Colm McCarthyCritiques

1,2 & 3 of 5

Britain has been overrun by a fungal disease that turns people into ravenous zombies, known as “hungries”. In a military bunker a group of intelligent zombie children are being experimented on by Dr Caldwell (Glenn Close) who is desperately searching for a cure. Of particular interest is the exceptional Melanie (Sennia Nanua) who develops a bond with teacher Helen Justineau (Gemma Arterton). When the “hungries” over run the facility Melanie, Caldwell, Justineau and soldier Sergeant Eddie Parks (Paddy Considine) are thrown into an uneasy alliance as they journey across country in search of sanctuary. This is an Interesting dystopian horror with an interesting underlying premise and a clever take on the legend of Pandora. Scottish Director Colm McCarthy does well with the available budget delivering some decent visuals, some credible action and some nice moments of suspense. The film, however, is more a character piece than a typical zombie actioner and unfortunately becomes a bit slow and saggy at times for its own good. When in danger of becoming overly dull it is, however, saved by some strong performances by the leads. That Glenn Close, Gemma Arterton and Paddy Considine put in decent turns isn’t too much of a surprise, but the fantastic performance by Sennia Nanua certainly is. She is by turns lovable and dangerous and emanates a strange uncertainty around her actions and motivations.

Thoroughly enjoyed the book so was interested to see the film. Enjoyed it too. It sticks quite closely to the novel. I felt they'd softened some of the characters such as the captain and the doctor for the film - particularly the doctor. Good film.

Looooove this series. They put so much work into it, the series are about 1.5 to 2 years apart.

I found this entertaining on several levels, apart from looking for locations in Dublin and spotting the Irish extras this feels true-to-life for Victorian London, in a none-too-salubrious area of London, Inspector Reid and his deputy Detective Bennet Drake and Captain Homer Jackson his CSI team. He has to fight both outside troubles and corruption in other areas.

Sucked me in and kept me watching, I love this series.

A delightful, witty and exciting interpretation of the Sherlock Holmes world. Set in modern days, Cumberbatch and Freeman are a perfect team, the co-creators, Mark Gatiss and Stephen Moffat have done a wonderful job of bringing the feeling of joy and fun to this show.

A private investigator solves mysteries.

Very little holds together if you give it any thought. But if you can get past that and accept that it's a few degrees sillier than they intend it to be, it can be pretty fun.

Concept: B
Story: C
Characters: B
Dialog: B
Pacing: B
Cinematography: B
Special effects/design: B
Acting: B
Music: B

Enjoyment: B

GPA: 2.9/4½