As I've said before, I like it when "Inside Number 9" leans into the horror aspect available to them, as they do here with the season two finale, which like the final episode of season one, is another comedic chiller.
Tina (Sophie McShera) visits a gothic looking house and partakes in a séance, with Madam Talbot (Alison Steadman) and her assistant Hives (Reece Shearsmith). The commune summons a demon, (Dan Starkey) who appears to Tina ... at which point, it's revealed that the séance is part of a hidden camera prank show. The show is a chance for Hives, the host, to reboot his career, after an unfortunate incident ended the last run of a similar show. Their next victim though is Pete (Steve Pemberton) aggressive and boorish, and the results are very different.
As I've said, the horror ones are my preferred episodes and even if this doesn't go quite as far as "The Harrowing" from season one, it's still got more than its fair share of creepy imagery to go around, plus a jump scare at the end. It remains funny though, with the bulk of the show made up of behind the scenes TV show stuff, the hierarchy amongst the performers, the stresses of make-up, of resetting shots. Cariad Lloyd and Alice Lowe are the two crewmembers as director and make up backstage, and both are excellent. It's Steadman though that does the most lifting, as the hammy actress looking to get away early as she has a performance that evening.
The episode gently weaves in its plot points about what happened to stall Hives' career last time, to give you the information you need ahead of the denouement, which perhaps doesn't go quite as far as I might have hoped.
Not perhaps quite as good as "The Harrowing" but a really excellent way to end a great season.
Tina (Sophie McShera) visits a gothic looking house and partakes in a séance, with Madam Talbot (Alison Steadman) and her assistant Hives (Reece Shearsmith). The commune summons a demon, (Dan Starkey) who appears to Tina ... at which point, it's revealed that the séance is part of a hidden camera prank show. The show is a chance for Hives, the host, to reboot his career, after an unfortunate incident ended the last run of a similar show. Their next victim though is Pete (Steve Pemberton) aggressive and boorish, and the results are very different.
As I've said, the horror ones are my preferred episodes and even if this doesn't go quite as far as "The Harrowing" from season one, it's still got more than its fair share of creepy imagery to go around, plus a jump scare at the end. It remains funny though, with the bulk of the show made up of behind the scenes TV show stuff, the hierarchy amongst the performers, the stresses of make-up, of resetting shots. Cariad Lloyd and Alice Lowe are the two crewmembers as director and make up backstage, and both are excellent. It's Steadman though that does the most lifting, as the hammy actress looking to get away early as she has a performance that evening.
The episode gently weaves in its plot points about what happened to stall Hives' career last time, to give you the information you need ahead of the denouement, which perhaps doesn't go quite as far as I might have hoped.
Not perhaps quite as good as "The Harrowing" but a really excellent way to end a great season.