire. The episode is intercut with animated sequences resembling a British series of PIFs called Charley Says. And bit by bit, these moments reveal a disturbing and harrowing main plot about a traumatized man (Shearsmith) whose only apparent guide in life is the episode’s namesake, a ‘70s cartoon character voiced by Ron Cook. This story stings the heart in many ways and will surely become one of the series’ best as time goes on.
Shearsmith and Pemberton have done it again; they delivered variety and quality all within one enticing package. Inside No. 9 maintains its good reputation with another consistent and well-made mix of entertaining, creative, and, at times, thought-provoking stories. While other anthology series lose steam over time, Inside No. 9 only grows stronger with every new season.
Inside No. 9 Season 7 is now streaming on Britbox.
Not even death can slow Chucky in “There Will Be Blood,” the penultimate episode of “Chucky” Season 3. With the killer receiving a mortal blow in the last episode, Charles Lee Ray (Brad Dourif) can now take full advantage of the White House’s bizarre supernatural purgatory, leaving him free to continue his current reign of terror as a ghost. While that spells trouble for Jake Wheeler (Zackary Arthur), Devon (Bjorgvin Arnarson), and Lexy (Alyvia Alyn Lind), it makes for an outrageously satisfying bloodbath heading into next week’s finale.
“There Will Be Blood” covers a lot of ground in short order, with Charles Lee Ray confronting his maker over his failures before he can continue his current path of destruction. Lexy, Jake, and Devon continue their desperate bid to find Lexy’s sister, which means seeking answers from the afterlife. They’re in luck, considering Warren Pryce (Gil Bellows) enlists the help of parapsychologists to solve the White House’s pesky paranormal problem. Of course, Warren also has unfinished business with the surviving First Family members, including the President’s assigned body double, Randall Jenkins (Devon Sawa). Then there’s Tiffany Valentine (Jennifer Tilly), who’s feeling the immense weight of her looming execution.
CHUCKY — “There Will Be Blood” Episode 307 — Pictured in this screengrab: (l-r) Brad Dourif as Charles Lee Ray, Chucky — (Photo by: SYFY)
Arguably, the most impressive aspect of “Chucky” is how series creator Don Mancini and his fantastic team of writers consistently swing for the fences. That constant “anything goes” spirit pervades the entire season, but especially this episode. Lexy’s new beau, Grant (Jackson Kelly), exemplifies this; he’s refreshingly quick to accept even the most outlandish concepts – namely, the White House as a paranormal hub and that his little brother’s doll happens to be inhabited by a serial killer.
But it’s also in the way that “There Will Be Blood” goes for broke in ensuring it’s the bloodiest episode of the series to date. Considering how over-the-top and grisly Chucky’s kills can be, that’s saying a lot. Mancini and crew pay tribute to The Shining in inspired ways, and that only hints at a fraction of the bloodletting in this week’s new episode.
CHUCKY — “There Will Be Blood” Episode 307 — Pictured in this screengrab: Brad Dourif as Charles Lee Ray — (Photo by: SYFY)
“Chucky” can get away with splattering an insane amount of blood on the small screen because it’s counterbalanced with a wry sense of humor and campy narrative turns that are just as endearing and fun as the SFX. Moreover, it’s the fantastic cast that sells it all. In an episode where Brad Dourif makes a rare appearance on screen, cutting loose and having a blast in Chucky’s incorporeal form, his mischievous turn is matched by Tiffany facing her own mortality and Nica Pierce’s (Fiona Dourif) emotionally charged confrontation with her former captor.
There’s also Devon Sawa, who amusingly continues to land in Chucky’s crosshairs no matter the character. Season 3 began with Sawa as the deeply haunted but kind President Collins, and Sawa upstages himself as the unflappably upbeat and eager-to-please doppelganger Randall Jenkins. That this episode gives Sawa plenty to do on the horror front while playing his most likable character yet on the series makes for one of the episode’s bigger surprises.
The penultimate episode of “Chucky” Season 3 unleashes an epic bloodbath. It delivers scares, gore, and franchise fan service in spades, anchored by an appropriate scene-chewing turn by Dourif. That alone makes this episode a series highlight. But the episode also neatly ties together its characters and plot threads to pave the way for the finale. No matter how this season wraps up, it’s been an absolute pleasure watching Chucky destroy the White House from the inside.
“Chucky” Season 3: Part 2 airs Wednesdays at 10/9c on USA & SYFY.
Five Underseen Vampire Horror Movies to Stream This Week
Dev Patel’s ‘Monkey Man’ Is Now Available to Watch at Home!
Looking for New Episodes of “Chucky” on Peacock? Here’s What Changed
‘Stream’ – Horror Movie from the Team Behind ‘Terrifier’ Sets August Theatrical Release
‘The Blair Witch Project’ – Original Stars Release a Statement Asking Lionsgate for Residuals & Recognition
You must be logged in to post a comment.