I've been really lax when it comes to updating my reviews over the last few months and it is taking me forever to get through them, so I am back with something new. Continuing on with the third series of new EDA's, we come to The Beast Of Orlok.
With fangs like splinters, claws like knives, the Beast of Orlok gobbles lives.
With brimstone breath and eyes aglow, he'll eat your soul - to Hell you'll go!
Germany, 1827. The town of Orlok is under a curse, haunted by the memory of a spate of grisly murders that shattered the community twenty years before. At the time, townsfolk blamed the legendary Beast of Orlok, a nightmarish creature from medieval folklore.
And now, it seems, the Beast has returned. As the killings begin again, the people of Orlok are understandably suspicious of two strangers newly arrived in their midst. The Doctor and Lucie must face their darkest fears as they find themselves plunged into a decidedly grim fairytale.No, I didn't suddenly get really good with reviews. That's just the blurb on the back. This bit is the review...
So What's Good With It? This tale is dark. Really dark. Hinchcliffe and Holmes, Fourth Doctor gothic heights dark. And people familiar with that era will know that that isn't a bad place to be for a story. This story has twisted fairytale written all over it, so anyone who is a fan of those kinds of stories will feel right at home with The Beast Of Orlok. It's like Frankenstein meets Hansel and Gretal. In terms of characters, everyone in this is great. The actors put in great performances and their characters are brilliantly realised and fleshed out, but running away with the whole story is Sheridan Smith as Lucie who arguably puts in her best performance to date. She is given a nice meaty role in this with plenty to do and even totally outshines McGann (who is also brilliant) as the Doctor. Another amazing turn is put in by the brilliant Miriam Margolyes as Frau Tod, who gets to deliver some wonderfully funny lines and invents the black forest gateau along the way. The setting in Germany is perfectly realised and the atmosphere both creepy and brilliant. The script is sharp and moves at a great pace, with some nice humour mixed into the darker moments of the story.
But What's Wrong With It? The beginning of the story is nothing new. It sounds a lot like stuff that we have heard before in other stories, and that makes it feel less original. The upside to this is that things take an unexpected twist after the first 20 minutes or so and then the adventure really starts to kick off. Unfortunately, with only 60 minutes of runtime that is a long time to wait to get to the good stuff.
Final Verdict: Brilliantly dark, clever and funny, if not a little of a slow starter.
The Beast of Orlik gets 4/5 Tardis's
Extra Info: 60 minutes long (or 2 x 30 minutes depending on the version you purchased) on one disc with interviews and a Q&A as bonus features and a trailer for the next story.
Amazon have it available for £8.35
Trailer: http://www.bigfinish.com/releases/popout/the-beast-of-orlok-533
