HARPER'S ISLAND 1.12 & 1.13 - "Gasp" & "Sigh"

[MAJOR SPOILERS] Perhaps more than any other genre, a murder-mystery lives or dies in collective memories based on its ending. After 13 episodes, dozens of deaths, and plentiful red herrings, the co-killer of Harper's Island is finally revealed. So, whodunnit...?

Henry Dunn did it. Maybe his surname was an esoteric clue? Yes, the handsome groom whose wedding to Trish (Katie Cassidy) turned into a massacre, was working alongside his father John Wakefield (Callum Keith Rennie) all along. The father who got Abby's (Elaine Cassidy) late-mother pregnant years before she was born, forcing Sarah Mills (Sarah-Jane Redmond) to secretly give up Henry for adoption to save her marriage to the Sheriff (Jim Beaver).

As revealed in glistening flashback, half-siblings Henry (Christopher Gorham) and Abby grew up close friends, but Henry harboured deeper feelings and a fantasy of living alone on the island with Abby forever. Having grown into an adult (surviving his biological father's first "rampage" on the island), he was later discovered by the surviving Wakefield, who had traced his offspring and realized his son shared the same homicidal urges, so started tutoring him in the art of serial-killing. Yes, Henry was the "John Wakefield copycat" the Sheriff had been tracking across the mainland through newspaper reports, with father and son preparing for a savage return to the island -- Wakefield to settle an old score with love-rival Mills, Henry to slaughter his friends and family so he can live an incestuous fantasy with inamorata Abby.

Okay, so a lot of the back-story didn't make much sense and motives stretched plausibility a touch, but that's par for the course in most mystery/slasher films. Harper's Island made it work within its own pulp context, mainly thanks to the marvelous performance of Christopher Gorham, who managed to flit between genial Henry and psycho Henry with consummate ease and sell a reveal that felt mildly stupid to begin with. With Henry's identity revealed fairly early, it was a particular delight of these episodes to watch him sidle up to those who trust him, before revealing the truth and adding them to his victim list.

Looking back, there were fun hints and clues that Henry was the villain: his crack clay pigeon shooting skills abandoning him whenever Wakefield was in sight, those mystery scratches on his forearm Trish tended to, and (most notably) the fact he was seen covered in blood yards away from dying brother J.D. The latter moment rang certainly my alarm bell at the time, but the event was brushed aside so swiftly the next episode that I never gave it a second thought. I mean, Henry was always the most likeable guy with the most to lose from this nightmare (his perfect wedding celebration, his beautiful bride), so I never genuinely entertained the possibility of him being in league with Wakefield. Amusingly, and with the gift of hindsight, irrational Mr. Wellington was actually right to view his prospective son-in-law with suspicion...

"Gasp" and "Sigh" benefited from the fact most of the characters had become endearing, too, unlike so many of the kills in the first six episodes. This is an unavoidable flaw of the murder-mystery format -- exacerbated by a film's brevity, so at least Harper's Island had just shy of 10 hours to flesh people out. Quite a few were still very sketchy, but a decent handful felt like real people, so it's been great having a five-episode run where most of the deaths had weight to them. Here, nice guy Danny (Brandon Jay McLaren) put up a decent fight against Wakefield after he escaped from jail, before having his face impaled on a paper spike, and Henry's best-friend Sully (Matt Barr) learned the truth during a walk through the forest with his comrade -- viciously attacked by Henry and Wakefield like a pair of vicious dogs, seconds after his world crumbled at the news.

As a concession to being on network US television, eerie child Madison (Cassandra Sawtell) and her insipid mother Shea (Gina Holden) both escaped unharmed, heading to the mainland in a motorboat. But plucky Trish wasn't so lucky; after escaping Wakefield at her house, she escaped through the forest wearing her wedding dress (a classic horror motif) before running into her fiancé, who nonchalantly broke the news of his deception before stabbing her. Again, prime characters like Trish were the ones you almost expected to survive this ordeal, so her death left a pit in my stomach, particularly in sympathy that her lover became her killer.

I enjoyed some of the surprises and unpredictable developments, too: from Wakefield being captured in the opening teaser, the four-hour countdown to the mainland police arriving after they were finally contacted by radio, Henry killing Wakefield once his dad had served his purpose, and the final act with Henry holding Abby against her will on the deserted island and genuinely believing they can live happily ever after. Jimmy (C.J. Thomason) had been kept alive to sign a confession for Henry that he was Wakefield's accomplice, and the way he manages to escape and rescue Abby from Henry's clutches was also nicely handled. I especially liked how Henry got his comeuppance, impaled by Abby on the pebbly beach where the seed of Henry's psychosis was sewn by her childhood whisper.

Overall, these final few episodes of Harper's Island achieved their aim and provided us with an answer I didn't predict. My thoughts drifted to Sully as the culprit on one occasion, but now it seems ridiculous to have ever contemplated anyone else but Henry! And that's the sign of a mystery well crafted. It was tense, exciting, action-packed, unpredictable and, while silly and requiring a suspension of disbelief, its resolution was hugely entertaining. Some of its success was definitely down to the BBC's decision to air its in double-bills, as British viewers coasted through the rockier early episodes at twice the speed of US audiences, so the show never felt particularly sluggish to me.

Finally, the coda -- camcorder footage of the main characters wishing Henry and Trish good luck for their wedding, before setting off to the island to celebrate their nuptials -- was a spine-chilling and perfect way to cap what's been a pleasant surprise these past seven weeks. I'm so glad I took the trip to Harper's Island.


18 October 2009
BBC Three/BBC HD, 9pm

written by: Christine Roum & Robert Levine (1.12) & Jeffrey Bell (1.13) directed by: Seith Mann (1.12) & Sanford Bookstaver (1.13) starring: Elaine Cassidy (Abby Mills), Christopher Gorham (Henry Dunn), Jim Beaver (Sheriff Charlie Mills), C.J. Thomason (Jimmy Mance), Matt Barr (Christopher "Sully" Sullivan), Sarah-Jane Redmond (Sarah Mills), Brandon Jay McLaren (Danny Brooks), Callum Keith Rennie (John Wakefield), Gina Holden (Shea Allen), Cassandra Sawtell (Madison Allen), Ava Hughes (Young Abby), Alex Ferris (Young Henry), Ryan Grantham (Young J.D), Adrian Hough (Joseph Dunn), Nadine Wright (Cheryl Dunn), Kwesi Ameyaw (FBI Agent Hanson), Barbara Kottmeier (Agent Ana Perez) & Peter Ciuffa (Man In Seattle)

Box-Eyed: Six for the Fall

After an extended break due to a heavy workload and holidays, my Box-Eyed at Newslite.tv finally returns this week with a brief look at six Autumn TV shows I recommend you try out (if you're not already).

HARPER'S ISLAND 1.9, 1.10 & 1.11 - "Seep", "Snap" & "Splash"

I've fallen behind with my double-bill reviews of Harper's Island in recent weeks, so this post heralds my first ever triple-bill review before Sunday's two-part finale. Each part was written after viewing that particular episode. And don't worry, I was ruthlessly brief:

"Seep" With half the cast dead and the survivors barricaded at the Candlewick hotel as the sun goes down, it was easy to get caught up in the atmosphere of "Seep". It had all the key ingredients of a horror, and the characters inevitably started to turn on each as anxiety and claustrophobia took hold. It didn't help that Abby (Elaine Cassidy) read Wakefield's fire-damaged journal and concludes she's his bastard daughter, resulting in her being ostracized by the group and left feeling insecure about herself. Suddenly, a few things about her father seem to make sense in light of her controversial parentage, like why he decided to send her away to the mainland after her mother was murdered. But, I don't buy it. It's too easy. I now think the killer is Wakefield and his daughter (whoever that may be), both after revenge on the Mills family.

This was mostly an episode of tension and intrigue, as underground tunnels dug during Prohibition were discovered beneath the hotel (explaining how the killer's able to cross vast distances without being seen), which the gang explore to try and find kidnapped Madison (Cassandra Sawtell) and the missing Beth (Amber Borycki). They find the latter at the end of a tight tunnel Abby crawls down (surely eliminating the bulkier characters as suspects?), but Beth turns up dead down one of the crawlspaces. I found it strange that nobody immediately questioned Madison about who took her, as that would surely be the first thing you'd ask with a serial-killer on the loose, but fortunately Abby did ask the pertinent question seconds from the end credits... to which Madison revealed it was her dad, Sheriff Mills (Jim Beaver), "playing a game"...

"Snap" It's from the Candlewick to The Cannery for "Snap", as the finger of suspicion falls heavily on the Sheriff and the marina is booby-trapped -- apparently killing Abby's ex-boyfriend Jimmy as he tried to refuel his boat with Shane (Ben Cotton) -- forcing the group to take refuge in the local bar. But is the killer really Abby's protective dad, as Madison claims? Well, with the evidence so overwhelming, this was a clear red herring, and kids can't be trusted. "Snap" was a neat companion to "Seep" because it had a similar air of claustrophobia, but I'd rank it slightly better because the confines were tighter and the killer was right on their doorstep.

There were a few good surprises, too: Cal (Adam Campbell) getting shot as he ran for a car with Sully (Matt Barr), intending to drive to a sailing boat on the other side of the island; the death of two mainland cops sent to rescue the stricken islanders the second they stepped off their seaplane (not unexpected, but I grinned at their comic uselessness); and the dumping of Jimmy on the Cannery's doorstep by the killer, barely alive and holding a key to Abby's hotel room...

Trish was certain the key's a sign the killer wants to talk, so Abby leaves for the Candlewick and indeed discovers her father waiting there inside -- only, he's not the killer, he was just manipulated into doing Wakefield's dirty work in order to spare Jimmy's life. He gets to say as much before he's yanked through the room window tied to a car and hung in a chilling echo of Abby's mother's demise. And then, finally, the killer steps out of the shadows: John Wakefield (Callum Keith Rennie), whom I seriously hope isn't working alone, considering the fact Harper's Island was sold as a murder-mystery and his name was invoked in the first episode!

"Splash" Following such an effective cliffhanger (even if I'd been waiting for Wakefield's return for ages because Rennie's too recognizable to waste on mugshots), "Splash" was a slight disappointment. A big problem was how inept everyone became suddenly, now the killer's stopped lurking in shadows. Surely an armed group has an advantage now the killer's lost his element of surprise, but the boogeyman has revealed himself at the exact moment everyone became incapabale of aiming a gun straight! It was a particular worry seeing as how an earlier episode painted Henry (Christopher Gorham) as an ace clay pigeon shooter. I could look past this irritation for the most part because it's a fun horror cliché that victims are so inept, but seeing a shotgun-wielding Trish retreat from from a Shane/Wakefield knife-fight at The Cannery was just inexcusably dumb. Squeeze the trigger, girl! Sheesh.

What worked nicely about "Splash" was being reminded how far a few of the characters have grown -- particularly love-rivals Cal and Sully, who have reached an understanding over Chloe. Speaking of whom, Chloe is kidnapped by Wakefield at the chapel and used as bait later on, drawing everyone out into the countryside. Rennie doesn't have very complex character to play in this show, but he's unsurprisingly captivating on-screen and ensures Wakefield feels like a true force of nature. In fact, with so many masked monsters clogging the multiplexes, it feels quite flesh to have a villain who shows his face. I just hope he has a motive we can appreciate.

And, of course, "Splash" ends with the most affecting deaths yet -- as Cal rescues the stricken Chloe against all the odds, but is viciously stabbed by Wakefield while trying to get her to safety across a bridge, prompting a heartbroken Chloe to commit suicide rather than let Wakefield claim her next. Undoubtedly two of the show's most likeable characters, it was genuinely upsetting to see these love-birds killed with only two episodes left. I really wanted them to survive the whole ordeal. But did anyone else find the shots of their lifeless bodies floating on the river mildly funny? Oh. Just me then.

I've suspected Jimmy of being Wakefield's accomplice for awhile now, and this episode appears to confirm my suspicions with the discovery of a file the Sheriff had on Jimmy. So that means I must repudiate my theory immediately. I know how this show works after six weeks; anything obviously signposted is never the truth. I mean, why would Sheriff Mills suspect Jimmy of being Wakefield's partner yet sacrifice himself to ensure Jimmy lived? I suspect instead that Jimmy is Wakefield's illegitimate child he wrote about in his journal, even if that's arguably more reason to suspect they're in cahoots. Mind you, my revised theory would mean Abby is actually Jimmy's half-sister -- ewww. I'm guessing Jimmy's unaware of his heritage and someone else is helping Wakefield kill. But who? Tune in Sunday for the two-part finale to find out!


4 October 2009 (1.9 & 1.10)
BBC Three/BBC HD, 9pm

11 October 2009 (1.11)
BBC Three/BBC HD, 9.30pm

written by: Nichelle Tramble Spellman (1.9), Christine Roum (1.10) & Dan Shotz (1.11) directed by: Craig R. Baxley (1.9), Steve Boyum (1.10) & Rick Bota (1.11) starring: Elaine Cassidy (Abby Mills), Christopher Gorham (Henry W. Dunn), Katie Cassidy (Trish Wellington), Cameron Richardson (Chloe Carter), Adam Campbell (Cal Vandeusen), Jim Beaver (Sheriff Charlie Mills), C.J Thomason (Jimmy Mance), Matt Barr (Christopher "Sully" Sullivan), Gina Holden (Shea Allen), Cassandra Sawtell (Madison Allen), Claudette Mink (Katherine Wellington), Ben Cotton (Shane), Brandon Jay McLaren (Danny Brooks) & Callum Keith Rennie (John Wakefield)

HARPER'S ISLAND 1.7 & 1.8 - "Thrack, Splack, Sizzle" & "Gurgle"

[SPOILERS] Having bridged the halfway mark, I think Harper's Island is now closer to what many expected this show to be from the start. The characters are all introduced (to varying degrees of success), we have some sense of the mechanics behind these murders, and now everyone's aware there's a killer on the loose. "Thrack, Splack, Sizzle" is the least compelling of this double-bill, mainly because it delved into the original Wakefield murders via some flashbacks that, while undeniably helpful in filling gaps in our knowledge, felt a bit dull compared to the present-day goings-on...

It's revealed that John Wakefield knew Sheriff Mills' (Jim Beaver) wife Sarah (Sarah-Jane Redmond), as they used to date on the mainland. Abby (Elaine Cassidy) was unaware of this relationship, but it means Wakefield's killing spree was fuelled from a place of revenge and anger, instead of just the random slaughter of a psycho. Plus, it was the Sheriff's idea to send Abby off the island, effectively ending the romance that was brewing between her and hunky fisherman Jimmy (C.J Thomason).

The Abby/Jimmy breakup is being echoed in the current collapse of Trish (Katie Cassidy) and Henry's (Christopher Gorham) relationship, as their wedding is called off and Henry's unconvinced his fiancée will ever love him again -- seeing as he's the brother of J.D (Dean Chekvala), the number one suspect in these murders whom everyone believes killed her dad. Fortunately, Abby manages to help Henry by showing Trish a photo of them both as kids, stoking up enough memories to patch their romance. There was especially good work from Katie Cassidy here, who has probably been the real star of this show, as she's by far the most plausible actor when it comes to showing reactions to the chaos going on around her. She's kind of like a Megan Fox who can act.

Last week's cliffhanger had J.D entering the cabin belonging to the spooky man with the facial burns, but he was inevitably proven harmless here. This was actually Cole Harkin (Dean Wray), the Sheriff's former deputy who was hideously burned during an explosion at the marina during the original Wakefield killings. He and J.D always had a bond together, and Cole believes the young man's innocent.

This episode also brought the subplot with the stolen $250,000 to a definite close, as Malcolm's (Chris Gauthier) friends Danny (Brandon Jay McLaren) and Sully (Matt Barr) finally discovered the truth after a random bag search for a missing sex doll. A humiliated Malcolm nevertheless had a great weight lifted from his shoulders, but while destroying the blood money in the hotel furnace in secret, he became the killer's latest victim – savagely attacked and thrown into the fire to burn. Well, with a man his size they'll at least get a few hours of heat around the place.

Plus, Jimmy re-entered the story properly, as we learned via flashback that he'd unwittingly saved Abby's life by distracting Wakefield when he was seconds away from discovering her hiding place. Does anyone else think it's possible Jimmy might be working with Wakefield now? After all, both men would have the same motive for killing: they were both dumped by Mills women.

"Gurgle" was the best episode of the pair, as it created a plausible way to turn the screws on the characters, contain the atmosphere, and ensure no easy escapes. Madison (Cassandra Sawtell) has been kidnapped by the killer and calls Abby to let her know that if anyone leaves the island she'll be killed. This nicely gets rid of the problem that everyone would just hop on a boat back to the mainland, and while many of the subsidiary characters do end up leaving before Madison's call, the core group are conflicted about being responsible for little Madison's death if they go, and stay.

So, everyone divided into groups to try and find Maddy as quickly as possible so they can go home, which led to the discover of a few more bodies: first, Madison's missing father Richard (David Lewis) was found harpooned to a wooden stump near the lake, and then Malcolm's burned skull is dug out from the furnace (although they don't know it's Malcolm's just yet.)

Sheriff Mills is the victim of another forest booby-trap (apparently set by his old deputy Cole to protect himself), and suffers a debilitating leg injury. Cole arrives and takes Mills back to his cabin, where he assures him J.D isn't the killer. It's a belief proven true back at the police station, where J.D is locked up alongside Shane (Ben Cotton), and both men witness the gunshot death of a deputy who comes to check on them. To me, this begged a question: why didn't the killer bother to kill Shane and J.D while he was there? Does he have a list of specific people to kill? If so, did the deputy die purely because he was likely involved in the Wakefield case seven years ago? Anyway, J.D escapes by grabbing the dead deputy's keys and goes on the run, leaving a furious Shane behind to be released later by Abby and Jimmy during their search for Madison.

One surprise was the death of Cole at the cabin, pinned to his home by two crossbow bolts and accidentally setting the place ablaze. Sheriff Mills was unable to help from inside, but was luckily rescued by Abby and Jimmy, who were unable to help Cole. Back at the marina, "Gurgle" ended with several characters catching sight of J.D running along the jetties, only for Abby to eventually finding him dying from a stomach wound... before turning to see his supposed killer standing behind her: his brother Henry. Although I'm fairly convinced Henry didn't do it and probably got blood on his hands during the struggle that claimed his kid brother's life, or something similar.

Right now, I think the excitement over Harper's Island's concept has passed, but we're certainly making some headway with the mystery. I can see why the show dwindled in the ratings Stateside, but perhaps CBS should have shown episodes in couplet like BBC3 are doing – it's certainly helped, as it's like getting a mini-movie every week, and the slow-burn pace of the earlier episodes was over much quicker.

A few things still bug me about the show – like how most background characters seem unconcerned about the week's events, happily going about their day (trimming hedgerows, etc.) as the main cast worry for their lives. I'm also a little confused that it feels so obvious John Wakefield is simply back for revenge, meaning the ultimate killer's identity doesn't feel in doubt. For that reason, I'm sure there's an accomplice involved – if only because the frequency of kills and their elaborate setups can't be the work of one person. So who looks the most guilty? Right now, I have to say Jimmy – mainly because it would make poetic sense given his love for Abby Mills, just as Wakefield loved her mother. But, then again, why bother to kill so many people unrelated to her? It does feel primarily targeted on the Wellington's, so who has an axe to grind for Henry or Trish?


27 September 2009
BBC3 / BBC HD, 9pm

written by: Jeffrey Bell (1.7) & Tyler Bensinger (1.8) directed by: Scott Peters (1.7) & Rick Bota (1.8) starring: Elaine Cassidy (Abby Mills), Christopher Gorham (Henry W. Dunn), Katie Cassidy (Trish Wellington), Cameron Richardson (Chloe Carter), Adam Campbell (Cal Vandeusen), Jim Beaver (Sheriff Charlie Mills), C.J Thomason (Jimmy Mance), Dean Chekvala (J.D Dunn), Matt Barr (Christopher "Sully" Sullivan), Gina Holden (Shea Allen), David Lewis (Richard Allen), Cassandra Sawtell (Madison Allen), Claudette Mink (Katherine Wellington), Brandon Jay McLaren (Danny Brooks), Dean Ray (Cole Harkin), Brandon Jay McLaren (Danny) & Chris Gauthier (Malcolm Ross)

HARPER'S ISLAND 1.5 & 1.6 - "Thwack" & "Sploosh"

[SPOILERS] Harper's Island reaches the halfway point with a great double-bill of episodes that signal an escape from its soap opera trappings, and a metamorphosis into the murderous thriller previously only glimpsed at...

In "Thwack", bride Trish (Katie Cassidy) and her father Thomas (Richard Burgi) take a bike ride through the forest to relieve pre-wedding stress, only to find themselves thrown into a survival nightmare when a log trap rams them off their cycles, and a strange man releases a German Shepherd that chases them into the back of an abandoned car. Fortunately, Thomas manages to kill the dog with a smashed bottle he finds, and the pair return to the hotel badly shaken. It's here that Harper's Island strains some credibility, as neither character think to alert the authorities about their ordeal, and don't even question the fact someone primed a booby-trap that almost killed them! It's a shame when people don't react realistically on this show, as it just makes everything feel rather silly and hard to believe in.

The investigation into serial-killer John Wakefield takes a step forward, when Abby (Elaine Cassidy) visits her family home alone and discovers her father's attic is full of paraphernalia on the Wakefield murders and a spate of copycat killings along the mainland coast. It's a little alarming to get an insight into her dad's obsession with the man who killed his wife (whom he claims he shot dead), and at this point we're still unsure if he's telling the truth. The fact Wakefield is being played by Callum Keith Rennie is enough evidence for me that he's alive, and that the Sheriff's lying about his demise for some reason. Maybe he just wanted to alleviate the community's fear that Wakefield could return?

A holdover from last week's episode is Malcolm's (Chris Gauthier) remorse over burying Boothe in the forest, after his friend accidentally shot and killed himself. Malcolm has kept the stolen $250,000 Boothe was tasked with hiding, to fund his entrepreneurial ambitions, but wakes up racked with guilt. He also finds that his room's en suite shower has been turned on while he slept -- perhaps a sign that the killer has decided to toy with him now?

A prime suspect for all the murders appears in the form of loner J.D (Dean Chekvala), the unsettling and immature brother of grinning groom Henry (Christopher Gorham), who develops a friendship with little Madison (Cassandra Sawtell) during this episode. The pair set off firecrackers as a prank in one scene; a fragment of which Henry later finds inside the church close to a dead maggoty raccoon. It's the second dead animal Henry's found during stay on the island (following the stag's head in his bath), and the firecracker remnant would appear to suggest his kid brother's playing macabre practical jokes...

The cliffhanger ending to "Thwack" undoubtedly put the entire series on a fresh footing, as a large portion of the ensemble gather at the church for an afternoon wedding rehearsal, and Abby unwittingly trips a booby-trap that releases a spiked chandelier from the ceiling that splits Thomas Wellington's head in half! Simultaneously, in scenes that interspersed with the church to ratchet up the tension of Wellington's shock demise, Sheriff Mills (Jim Beaver) finds a wire leading into a lake with the missing Reverend Fain's dismembered limbs and head attached -- unequivocal proof that Mills' greatest fear has come true: there's another killer on the loose...

Blessed with a climax so grizzly and electrifying, expectations were sky-high for the sixth episode, and "Sploosh" mostly delivered. With the latest murder witnessed by so many people, there's less pussyfooting around as the aftermath of event hit home. The chandelier was clearly rigged to be a deadly weapon (by someone who knew where everyone would be positioned during the ceremonial run-through...) and, now the reverend's dead body has been found submerged in the lake, it's clear everyone's lives are at risk.

J.D is again written as the obvious suspect, almost immediately seen lurking around the church miming to Madison to keep quiet about his presence. This episode plays continuously with the idea that J.D's the killer, but -- unless it's an elaborate double-bluff -- I don't think it's very likely.

With 25 characters introduced on Harper's Island, I still have a few mental gaps about people's relationships to each other. A great example is this episode's subplot about how Thomas Wellington's wife Katherine (Claudette Mink) was having an affair with his daughter's husband Richard (David Lewis); a betrayal he was made aware of by Trish last week, and is now made common knowledge following his death. Richard thus has an alibi to kill Thomas so he could be with Katherine, and he does himself no favours by telling his daughter Madison to lie to the Sheriff when she's questioned over the day's events. However, Richard is swiftly removed from suspicion by virtue of becoming this episode's last-minute kill -- harpooned through the chest and comically yanked off-screen.

Abby appears to clear J.D as a suspect after he talks her into accompanying him into the forest, where he's discovered the body (well, both parts of the body) belonging to his stepfather "Uncle" Marty, who was chopped in half in the first episode. Abby manages to persuade Henry that his brother isn't responsible for Wellington's murder, and the childhood friends both start to suspect that Sheriff Mills is hiding something about Wakefield's death. That night, the pair dig up Wakefield's grave and, to their surprise and the audience's, find skeletal remains in the buried coffin. Of course, who's to say that's Wakefield's body? As I claimed last week, you don't cast Callum Keith Rennie as Wakefield and only use him for archive police mug-shots, so I'm guessing he's alive. But he must have an accomplice, as it would be a poor end to a murder-mystery if the culprit was revealed to be... well, the perpetrator from last time that everyone suspected from the start, back for revenge.

Overall, this double-bill was enough of an improvement to get me excited about the latter half of the season, mainly because everyone's aware of the threat they're facing. The mystery is starting to sink its teeth, too, which makes it easier to overlook the silly, far-fetched moments that undermine the plot at times. I even enjoyed the somewhat incongruous subplot where Cal (Adam Campbell) found out that his lost diamond engagement ring was found by a local man who has immediately proposed to his own girlfriend. After telling Chloe (Cameron Richardson) what happened, it was fun seeing them get the jewel back, with Chloe pretending to be a "wronged woman" and essentially ending the unreasonable finder's engagement.


20 September 2009
BBC Three/BBC HD, 9pm

written by: Tyler Bensinger (1.5) & Robert Levine (1.6) directed by: Steve Gomer (1.5) & James Whitmore, Jr (1.6) starring: Elaine Cassidy (Abby Mills), Christopher Gorham (Henry W. Dunn), Katie Cassidy (Trish Wellington), Cameron Richardson (Chloe Carter), Adam Campbell (Cal Vandeusen), Richard Burgi (Thomas Wellington), Jim Beaver (Sheriff Charlie Mills), C.J Thomason (Jimmy Mance), Dean Chekvala (J.D Dunn), Matt Barr (Christopher "Sully" Sullivan), Gina Holden (Shea Allen), David Lewis (Richard Allen), Cassandra Sawtell (Madison Allen), Claudette Mink (Katherine Wellington), Brandon Jay McLaren (Danny Brooks), Chris Gauthier (Malcolm Ross), Amber Borycki (Beth Barrington), Sarah Smyth (Lucy Daramour), Ben Cotton (Shane Pierce), Ali Liebert (Nikki Bolton) & Beverly Elliott (Maggie Krell)

HARPER'S ISLAND 1.3 & 1.4 - "Ka-Blam" & "Bang"

[SPOILERS] I'm so glad BBC Three are showing Harper's Island in couplets, as I suspect I'd be feeling impatient if I was being fed one episode per week. Box-set mentality, see. A solid 80-minutes of murder-mystery/soap is a nice way to cap a Sunday. "Ka-Blam" and "Bang" were both entertaining episodes, too; less visceral than the preceding installments, but the characters are slowly developing and additional subplots are starting to appear...

Kelly (Anna Mae Routledge) has been found hanged by Sheriff Mills (Jim Beaver), and his daughter Abby (Elaine Cassidy) is convinced she was murdered. The finger of suspicion falls on weirdo J.D (Dean Chechvala), who was the last person to see Kelly alive, but Abby isn't convinced and is still toying with the theory that serial-killer John Wakefield is back. The circumstances of Wakefield's "death" seven years ago is still unexplained, but there must be room for doubt.

The soap element of the show continues, with Hunter Jennings (Victor Webster) trying to lure Trish (Katie Cassidy) away from her fiancé Henry (Christopher Gorham), at her snobbish father's behest. The fact we have no knowledge of Trish and Hunter's history together doesn't help these scenes, but "Ka-Blam" wisely brings that particular storyline to a close, anyway. Hunter blackmails $50,000 from Trish's father Thomas Wellington (Richard Burgi) and leaves he island in a powerboat, finding dead Uncle Marty's bag of $250,000 and a gun after his boat's engine fails. Investigating the faulty engine, Hunter trips a booby-trap and a shotgun blows his head off. Quite why the killer put Marty's swag on this boat is anyone's guess right now.

The humourous love-triangle between Cal (Adam Campbell), his sexy girlfriend Chloe (Cameron Richardson) and Sully (Matt Barr) was pretty good, with Cal getting his own back on Sully (who left him dangling upside-down from a tree), by having him smeared in honey for a "treatment" with Chloe before emptying a pillow-case of feathers over him. Right now, those three characters are the most engaging in some ways, as we're getting to know them through their relationships and comedy.

It was also interesting to see how various characters have the capacity of temperament to kill -- perhaps. While we're focused on one serial-killer slowly eliminating the wedding guests, the likes of Kelly's ex-boyfriend Shane (Ben Cotton) become just as dangerous, as he kidnaps J.D and threatens to hang him for apparently killing his ex. The resulting scene of Abby trying to talk Shane out of avenging Kelly's death was the first time Harper's Island replaced shock with real tension and suspense.

"Bang" wasn't as good, but it was still fun if you swallowed a few absurd developments and poor decision-making. Henry and his pals decide to go fishing and find Hunter's boat, with Hunter's identity kept secret because his head has been blown-off. Mal (Chris Gauthier) spies Marty's bag containing $250,000 and, in a pique of greed, shoots a hole in the boat to allow it to sink and talks the guys into returning to the island to share out the cash.

Of course, the group are soon divided over what to do for the best, believing the swag could be drug-money, and collective guilt causes them to mistake two strippers for gangsters. Henry suggests they stash the money somewhere safe for now, so they draw straws and Joel (Sean Rogerson) is soon venturing into the woods to bury the loot. Unfortunately, he's startled by Mal and accidentally shoots himself in the leg, dying from the arterial bleed in seconds. Mal's character takes a dark turn by returning to Henry's party and denying all knowledge of Joel's fate, later seen crying alone in his hotel room with the money all to himself.

Undoubtedly, a rather silly subplot for several reasons, "Bang" went one step further by weaving the supernatural into this episode. Creepy little girl Madison (Cassandra Sawtell) -- last seen burning a snail with a magnifying glass, to confirm her creepiness -- starts acting strangely around Tarot cards belonging to a psychic who's arrived as entertainment for Trish's hen party...

Madison appears to have a psychic link to the unfolding events, later heard chanting "one by one." I can understand the thinking behind all this, as it's easy to develop unearned disquiet with spooky kids acting strangely, and the paranormal gives the show another tone to play with, but I hope they don't go too far with it. Harper's Island should focus on the murder-mystery thriller genre as its basis, and leave The X Files stuff alone. Madison is being written as the ultimate creepy child cliché, too -- particularly in one scene that was almost a reprise of a moment from The Others. Essentially, I hope Trish's precious tea set was smashed by Madison because she's just a problem child who's seen too many horror movies, and not a genuine "omen".

"Bang" did contain a few nice moments towards the end, however. A drunken Trish falling into a swimming pool while trying to rescue a blow-up doll, only for the pool's covering to roll across the surface, trapping her underwater, was a really tense Final Destination-style moment. The show almost fooled me into thinking they were going to kill the bride as early as episode 4, but she was rescued and revived with CPR at the last second. Lastly, the Sheriff had it confirmed that "blood" found covering dead Kelly's pupils was red ink injected into her eyeballs -- confirming his daughter's suspicion that she was murdered.

Overall, I'm still enjoying this series. It strays into silliness a few times and isn't escaping all the soap/horror clichés, but the premise is still holding my attention and it feels like the show is creeping towards the unavoidable tipping point (when everyone knows a killer's on the loose, the amount of missing people becomes apparent, and the bloodshed impossible to overlook.) A lot of it still doesn't make much sense, though: why is the killer being so elaborate with his traps, if he doesn't want anyone to know he's killing people? Why is the killer targeting these people, and in this order? Why did the killer plant Uncle Marty's cash on that boat?

Oh, and I think it was a mistake to cast Callum Keith Rennie as John Wakefield. The moment Rennie's face was glimpsed in a back-issue of a newspaper Abby was browsing, you just knew Wakefield wasn't dead. There's no way the producers would cast someone so familiar to genre fans (see: Battlestar Galactica) just to be a mug-shot. The only question is: when is Wakefield going to show up, and is he solely responsible for the recent killings, or does he have help?


13 September 2009
BBC Three/BBC HD, 9pm

written by: Jill E. Blotevogel (1.3) & Lindsay Sturman (1.4) directed by: Steve Boyum (1.3) & Guy Norman Bee (1.4) starring: Elaine Cassidy (Abby Mills), Christopher Gorham (Henry W. Dunn), Katie Cassidy (Trish Wellington), Cameron Richardson (Chloe Carter), Adam Campbell (Cal Vandeusen), Richard Burgi (Thomas Wellington), Jim Beaver (Sheriff Charlie Mills), C.J Thomason (Jimmy Mance), Victor Webster (Hunter Jennings), Dean Chekvala (J.D Dunn), Matt Barr (Christopher "Sully" Sullivan), Harry Hamlin (Marty Dunn), Gina Holden (Shea Allen), David Lewis (Richard Allen), Cassandra Sawtell (Madison Allen), Claudette Mink (Katherine Wellington), Brandon Jay McLaren (Danny Brooks), Chris Gauthier (Malcolm Ross), Sean Rogerson (Joel Booth), Amber Borycki (Beth Barrington), Sarah Smyth (Lucy Daramour), Ben Cotton (Shane Pierce), Anna Mae Routledge (Kelly Seaver), Ali Liebert (Nikki Bolton) & Beverly Elliott (Maggie Krell)

Box-Eyed: Lost Land Of The Volcano, Harper's Island & Derren Brown's The Events

This week's Box-Eyed column features capsule reviews for Lost Land Of The Volcano, Harper's Island and Derren Brown's The Events. Head over to Newslite.tv now for a look-see!

"The joy of LOST LAND OF THE VOLCANO is how it cultivates a pioneering sense of discovery and adventure. You half expect the team to stumble upon a tribe sacrificing a blonde showgirl to a giant gorilla, or for a T-Rex to explode out of the foliage and chomp the head off one of the bearded eggheads." Continue reading...

HARPER'S ISLAND 1.1 & 1.2 - "Whap" & "Crackle"

[SPOILERS] Created by the writer of tepid psychological horror Hide & Seek and produced by X-Files and Jericho alumni, Harper's Island is essentially Agatha Christie's classic Ten Little Indians crossed with a slasher film, then stitched to a soap opera...

Seven years ago on the titular isle, a man called John Wakefield murdered seven islanders and strung them up from the boughs of a tree, before he was killed by the local Sheriff (Jim Beaver), whose wife was amongst his victims. Sheriff Mills' traumatized daughter Abby (Elaine Cassidy) fled to L.A to escape the bad memories, but is now returning as the wedding guest of her childhood friend Henry Dunn (Christopher Gorham), who is due to marry the beautiful Trish (Katie Cassidy), daughter of millionaire Thomas Wellington (Richard Burgi).

It's a fun setup, as friends and family of the bride and groom gather on a ferry bound for the idyllic island with a sinister past, unaware that another killer (or perhaps the same killer?) is on the hunt for fresh victims, intending to pick the wedding party off "one by one". The tropes of this genre are ingrained in the public consciousness (we all grew up with Scooby Doo), so Harper's Island gets down to business fast and early: the first victim is Trish's cousin, who finds himself tied to the ferry's drive shaft wearing an oxygen mask, just as the vessel starts its engine and a propeller chops his head off, leaving a blood cloud in the harbour water...

The cast are fresh-faced and ridiculously attractive; each given a role, a brief backstory, a possible motive, or personality quirk to draw the finger of suspicion. Amongst the twenty-five guests arriving for the week of prenuptual festivities, we have: beautiful blonde bridesmaid Chloe Carter (Cameron Richardson) and her British boyfriend Cal Vandeusen (Adam Campbell), who at one point holds her head underwater in a pique of anger; handsome local fisherman C.J Thomason (Jimmy Mance) who's a dab hand as gutting sealife; the bride's saturnine father, who's against the wedding and arranges for his daughter's ex-boyfriend Hunter Jennings (Victor Webster) to try and changer her mind; the groom's black sheep brother J.D Dunn (Dean Chekvala) who starts a relationship with local outsider Kelly Seaver (Anna Mae Routledge); the Dunn brother's surrogate father "Uncle" Marty (Harry Hamlin), who locks horns with the bride's meddlesome dad; and many others...

"Whap" (each episode's title onomatopoeia for a prominent death scene) is largely successful at the difficult task of introducing so many characters and sketching their relationships. Inevitably a lot of the faces wash over you, or you find yourself unsure about how certain people are related, but the main cast were easily grasped and their backstories explained neatly. Sadly, there wasn't enough time to make us care about any of the victims in these opening episodes, but hopfully it won't be too long before characters we've come to know and love meet grizzly ends.

"Whap" and "Crackle" were both briskly paced and enjoyable, despite the fact each episode's writing was mostly on a par with a clichéd American soap opera. I prefer to consider the show a subversion of glossy daytime soaps, anyway; a Melrose Place wedding storyline rudely colliding with a serial-killer thriller. For that reason, I found myself relishing its soap-y silliness, as the promise of a gruesome death scene was never far away to redress the balance or keep your interest.

And the kills were commendably imaginative, ghastly, fun creations; the aforementioned propeller head slice, a reverend getting caught in a booby-trap and decapitated, someone falling through a broken plank in a rope bridge and having his body hacked off below the waist, and a girl falling into a pit and being set alight (the latter a possible nod to Silence Of The Lambs, what with the poor girl's tiny pooch left yapping at the hole's edge. All we needed was Buffalo Bill lowering tanning lotion down to her in a basket...)

Overall, Harper's Island feels like good fun, if flawed as a longrunning television series. Indeed, it was cancelled by CBS after completing its thirteen episode storyline, but I'm not complaining. What would they have done for next season? Thought up another reason for a spate of murders on the same island? Changed the title of the show and relocate for fresh bloodshed? Perhaps. But this strikes me as a self-contained idea that would lose its appeal if it continue for too long, so the decision to kill it off was probably a blessing in disguise. We're left with a completed story to enjoy (doing for TV horror what 24 did for TV thrillers?), which BBC Three are wisely showing in delicious double-bill chunks.

Important note: obviously, Harper's Island is extremely susceptible to being spoiled by those who have seen the whole series. If that's you, please refrain from mentioning plot developments (particularly future victims and the killer's identity), so British audiences can enjoy the show as intended. Failure to do so will result in you being immediately blacklisted and banned from commenting here -- forever. I like to think my readers are adult enough to comment responsibly, so this hopefully won't happen. Thank you.

6 September 2009
BBC Three/BBC HD, 9pm

written by: Ari Schlossberg (1.1) & Jeffrey Bell (1.2) directed by: Jon Turteltaub (1.1) & Sanford Bookstaver (1.2) starring: Elaine Cassidy (Abby Mills), Christopher Gorham (Henry W. Dunn), Katie Cassidy (Trish Wellington), Cameron Richardson (Chloe Carter), Adam Campbell (Cal Vandeusen), Richard Burgi (Thomas Wellington), Jim Beaver (Sheriff Charlie Mills), C.J Thomason (Jimmy Mance), Victor Webster (Hunter Jennings), Dean Chekvala (J.D Dunn), Matt Barr (Christopher "Sully" Sullivan), Harry Hamlin (Marty Dunn), Gina Holden (Shea Allen), David Lewis (Richard Allen), Cassandra Sawtell (Madison Allen), Claudette Mink (Katherine Wellington), Brandon Jay McLaren (Danny Brooks), Chris Gauthier (Malcolm Ross), Sean Rogerson (Joel Booth), Amber Borycki (Beth Barrington), Sarah Smyth (Lucy Daramour), Ben Cotton (Shane Pierce), Anna Mae Routledge (Kelly Seaver), Ali Liebert (Nikki Bolton), Beverly Elliott (Maggie Krell), Paul Stanley (Old Albert) & Tom Pickett (Cab Driver)