Hannibal, Season 1 Review

Hannibal, and you can bet this isn't a TV series based on the Carthagian commander of old (although that too would be worth a watch), it's a name synonymous with a brilliant psychiatrist turned serial killer with a certain appetite for human flesh. I was kind of familiar with the books by Thomas Harris but never sat down and read one through properly, it was in the incredible film The Silence of the Lambs that first introduced me to the Dr. Hannibal Lecter. Played to absolute perfection by the great Anthony Hopkins who gave a truly chilling yet mesmerising performance, despite being on screen for only 24 minutes or so, he really put the character on the map. Yet, I'm sure I wasn't the only one who thought of what lead up to him being incarcerated at Baltimore State Hospital? Peaking through his cage of a cell mocking Clarice Starling's Southern drawl or enjoying a census taker's liver with some fava beans and a nice Chianti. What was he like prior to being that infamous serial killer? What were his crimes exactly and how did he eventually get caught? These were juicy questions, then some years later I hear a buzz around my workplace about this show called Hannibal that explores the character's past and thought well I cant really refuse now can I?

True to their word, Hannibal is exactly that and I was immediately hooked within the first few episodes. It is a gripping and grisly (no shocker there) psychological thriller/horror series with a stellar cast and a really striking visual style that I haven't really seen on TV before. I literally watched about seven episodes in a single night which is quite rare for me, but it's so absorbing and thrilling that you can't help but lose yourself in it. The first season mainly follows gifted, but troubled criminal profiler Will Graham (Hugh Dancy) who is cursed with a gift, he can see directly into the minds of serial killers often at the cost of his own sanity. He is asked by the head of the Behavioral Sciences division of the FBI Jack Crawford (Laurence Fishburne) to assist in investigating the disappearances of several young girls. Inevitably, the bodycount starts to stack up and they get involved in some pretty bizarre and gruesome cases. Bringing Will Graham back into the field though poses risks to himself, namely his ability to directly empathise with killers so Jack Crawford enlists the help of none other than Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Mads Mikkelsen) to watch over Will and his mental state.  

The menu of the first season and it's main offerings: Will Graham, Dr Alana Bloom, Special Agent Jack Crawford, Special Agent Brian Zeller, journalist Freddie Lounds, Special Agent Beverly Katz, Special Agent Jimmy Price and Dr. Hannibal Lecter.

The Hannibal Lecter we meet in Hannibal is a calm, collected, cultured culinarian, a lover of the fine arts and an accomplished psychiatrist. You may know Hannibal Lecter, but you haven't seen him quite like this before, this is how he started out before his rise to notriety. Mads Mikkelsen really does bring a lot to the role, he oozes sophistication, charm and a razor-sharp intensity yet deep down under the veneer of this well-adjusted, intelligent, seemingly benign exterior is a monster lurking and waiting to pounce. The relationship between a vulnerable Will and Hannibal is at the heart of this show and the chemistry between them is perfect. You can really feel the tendrils of Hannibal's subtle psychological trickery slowly affecting Will, manipulating and influencing events, this is the Hannibal you know. I have to praise Hugh Dancy for taking on such a challenging role, he too captures Will's fragility and brilliance so well and his decent into the minds of these various killers is one of the highlights of the show. He has this unique insight into their methodology, possible motives and psychology, he can think like them and with all the consequences that come with that. You can see him slowly losing his grip on reality and of all the people to try to bring him back he has the most gifted serial killer of all to turn to, this makes for some truly compelling television.

Will sitting down with Dr. Lecter. As gruesome and weird as the cases become it's still all about these two. This criminal profiler whose discerning eye and mind can visualise and at times predict criminal behavior can't see the one sitting directly across from him...

The supporting cast are also great, you have the lovely Dr Alana Bloom who was a student of Hannibal's and a psychology professor who is also Will's colleague and friend. She has a certain affection for Will despite his issues and their relationship becomes tested throughout. Laurence Fishburne is also really good as Jack Crawford, a hard-nosed and assured leader who brings Will Graham back into field. You've got the gutsy journalist Freddie Lounds who like most journalists is the typical self-seeking opportunist, played by a woman this time around which I thought was an interesting choice but she nails the character. The FBI squad are also on hand to provide good banter with some comic relief here and there in what is quite an all-round serious show which is always welcome. It really captures the atmosphere of that nail-biting, goosebump-inducing psychological horror that The Silence of the Lambs did so well. Due to it's rather...explicit nature it won't be for everyone, for someone whose become somewhat desensitised to TV violence from watching shows like Game of Thrones, True Blood and American Horror Story, it still did disturb me at some parts. If you love gritty shows like Criminal Minds, Homeland, Dexter, The Following etc. then you'll definitely like Hannibal. 

The horror elements are like a delicate mix of Hitchcockian suspense with all the surrealist, macabre imagery that wouldn't look out of place in a David Lynch/Eli Roth film or a Stephen King novel. It's unique aesthetic, namely Will's reconstruction of a particular crime through the eyes and actions of the killers he is investigating is striking and very effective. The imagery is deliberately unsettling but intriguing and it draws you in right from the first episode. 

The Verdict
Hannibal is an engrossing and grisly blend of edgy psychological thriller and horror with a great cast and a unique style. It's suspenseful with some choking tension and packed with some memorable moments and a finale that will leave you hungry for more, I certainly can't wait to get stuck in to season two. This is a hidden gem that's unfortunately been somewhat overlooked in favour of some of the more mainstream shows, but there the ones who are missing out. You have an appointment with Dr Lecter, don't be late and this is not for the faint of heart, one of the best of shows on TV right now.

Interstellar Review

 

So with Interstellar director Christopher Nolan wanted to boldly go where he has not gone before. For it's apparent grandiosity and spectacle though, Interstellar might be Nolan's most personal film to date, using the wonderment and visual splendour of science merely as an effective vehicle to drive the very human core of the story. I guess I'd classify it more as a human drama set in space with some fanciful science exposition to weave it all together, and with all it's talk of interstellar travel, wormholes, black holes, Einstein's relativity, it's ultimately about one man's journey through literally space and time to save his daughter. If your looking for an epic all-out sci-fi action film then this really isn't it, although it does boast incredible set-piece moments that will leave your mouth agape, the crux though of the entire film is that family bond which brings it all right back down to Earth instead of becoming lost in space. It is at times numbingly ambitious, deeply profound, genuinely enthralling, exhilarating, and incredibly poignant. I would go as far as to say it's Nolan's best film to date, in fact I would go even further and say Interstellar is one of the finest feats of filmmaking I have seen in the past decade. Not only does it work from a technical standpoint which is something Nolan is known for, but it succeeds completely at a raw and visceral level more so than any film I've seen in years. I left the cinema almost in a daze, at a loss for words, but the one word that eventually came to me was “incredible”, and it truly is. If you want the full experience though I'd definitely recommend seeing it in full 70mm IMAX, it's the only way it must be seen. 

Cooper (Matthew McConaughey) is a former NASA test pilot who now lives a very agrarian life with his family, father-in-law Donald, a son Tom and his daughter Murphy. However, the Earth's crops are dying, freak dust storms are becoming more frequent and it's resources are becoming increasingly scarce. Humanity is now on the precipice and it's up to Cooper along with a group of scientists, Dr Amelia Brant (Anne Hathaway), Romilly (David Gyasi) and Doyle (Wes Bentley) to venture beyond the stars in an attempt to save humanity. To say any more than that really would spoil it, but know it's an extraordinary, roller-coaster of a journey backed up by some amazing and at times heart-breaking performances particularly from McConaughey, Hathaway, Jessica Chastain and the ever impeccable Michael Caine who plays Dr. Brant's father. The entire ensemble though is fantastic and I must give extra credit to the girl who plays Murph, her and McConaughey really do lay down the emotional anchor of the entire film, their relationship is at the heart of this epic tale and without that the film as a whole would have not nearly been as effective. Where Inception was I think more about it's grand ideas backed up with strong performances and one man's chance of redemption and absolution from guilt, Interstellar is more about the indomitable, infinite nature of paternal love backed up with some extraordinary visual flair and ambition. Like the film itself, it reaches to infinity and beyond, yet remains firmly grounded in just raw emotion which punches surprisingly hard throughout the 169 minute run time. It came as a bit of a shock to me and I'm sure many in the cinema how emotional Interstellar actually is, I gurantee there was not a dry eye in that room by the time the credits rolled and there's no shame in that...much. If there is one minor gripe I can level at the film is that it may come across as overly sentimental at times, one particular moment might leave eyes rolling, but this in no way hurts the overall experience, it's just worth mentioning.

Cooper and crew on some strange, new world, taking a simple dip most probably...nothing important.

From a technical standpoint it's simply outstanding, and everything you've come to expect from a Christopher Nolan film. There are some sequences towards the second and final act that are truly breathtaking, and it's possibly the most cinematic film he's done. It's dizzying almost particularly towards the end and while I suspect he's taken some artistic license with the actual science used similar to the dreams in Inception, it's used very effectively though and will certainly leave you gasping in awe. There are several homages and nods to sci-fi films of the past like Event Horizon, Contact, Solaris and certainly Kubrick's 2001 which you can tell was a huge inspiration. I would argue that Interstellar may very well be the 2001 of this era; thought-provoking, daring and incredibly grand in scope and ambition. As ludicrous as some of the more fantastical science may seem in this film, it's rooted in actual science with theoretical physicist Kip Thorne serving as executive producer and consultant. Visually though it's on another scale (tried to avoid the tired 'out of this world' pun), it has to be seen to be believed really and I've never seen anything quite like it in a film.  The soundtrack by the legend that is Hans Zimmer is also beautifully haunting yet epic at the same time, with a surprising emphasis on the organ here which I think works perfectly particularly in the more tender and affecting scenes. It hits all the right emotions and everything from the beautiful cinematography, the performances and sound, it just really comes together in this majestic coalescence.    

Now with all this gushing you might be quick to label me a Nolan "fanboy", or whatever that means, I'm really not. I'm just a lover of a great film and Interstellar certainly is that, but with someone like Christopher Nolan directing it sure I had higher expectations for it. He's clearly established himself as this auteur director, and he's demonstrated that he is among one of the most gifted of his generation. But I went into this film very much the same way I did when I first saw Batman Begins back in 2005, never knew who Nolan was at this point, had not heard of his previous work and thought it may be a cool, new Batman film. Despite Interstellar's long run time of 169 minutes, remarkably it never felt like it was plodding along which is a good thing, maybe not good for cramp though just saying, but I was engaged for the full 169 minutes. It does get going quite quickly and once it takes off (quite literally) it never really lets up after that so buckle up, sit tight and prepare for the greatest trip of the year by far. I hope this will inspire as well as inform cause it is one of those rare films that combines thought-provoking ideas with that inate fascination in us all, I certainly walked away with as many questions as answers which is a good thing. It begs to be analysed and I imagine it will for months maybe even years to come.  

The Verdict

Interstellar is an extraordinary achievement both on a technical scale and on a purely emotional level, it perfectly blends the breathtaking spectacle with a hard-hitting profoundity rarely seen in film. Featuring fantastic lead performances, twists and turns and an incredible soundtrack, this is without question the best film of the year and Nolan's finest work to date, tied with The Dark Knight. I'm going to go on the record and say it is one of the best films I've ever seen and which will stick with me for a long time, heck I can't stop thinking about it. Interstellar is out of this world! Yeah, I caved.

"The Lion and the Rose" Ep. 2 Preview

Nice day for a Royal Wedding. This episode will see the villainous King Joffrey (Jack Gleeson) marry Margaery Tyrell, what could go wrong?

So, after a very strong start, it seems that Season 4 could already be building into what could potentially be a huge episode on Sunday night (Monday night for us here in the UK). First and foremost we will see the marriage of Joffrey, the mad-boy king we just all love to hate and Margaery which will no doubt be a grand and lavish affair, and we're all invited, ah I just love weddings don't you? However as we all now know, weddings are anything but predictable and pomp in Game of Thrones, so prepare for the unexpected. Also, according to the plot summary, we will be dropping in on Bran and the gang (Hodor, Jojen and Meera Reed and his direwolf Summer) who have finally ventured beyond the Wall. There will also be an update on Stannis (and no doubt the ever present Melisandre) back at Dragonstone where he has brought Davos back into the fold, despite his 'blasphemous' words and earlier impetuous act against Melisandre, to prepare for their march to the Wall to assist the Night's Watch against the real threat of the White Walkers. It's fair to say there will be A LOT to talk about in this episode, so you can expect a full, in-depth, spoiler-ridden review after it airs Monday night folks! Til then, I've uploaded a promo clip of the upcoming episode which is only about 30 seconds or so long but sets the stage for what many people are already calling as "Episode 9 material" in terms of spectacle and shocks. I can hardly wait, bring on episode two! Beware the internet, those sensitive, for it is dark and full of spoilers, but those who have already read the books will know what's coming.

Game of Thrones Season 4 Ep. 1: "Two Swords" Review

Yes, that's right! Dispatch the ravens immediately, rally all Thronies cause the HUGELY anticipated fourth season to the phenomenal Game of Thrones is finally upon us. The first episode premiered on Sky Atlantic at 9pm, but since I couldn't wait that long and with the real possibility of spontaneously combusting from sheer excitement, I decided to watch it earlier this afternoon through the NOW TV app on my console. As we all know, season three had left us all reeling from the bombshell that was the infamous Red Wedding, which spawned a thousand YouTube reaction videos. We gasped, we screamed and in some cases yes..we cried (I know I did, *sniff*), yet we all left with an overwhelming sense of where the series could possibly go from here. Finally, after an agonising wait of nearly a year, season four is now here and boy does it start with a bang. Some key spoilers will follow as I will be discussing several of the plot points and notable character interactions. As I booted up the episode I was greeted with, "This programme contains Strong Language, Strong Violence and Adult Themes.", hell yes you know what that means, Game of Thrones is back baby!

The impressive and symbolic first scene really does set the stage.

The opening scene has the ancient Valyrian steel greatsword Ice melted down and reforged into two swords, under the equally steely and piercing gaze of Tywin (played effortlessly as ever by Charles Dance) as the Rains of Castamere seeps ominously in the background. This sword was a cherished and ancient family heirloom of House Stark, which Ned Stark had used to behead a deserter of the Night's Watch way back in the first episode of season one, the sword that in a tragic twist of fate would also be used to take his own head later on. He casts Ice's wolf pelt scabbard into the fire and watches it burn, which is not at all subtle...yeah we felt that. Tywin gifts one of the these two swords to Jaime (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau), fresh from the trials and tribulations and his long odyssey in the North, he's now sporting a new haircut but one less hand. His father insists (in typical Tywin fashion) he must return to Casterly Rock but Jaime is having none of it and vows to stay in the Kingsguard, despite his...handicap. There is always that great tension amongst the Lannister camp and it's certainly true here, and family drama is what Game of Thrones excels at. Jaime has certainly undergone many radical changes throughout the seasons (particularly Season 3), with his ever growing complexity and moral ambiguity, but you can't help but like him despite his obvious flaws, and Nikolaj as ever plays him with great conviction.

Meanwhile, Tyrion (Peter Dinklage, on impeccable form as always) along with his squire Podrick and the ever delightfully vulgar and plain-spoken sellsword-turned-knight Bronn is set to welcome the Prince of Dorne to King's Landing. However they discover from his travelling entourage that he is too ill to attend the Royal Wedding and has instead sent his brother in his stead. Que probably one of the most memorable entrances for a character thus far. Enter Oberyn Martell (Pedro Pascal, who is perfectly cast) a man with a seemingly genial demeanour yet under that cool and charming veneer is a man consumed with vengeance, particularly against the Lannisters. You are in no doubt by the end of the scene in Littlefinger's brothel (yep, cue full frontal nudity folks) that this is a man who will, like a viper, snap at any moment and one who is hell-bent on exacting swift, bloody justice on those who he feels wronged his family, particularly his dear sister Elia and her two children. She was the wife of Rhaegar Targaryen (a.k.a The Last Dragon) who later died at the hands of Robert Baratheon during the Battle of the Trident. The Sack of King's Landing later followed, and her two children Rhaenys and Aegon were butchered and Elia herself was supposedly raped and cut in half by Ser Gregor "The Mountain" Clegane during the siege, who Oberyn believes was ordered to do so by Tywin Lannister. He warns Tyrion to tell his father that, "the Lannister's aren't the only ones who pay their debts." Look out for this one folks, the Viper is loose.

Oberyn Martell (a.k.a the Red Viper) speaking truths with Tyrion. Look out, there's a new player in town.

Across the Narrow Sea, Daenerys (Emilia Clarke, looking gorgeously regal as always) is enjoying some leisure time with her dragons, which are again beautifully brought to life by the special effects team who should be commended for rendering them so incredibly and seamlessly. However, they are growing larger by the day, and here they already appear enormous despite not even being full size yet. She looks on at Viserion and Rhaegal fighting over a dead lamb while stroking Drogon's head. Feeling left out, Drogon decides to join in the fight but as Dany tries to calm him down he snarls at her (like a typical teenager really), warning his mother to stay back and leaves her understandably shaken. Ser Jorah (Iain Glen) ever her wise counsel gives her a dose of reality and states that, "dragons can never be tamed Khalessi, not even by their mother". She sets a course for Meereen, the mother of all slave cities, with her army of Unsullied in tow and a recast Daario Naharis (now played by Michael Huisman, who is a much better fit) who is now more chasing her as opposed to her being in his shadow which I think makes for a better dynamic between the two. He even presents her with a lovely bouquet of exotic flowers, aww a budding romance in the air perhaps. This is a fairly Dany-lite episode which isn't surprising since it's still very early days yet, but as book-readers will know, Meereen plays a very significant part in her campaign so there will be a lot more to come. 

There is a particularly touching scene at the end where Dany and company stumble upon a grisly mile marker in the form of a dead crucified slave child nailed upon a wooden cross, pointing in the direction to Meereen. Ser Jorah states there is one for each mile to the last of the great slave cities, making it a disturbing 163 in total, and Dany vows not only to have them all buried and their collars removed but that she will "see each and every one of their faces". If her Sack of Astapor from Season 3 (Ep. 4 "And Now His Watch Has Ended") is anything to go by, which undoubtedly is one of the greatest moments across all seasons, then Meereen better watch out. The Silver Queen is coming a'knocking, and shes brought her dragons not to mention her 8,000 eunuch warriors who aren't at all shy about getting their spears a little bloody. 

The Mother of Dragons cradling the biggest of her dragons, Drogon who has quite the attitude.

At Castle Black, Jon Snow (Kit Harrington) is being tried for his actions, namely breaking his vows (by sleeping with Ygritte) and the killing of Qhorin Halfhand. Jon Snow obviously knows...something, warning acting Lord Commander Ser Alliser Thorne, Ser Janos Slynt and Maester Aemon that Mance Rayder's wildlings will attack Castle Black. He is ultimately released at Maester Aemon's behest, much to Slynt's and Thorne's dismay who wanted him executed. Jon also doesn't resist a sly dig at Slynt's misfortune of being a former Commander of the City Watch at King's Landing to now an exiled member of the Night's Watch, which is always welcome. Elsewhere, Ygritte (Rose Leslie) and Tormund Giantsbane (Kristofer Hivju) are awaiting orders from Mance Rayder about their next move before they are interrupted by the arrival of a Free Folk clan known as the bald-headed, self-scarifying Thenns (who resemble a cross between a Romulan and a Cardassian) and who also have an appetite for human flesh. Though if you've watched Game of Thrones for as long as I have then throwing cannibalism into the mix shouldn't come as that big a shock, since you've already become desensitised to like EVERYTHING else that is the barbaric world of Westeros. You get the sense that something big is about to erupt in the North, and yes the inevitable battle will come but it's great to see the character arcs evolving already even if it is only the first episode. The Battle of Blackwater Bay will take some topping, but already the building tension is palpable and you can bet in true Game of Thrones fashion that there will be some shocks in store this season.

Back at King's Landing, Tyrion tries to comfort his disconsolate wife Sansa (Sophie Turner, a tragic victim here), as she tells of her brother and mother's butchery at the Red Wedding, I know dear, I know *sniffs*. He also struggles to fend off an overbearing and lovesick Shae (Sibel Kekilli) as their 'relationship' is constantly tested which makes for some great tension and scenes between the two even if I feel personally she has run her course somewhat now. Jaime also gets a fetching new golden hand from Cercei (Lena Headey) though the loss of his original hand and his long time away makes for some much needed friction between the two siblings/lovers (though perhaps not in the way Jaime was..hoping) which is a joy to watch as their deeply complicated relationship continues to unravel. There are a few other great scenes with Brienne of Tarth (Gwendoline Christie) who encourages Jaime to live up to his vow of returning the Stark girls to safety, though recent events have obviously made this difficult. We briefly drop in on the Tyrells, namely Lady Olenna (Diana Rigg) and Margaery (Natalie Dormer) who are planning for the upcoming wedding, a wedding that as is always the case in the George R.R. Martin universe, will be one to remember, particularly if the Red Wedding is anything to go by and were not forgetting that anytime soon. 

As good as the episode is overall, they really did save the best scene in my opinion til the very last. The Hound (Rory McCann) and Arya (Maisie Williams) are travelling through the woods somewhere in The Riverlands til the pair stumble upon a tavern, where the food and ale is merely the appetiser. Arya's out for a full serving of good old fashioned revenge and she knows it's a dish best served cold, and what better man to have by your side than The Hound who likes a bit of killing himself and...chicken? Seriously, this scene had me in stitches at times, and the two together make for one awesome double act. Dishing out some great lines, brutal violence which of course is what we come to expect in Game of Thrones and from the destruction of one Stark sword in the beginning to regaining another. The execution (pun intended), line delivery and everything about this scene was amazing, and it left me cheering giddily if I'm honest. Full credit to Rory and especially Maisie for making this a truly memorable moment, one of many more to come from them I hope. If "All Men Must Die" is the central theme of this season then there certainly off to a flying start, with the body count already mounting up. Arya is certainly turning into a fine instrument of Stark vengeance, which is not surprising considering all that she's been through and it brings a little smile to my face to see her paying back blood with blood with an almost ruthless sang-froid and icy resolve. Valar Morghulis indeed Arya, go girl! 

A Hound and a Wolf pup walk into a bar...yeah and awesomeness ensues in what is perhaps one of the best scenes of the entire series and certainly of the episode.

The Verdict

A very strong first episode with great performances as always, as well as a compelling new player in the form of Oberyn Martell. Still early days yet, but already it's starting to develop into something truly special. Season 3 will certainly take some beating, but with an assured and promising start like this, I have the utmost faith in Game of Thrones maintaining it's quality and the standard as still, without question the best show on TV right now. That last scene alone will live long in the memory for me, all an all a great episode! Roll on 13th April.

 

Apocalypse Now: My Review of Part I of Derren's Most Daring Mind-Buggery Yet!

This is Steven, and his reaction pretty much summed up how I felt watching it. But that could mean anything so read on...

I know what your all probably thinking, "three posts in the space of three days?!" Yes, clearly I must be coming down with something severe. Well you wouldn't be far off the mark since I'm currently stricken with Derren Delirium at this very moment! It usually occurs whenever he decides to pop onto our TV screens again, giving us folks another special serving of his unique flavour of intellectual nourishment, a true feast for the eyes..food for thought in every sense of the word. But enough of my ho-hum metaphors and sycophantic sentiments, let's tuck in to Derren's latest offering after nearly a year off our screens...my god! I thought the world of decent and thought-provoking television had ended, never mind a world apocalypse it was a bloody TV meltdown at least until Derren came along again. Rest assured, this IS Derren at his best and probably his most dare I say...wicked, and no not the slang definition of it either though it is that too in spades. Now I did say I would be quite thorough with this review, but that would be at the expense of people who haven't seen it to a certain extent so I've decided to hold back a little on the intricacies of it. I'll cover some of the bases that should give you a pretty good idea of what it is so I'm not going to spill the full can of beans at this juncture. 

If you want to do one of them mash-ups from established popular culture I suppose you could say it's 28 Days Later meets The Walking Dead. It also has this core almost Stoic sensibility and philosophy at the heart of it, particularly of the Roman philosopher Seneca which Derren brings up and was one who preached that the only way to truly value what you have is to imagine that the worst could happen at any moment. Well the worst IS about to happen to this hapless 21-year-old chap called Steven. He is about to be taught the harshest lesson imaginable in how to change his ways for the betterment of not only himself as an individual but also his attitude towards those who near and dear to him. From the outset, we get a pretty good impression of this guy at the beginning through witnessing his day-to-day life at home via of course Derren's favourite tool, yep them hidden cameras again. He is literally waited on hand and foot by his parents, loafs about on the sofa with his head buried in his phone paying little attention or consideration for anything else and his room's a bloody state. Yep, he's your typical teenager then only he's NOT anymore, he's a man! Or at least Derren will soon be making more of a man out of him for sure, this is after all what it's about.

So Steven ticks all the right boxes and Derren is ready to get the ball rolling with only weeks left until Apocalypse, for Steven anyhow. He starts by planting the seeds of the coming doomsday by first getting his brother to steal his pride and joy - his phone in the middle of night. Derren then brings in a hacker (oh yes...) to work his magic so Derren and his team can have full reign of it and can send him fake news stories pertaining to the upcoming Perseid meteor shower. This is an actual event that is taking place and Derren and crew can twist it and exaggerate on the possibility of a collision with Earth which will no doubt be in the back of Steven's mind. It's all very ingenious stuff and they continue to feed him fake news stories, radio interviews and other forms of media through the house's radio and TV, very HAL 9000 almost in terms of the level of control they have on Steven's surroundings and I found that to be quite frightening in a way. Then on the day of the Apocalypse after weeks of sowing the seeds of the coming meteor shower, Steven and his brother are given tickets to see his favourite band The Killers. This is a gig he will never make, a far more terrifying and hopefully life-changing series of events is in store for our unwitting bloke...you may want to buckle up.     

  

Steven's day of reckoning. The coach he thought was taking him to see his favorite band is actually taking him to a living nightmare.

      

In a scene straight out of 28 Days Later, Steven then wakes up the following day in a run-down, abandoned military hospital. He soon experiences a series of disturbing scenes and terrors including "infected" people who are out to get him and another survivor and all hell basically breaks loose in quite stunning and often convincing fashion. It's ingeniously constructed and set-up to create a truly foreboding and scary atmosphere with plenty of creep factor, you can't help but feel for the guy in the end who is going through this truly harrowing ordeal. I must say I got some SAW vibes watching it as well since it has a similar aesthetic with some quite grisly scenes. Derren and company have really outdone themselves this time, and it's on such a different level to anything he's ever attempted before that you can't help but marvel at the sheer ambition and scale of the whole production. I know my eyes will be fixed on Channel 4 next week to see the nail-biting conclusion to what is arguably his finest piece of television for many, many years. I will again be giving a run-down of the finale and the show as a whole next week. Til then, I urge you all to dig out 40D whether it's on your PC, laptop, tablet whatever or even your TV and watch it! It will be there a good few days on catch up so I'd urge you to watch it at the best possible opportunity. This is not to be missed folks, this is television at it's most daring. 

Derren Brown: Apocalypse Preview

 

The end of the world is almost upon us...or at least for one unsuspecting bloke anyway and with just two months to go before the world...*cough*...really ends then I suppose it's very pertinent then eh? If Hollywood films haven't sated your appetite of the coming 2012 Apocalypse well maybe this might, so tune in you must. In perhaps his most audacious project to date, Derren will convince one man that a meteorite has crashed into the planet reducing the landscape to rubble and ruin which is certainly very evident from the impressive trailers. If that wasn't enough, the meteorite carries with it a deadly virus that turns the surviving denizens into mindless zombies who are all that remain. Sound familiar? Well to Derren this kind of grand mind-screw is nothing new to him, though he's never attempted anything this downright daring and barmy before. He may have been able to program someone to assassinate Stephen Fry and force an innocent man to confess to a murder he didn't even commit but can he convince someone the world has actually ended?! This is what we all find out tonight so make sure your eyes are fixed to Channel 4 at 9 o'clock tonight in the first of the two-part special. How convincing can you recreate the apocalypse on just a television budget? Well this I imagine will be answered too, it's certainly nothing short of ambitious.

Derren's rather unfortunate subject this time is a guy called Steven who is perceived as this really complacent guy who lives his life in a similar fashion. Someone who takes life for granted like many of us do, that suffers from that "lazy sense of entitlement" as Derren put it in a recent interview. He is about to be thrust into a extreme situation where he is forced to act and it's in these situations where we dig deeper for our inner humanity. Will it compel him to change the way he lives his life? I know it certainly would for me if I was convinced that the world had ended, well wouldn't it anyone right? Like I said, I will be giving my full, in-depth analysis of it sometime tonight or at the very latest tomorrow.

 

DERREN BROWN: APOCALYPSE, 9PM TONIGHT ON CHANNEL 4

Derren Brown: The Experiments & The End of The World As He Knows It

After a rather long intermission, which I admit went on a tad longer than expected...I'm back! And here to give you another delightful and hopefully insightful helping of our nations favorite goatee-sporting entertainer. Yes, the ever-marvelous master of mind manipulation, the one and only Derren Brown. It's been a truly fascinating trip from his formative years as this budding 'magician' and entertainer with a twist, to this powerhouse of a performer who consistently leaves audiences all over the country completely awestruck and dumbfounded in his wake, myself now included ho yes. I've been there almost since the very beginning, from his earliest television special Russian Roulette way back in 2003 to his Trick of the Mind and Trick or Treat series to the other TV specials that followed and subsequent stage shows. In his own words: "out of love of magic I tried to come up with a form of magic that was a bit more thought-provoking and challenging and would get under your skin a bit." That was certainly very true of his most recent four-part series called The Experiments that hit our TV screens this very month last year which was only recently released on DVD and as you'd expect being the hardcore fan that I am snapped that up right away. The Experiments were essentially a series of ambitious and sociological...well experiments that centered around an unwitting subject be it a single person, a crowd or even an entire town. Derren wanted to further explore the darker side of human nature and behavior which was true of the first three episodes until finishing off with a relatively jolly and more positive finale. In stark contrast to his earlier showman material where he takes center stage and is the focal point of the show, Derren takes more of a back seat here you could say or rather the passenger side as opposed to being in the driving seat. There is more of an emphasis on the subject or subjects which I think is true of his more recent TV stuff. Now without further ado let's delve deeper into The Experiments shall we? Or more specifically the first only in this article.
 

The Assassin
In the first of The Experiments, Derren asks - is it possible to hypnotise someone to carry out an assassination? One such instance is the case of the imprisoned killer of Robert Kennedy, Sirhan Sirhan who has professed many times that the CIA programmed him to murder the senator. Derren is out to set the record straight and discover whether such claims are remotely plausible. At the start of the episode, Derren demonstrates some basic but still very impressive feats of suggestion and hypnotism such as making someone instantly sleep before collapsing to the ground in quite dramatic fashion. This is known as a snap induction in which he interrupts an automatic process (something we don't even think about) such as the handshake, putting the persons mind into a state of confusion in which he can then directly influence and issue a command like sleep which they submit to and that provides relief from the confusion. He also performs a hypnotic induction on the entire studio audience making them all drift into a state of deep relaxation at the click of his fingers and the words and phrases that he uses. Even though I've seen him demonstrate this sort of linguistic trickery and programming in the past, it still never ceases to impress and amaze me on how much control he can exert merely through suggestion and based on the audiences expectations of what might happen. This is something he can do pretty much better than anyone and executes it in a way that boggles the mind.        

Now, the meat of the programme is to find someone who would be the most susceptible and responsive to his techniques in carrying out the public assassination of a well-known celebrity, though they have no idea of this. He eventually whittles his potential assassin down to four highly responsive individuals and puts them through the classic "acid test" to see if the subjects under hypnosis would involuntarily throw acid into someone else's face. By laying down the command and the hypnotic trigger (a poker-dot handkerchief) he manages to successfully get them all to throw..which is thankfully water upon seeing the handkerchief into the faces of the four members of the audience. So far so good, but then he really puts his two remaining candidates to the test. Through hypnosis and suggestion he completely overrides the sensation of the ice-cold tank, suggesting to them it's a lukewarm feeling almost body temperate as they manage to keep there hands in the freezing cold water for a good two minutes. He then removes the suggestion by merely grabbing the side of the tank and they immediately take there hands out of the tank as you would normally and that cold sensation would come back. This amazed me and it's true what he says about pain being subjective. A similar routine in his early years would involve him cutting off the sensation in the back of person's hand to the extent that they would be willing to put a syringe needle through it without feeling any pain whatsoever.

Here is that routine in his earliest series Mind Control in which he induces the pain of a toothache through suggestion and the infamous needle through the back of hand.

Without going off at too much of a tangent here though, he then selects Chris of the two remaining candidates to lay back in the gelid tank. As you'd expect he sits there quite comfortably, even as his heart rate is slowly dropping due to the cold temperature. Derren has completely suppressed Chris's somatic sensory system almost, or at least parts of it otherwise he wouldn't be able to withstand the freezing temperature for more than a few seconds. It clearly demonstrates how powerful hypnosis and suggestion can be. After clearing the suggestion by placing his hand on the side of the tank as before, Chris quickly leaps out, unaware until that point how much his body temperature has plummeted. He ultimately chooses Chris as his assassin, noting that there is something of a "blank slate" about him. Derren then brings Chris to a gun range under the pretense of how hypnosis can drastically improve your marksmanship, he is unaware that this is actually the first phase of the assassination programming process...a sly one that Derren. While Chris is in a sleep state Derren lays down the triggers, namely a ringtone cue that will send him into this trance-like state. In this state he will become a first-rate shooter through a "marksman mode" which is activated by placing his index finger to his forehead. Remarkably, he scores a good few bulls-eyes with both the rifle and the handgun while in this marksman state compared to when he was popping shots off normally. My mouth was agape at this moment, as was the instructor's.         
It's incredible to think that hypnosis can drastically improve a person's aim, which begs the question of how far hypnosis can really go. Are there any limits as to what you can achieve through it? Its a fascinating thought for sure, and to me hypnosis could essentially provide the key into unlocking our brain's untapped potential, considering how complex the human mind is. Anyway moving on before I stray to far again, so after Derren has set up the marksman mode, the next phase is to induce a state of spontaneous amnesia in Chris. He will essentially forget everything at the sight of the poker-dot design which again serves as the psychological trigger. Derren demonstrates this rather impressively by making Chris look at the poker-dot pattern on a screen which he does for a good two minutes or so. As soon as Derren switches the pattern off he asks Chris how long he was looking at the screen to which he replies,"10 seconds." He also gets Chris to reveal his PIN number in this temporary state of amnesia and is amazed after coming out of the state that Derren got it right even though he told him like seconds ago! With the programming phases now completed, it's time to answer that most important of questions: can you really hypnotise someone to carry out an assassination? The answer is both breathtaking and thought-provoking...

   

On the day of the assassination, Chris is given a case with a loaded gun inside by one of Derren's crew who asks him to mind it for the duration of the show. The show is a special talk taking place at a small venue, the speaker...the one and only Stephen Fry and also Chris's target. Chris sits himself up in the stalls unaware he's being secretly filmed and soon Melchett takes the stage and begins his talk. A woman in a poker-dot dress then enters the stalls and sits in front of Chris. This sets the spontaneous amnesia in motion and seconds later the music que from her phone rings out, this is the same ringtone that enables him to enter that marksman mode. Sure enough, upon hearing the trigger he raises his finger to his forehead and is told by the lady in the dress that his target is Stephen Fry. After an agonizing, nail-biting pause he finally reaches into the case that he had placed on the floor. He takes the handgun out of case which is loaded with what he believes to be three real bullets and stands up with his gun raised, he now has Stephen in his sights and then...BANG! BANG! BANG! Pops poor old Stephen three times in the chest much to the shock of the audience. He casually sits back down as if nothing happened while Stephen lies motionless on the floor, mission accomplished. 

When he later meets Derren and Stephen after the show, Chris has no recall whatsoever of anything unusual happening during the talk when quizzed by Derren. Derren then reveals to Chris that they were actually secretly filming during the entire show and he watches on in bemusement at the footage of him coolly gunning Stephen down. He is then tapped on the knee by Derren and it immediately comes rushing back to him. Chris then starts to remember details and that he believed he was back at the gun range when he carried out the public assassination, never once acknowledging that he was in a venue or theater or that he was firing on a real human being. Stephen was just a "target" to him like those he had punched holes through at the range and this revelation even left Stephen dumbfounded and gobsmacked. This is definitive proof that an individual of a suggestive and responsive sort can be programmed through hypnosis and suggestion to carry out something as heinous as an assassination. A truly compelling and engrossing 50 minutes of television that answers the most significant question while leaving many others open to debate and speculation. 

Apocalypse Tomorrow

Tune in to Channel 4 tomorrow at 9pm as Derren is about to turn one man's world upside down in probably his most thrilling, groundbreaking, ambitious and darkest project to date. He is going to convince one man that it is the end of the world as he knows it. I will be posting my thoughts later that night if I get the chance. This is not to be missed! Make sure you tune in.