When my Dad first told me about Detectorists, I said, “What, so it’s about a bunch of metal detectors?” And he said “No, they’re detectorists.” And I thought “OK, fine, there’s no need to be a nob about it.”
And that kind of encapsulates the genius of that show.
I work for a little not-for-profit organisation. Whenever we come into any amount of unexpected funding, I ALWAYS raise the prospect of getting a yacht just like the @massivelyop team!
New York detective Ichabod Crane is sent to Sleepy Hollow to investigate a series of mysterious deaths in which the victims are found beheaded. But the locals believe the culprit to be none other than the ghost of the legendary Headless Horseman.
I guess if you don’t like the Depp/Burton/Elfman triumvirate there’s no way you’ll like this. But I think this is worth the watch for the visual effects, makeup and stunt work alone.
The headless horseman is superbly realised. A villain almost as formidable and implacable as the Terminator that, despite the lack of facial expression, still manages to have a playful and cheeky demeanour.
The central plot is fun, though it does rely heavily on a fountain of exposition in the third act to bring it together. Some of the performers are a bit wooden and the accents are ALL over the place but there’s at least Michael Gambon to enjoy.
Finally, a word on “horror”. There’s more threat and gore in this than I find in most recent horror movies pitched at teens. It deserves a little more respect in that regard.
★★★★
A young boy and his friends face off against a mysterious grave robber known only as the Tall Man, who keeps a mysterious arsenal of terrible weapons with him.
This is quite the silver lining!
“Jobeth Williams in Steven Spielberg’s 1982 film Poltergeist.” The Guardian not even pretending… https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2023/feb/01/kids-horror-shows-joe-cornish
