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The Counsel of the Cunning (Roger Viceroy #2)

Steven C. Harms

(0 Ratings) Rate It

Book

Author of Give Place to Wrath—Killer Nashville Silver Falchion Award Finalist & American Book Fest...

Mystery

JT (287 KP) rated The Boy (2016) in Movies

Mar 2, 2020 (Updated Mar 3, 2020)

The Boy (2016)

2016 | Horror, Mystery, Thriller

6.6

(35 Ratings)

Movie Rating

Moments that will make your hair stand on end (0 more)

Predictable in places (0 more)

Gripping in parts but not a standout

d put off watching this for some time, but when I caught the trailer for Brahms: The Boy II which on the face of it looked quite good, I had to give the original one a go.

Having seen Lauren Cohan as Maggie in The Walking Dead for as many seasons as I could stand before I gave up on it, she always stood out as a talented actress.

Here she plays Greta Evans who is looking to escape an abusive past and finds sanctuary in a small English village as a nanny for a wealthy couple and their 8-year old boy, Brahms.

Turns out that young Brahms is a doll and parents Mr and Mrs Heelshire care for him just like a real boy, as a way to cope with the death of their actual son 20-years earlier.

The Boy is a horror film that does little to ignite the nerves but it does hold a degree of suspense. Greta, unconvinced by Brahms flaunts a set of strict rules set by the parents and it’s only then that things start to get eerie.

With no one to turn to except local deliveryman Malcolm (Rupert Evans), she is convinced there is something more to Brahms than just his creepy blank stare. And she would be right, as the little wooden boy goes full Pinocchio and starts moving about, or does he?

While it’s daft I did find myself gripped in certain parts although I’m not sure it warranted a sequel but a sequel it has got – just don’t expect a standout horror film.

Kudos

Awix (3310 KP) rated Sapphire and Steel in TV

Apr 2, 2020

Sapphire and Steel

1979 | Fantasy, Horror, Sci-Fi

7.6

(10 Ratings)

TV Show Rating

It would be easy to mark Sapphire and Steel down just for being so obviously a low-budget, studio-bound TV show, but this would be to overlook just what a startlingly distinctive and uncompromising piece of... well, entertainment doesn't quite cover it, for the programme seemingly sets out to baffle the viewer as well as divert them. It is notionally a fantasy, but elements of SF and horror also appear. Stories mostly take place in out-of-the-way places like remote cottages, junk shops, the tops of tower blocks, disused railway stations and so on. The structure of time seems to be weaker in these places and when it breaks down or is interfered with, operatives such as Sapphire and Steel and their occasional colleagues appear to resolve the situation.

This is pretty much all we are told about the format of the series - who and what Sapphire and Steel are, what the limits of their powers are, and who they answer to, is never made clear (even the nature of their mission seems to change from story to story). The cryptic, often surreal nature of the series is one of its main attractions, along with the chemistry between the stars (occasional ally Silver, played by David Collings, is also a joy to watch).

The bleak and eerie atmosphere of the stories is consistently impressive, as is the clear understanding of visual style possessed by the makers: stories are filled with startling images and symbols, occasionally drawn from the visual arts (one adversary is basically a Magritte painting brought to life). Always memorable, and never more so than in its final episodes: the sheer unexpected bizarreness of Sapphire and Steel's fate makes it all the more shocking and downbeat. A unique and very distinctive series.