Protected: The Aural Aesthetics of Ghosts in BBC Ghost Stories – Part 4 (Music).
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Category: Television
Red Shift (Play For Today, 1978) – John Mackenzie (BFI).
A shifting sense of time, space, and place can bring huge advantages to fantastical works of fiction. The feeling that time is a folded concept, repeating and resetting in a quasi-ritualistic ceremony of life adds a sheen of the monumental to even the smallest and most intimate of dramas. This sheen is the absolute embodiment of the work of writer, Alan Garner, and is never … Continue reading Red Shift (Play For Today, 1978) – John Mackenzie (BFI).
Protected: The Aural Aesthetics of Ghosts in BBC Ghost Stories – Part 3 (William Ager).
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Protected: The Aural Aesthetics of Ghosts in BBC Ghost Stories – Part 2 (The Disembodied Voice).
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Protected: The Aural Aesthetics of Ghosts in BBC Ghost Stories – Part 1 (Introduction).
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Tales of Mystery (1961-1963) – What Was It Like? (Algernon Blackwood).
Out of all of the archive television currently missing, presumed destroyed, I think the most exciting and saddening loss is a little-advertised series called Tales of Mystery. Even though the rumours currently flying around of the potential finds of Philip Morris and TIEA are mostly grounded in the likes of Doctor Who and Dad’s Army, a small part of me hopes for this archive gem … Continue reading Tales of Mystery (1961-1963) – What Was It Like? (Algernon Blackwood).
Films On The Strange British Coastline.
While many British films take full advantage of the rural potential that “this spectered isle” can provide, there seems to be another sub-sect to this branch film, often finding its way into British horror cinema. Of course, this isn’t as clear cut as simply analysing films under the guise of “Rural Horror” or “Folk Horror” but there is a small batch of British horror films … Continue reading Films On The Strange British Coastline.
The Tractate Middoth – Mark Gatiss (BBC Ghost Story at Christmas).
This article contains minor spoilers. It has taken a while for the traditional BBC ghost story to make a fully formed return in the 21st century. This is surprising considering the popularity of the return of other genre television traditions from Doctor Who to Battlestar Galactica, but the singular ghost story at Christmas has taken some time to get right. Before this recent M.R. James … Continue reading The Tractate Middoth – Mark Gatiss (BBC Ghost Story at Christmas).
An Ancient Evil: M.R. James and Nigel Kneale.
Two writers who could be said to epitomise the ideas of Folk Horror, M.R. James and Nigel Kneale, while addressing these ideals through different media, are writers whose work often crept into the same realm. This has lead to both of their work having a natural relationship with each other, with one almost being a reincarnation of the other. Of course, to imply such things … Continue reading An Ancient Evil: M.R. James and Nigel Kneale.
Village Green Repression in Film, Television and Philip Larkin.
Mythological Introduction by Philip Larkin. A white girl lay on the grass With her arms held out for love; her goldbrown hair fell down her face, And her two lips move: See, I am the whitest cloud that strays Through a deep sky: I am your senses’ crossroads, where the four seasons lie. She rose up in the middle of the lawn And spread her … Continue reading Village Green Repression in Film, Television and Philip Larkin.
Celluloid Wicker Man 