Review of Urban Gothic: Series 2

Introduction

For one ludicrous moment, I thought this disc would be about Spooky Hip-Hop. A quick look at the cover disabused me of the notion though and while the `Urban` certainly implies a US aspect to this horror series, it`s a wholly homegrown UK production, originally aired on Channel 5, back when the ident was an encircled numeral, rather than the lowercase letters of today.

This release contains the second series of Urban Gothic, spread across two discs. The series comes in the form of nine 22-minute episodes, each telling a different spooky story set in the darker corners of London. Thrown in are a couple of episodes that advance an ongoing storyline, though coming fresh to the second series means that they make little sense at first. Sort of Twilight Zoney, with tinges of Hammer and plenty of blood and guts, these episodes explore sleep deprivation, genetic engineering, necrophilia, cannibalism, zombies and epidemics. Behind it all there is a sinister shadowy cabal plotting to bring about a localised apocalypse.

Disc 1 is a dual layer disc and contains Sandman, Membrane, Necromance, Eater, Serotonin Wild and The End.

Disc 2 is single layered and contains three episodes, Ritual Slaughter and Dollhouse Burns, Parts 1 and 2. There are also some extras on this disc.

Video

A perfectly serviceable 1.78:1 anamorphic transfer that you would expect from a recent television series. The image is relatively clear and sharp, but the nature of the stories means that the image quality depends on the script and the particular horror cliché in play at any one time. That means webcam footage, Blair Witch style first person perspective, and loads of moody black scenes with not a lot visible. It often feels like a training school for the next generation of horror directors.

A technical problem on Disc 2 means that all the episodes switch to a 4:3 regular ratio, causing the actors to lose weight drastically. You`ll just have to switch back manually to widescreen. Note to self; buy a non-anamorphic mirror for my birthday.

Audio

The sound is a simple DD 2.0 Stereo track. There are no subtitles either, which is problematic on a couple of occasions when dialogue is inaudible. It`s actually a shame, as a DD 5.1 track would have been ideal for the genre, pitch black scenes would have been exceedingly effective with imaginative sound design. However a front focussed track is all there is. The theme tune is grating, annoying and irritating. Mercifully it`s short.

Features

STAX have once again packaged the Amaray case inside a 3D Focal-Pak ©2003 Pat Pending cardboard and cellophane contraption that is contrived to give the package a 3D look. It also takes up twice the shelf-space of a normal disc. The two discs are held by a single button stacked one on top of the other, something that just doesn`t seem healthy to me.

Slipped inside the case is a 30-page novella by Simon Clark called Goblin City Lights. I tried a couple of pages then went back to my Harry Potter book.

On disc 2 you will find a 7-minute featurette called Blood & Zombies: Behind The Scenes with a director talking about his contributions to this season.

Tales Of The City will take you to a Mac style interface, navigating this with your remote will take you to text and "QuickTime" style movie clips to do with each episode. It`s basically more material to add to the mythos of the story, and actually is in good keeping with the shows. It was also odd seeing a Mac screen on my PC monitor.

Conclusion

I find horror dull and sleep inducing at the best of times. Practically the only time I get to watch any horror is when I get discs sent to review. So when it comes to horror movies, I rarely give a glowing review, and I never hold up hope for something decent. Having said that, once in a while there comes a title that will blow my mind, a film so outstanding that I find I can only write of it in radiant terms. One such film was The Hitcher, a film that entertained, thrilled and gripped in equal measure. Urban Gothic is not one of those titles.

Urban Gothic desperately wants to be the X-Files. It`s nowhere close of course, as 22 minutes is hardly enough time to start a story, let alone develop one. Most stories are self-contained little tales that set out to chill, but there are no recurring characters to identify with. It`s your traditional monster of the week format that gives directors a chance to play around with ideas, but the budget is lacking, as are the production values, and the less said about the acting the better. What`s worse is that there is a distinct lack of imagination, with the writing derivative claptrap, and directing clichéd. Rather than explore new ideas, we get darkened rooms, first person perspective cameras, gore aplenty. For the most part, the stories have been done before, and I have flushed scarier looking things down the toilet. I watched Urban Gothic last thing at night, after a seriously greasy pizza. The only thing that gave me any kind of discomfort was my indigestion, and even still I slept like the proverbial babe, untroubled by dreams.

I am thoroughly tired of the Blair Witch rip-offs and Membrane is a classic example. Send a team of investigators with shoulder mounted mini-cams into a darkened research complex and let the blood flow. The End is a TV version of the War Of The Worlds radio broadcast. An epidemic gets loose, live during 20 minutes of Channel 5 broadcasting. Cue plenty of webcam footage and implied rioting. Dull. Serotonin Wild is the Matrix made on 50p and with some sticky back plastic, though it does include a turn from C3P0 himself, Anthony Daniels.

Having said that, I did enjoy a couple of the episodes, Ritual Slaughter had a compelling story and the two actors did a good job portraying psychiatrist and patient. Also I must have a twisted sense of humour as I thoroughly enjoyed Necromance. A student called Poppy falls for an aloof student who works part time in a hospital. Unfortunately she catches him getting a little too intimate with one of the cadavers. What`s a girl to do? This is a deliciously twisted episode.

Unfortunately 2 decent episodes out of 9 just aren`t enough to make Urban Gothic any more attractive. Still, I`m not a horror fan. If you don`t mind dodgy acting, abundant clichés and Blue Peter production values, then you may enjoy this disc. Rent first.