​REVISITING URBAN GOTHIC: OLD NICK/LACUNA

REVISITING URBAN GOTHIC: OLD NICK/LACUNA

25/11/2020

S1.06 OLD NICK

“It's the name for the Devil. We're living in the same block as the Devil.”

Here we go. 'Vampirology' may have been an exceptional art-house, experimental mockumentary piece of film-making, but 'Old Nick' is the first Urban Gothic episode to truly nail what all the others have been attempting to deliver – a bloody good horror story.

We immediately get off to a good start, fading in on a dilapidated council estate where a man entering a flat suddenly (and for no apparent reason) self-immolates. It's a very quick sequence, but not without artistry, as he gets just enough time to gaze in alarm at his cigarette suddenly burning down before his whole body erupts in flames. And yes, the protective mask the stuntman wears as he collapses over his shopping trolley is a little obvious, but even so, it's clearly a real man who is clearly very much on fire – a lot of fire – and the production team deserves credit for that.

After the opening titles we're introduced to Jake, his mum Annie and their cat Ripley (because Jonesy would have been too obvious, right?), who have just moved to the estate and obviously aren't happy about it, though they're doing their best to put on a brave face. That becomes more challenging as they learn the estate is currently suffering an epidemic of gruesome, unexplained deaths.

Jake meets Sadie, a young girl who lives in their block and who is certain the perpetrator behind the deaths is their elderly neighbour, Old Nick. Jake's mum Annie, meanwhile, strikes up a friendship with local newspaper reporter Sam, who is determined to get to the bottom of the mystery, but quickly becomes more interested in who Jake and Annie are and what bad business lurks in their past.

What he eventually learns is that Jake's father was an abusive psychopath who died after beating Annie so badly he killed the baby she was carrying. Annie was charged with his murder and eventually acquitted, but Jake was the one who killed him.

Meanwhile, more bodies are piling up around the estate and Jake, beset by strange visions and spurred on by Sadie, is becoming ever more convinced Old Nick is behind it all. The old man himself appears harmless enough, though his obvious interest in Nick and his mum gives grounds for concern.

In the closing minutes comes the big reveal. Old Nick isn't the Devil at all, but an angel sent to save Jake's soul. Sadie is the demonic spirit of his dead sister, locked in a Machiavellian battle of wits with the old man. Sadly, she emerges victorious as Jake, spurred into action by the murder of his cat (RIP Ripley), stabs Old Nick to death and dooms himself to eternal damnation.

It's a ferociously grim ending, which isn't at all unusual for Urban Gothic, but isn't it nice how it all makes sense? There's no confusion about what's happening, why characters are behaving in a certain way or what their motivations are. It's all completely logical – which, given how mysterious everything is until the 25th minute or so, and how densely packed, makes it a real achievement in storytelling.

Even the final sting in the tail, which on Urban Gothic frequently only serves to confuse things further (think of the dinner party poisoning in 'The One Where...' or the quick pan to a Darwin quote in 'Sum of the Parts') is in this episode executed perfectly, as Sadie strolls out of Old Nick's flat and, in a smooth, cinematic tracking shot, runs into the arms of her ghostly father, the pair rejoicing in the knowledge that Jake is now condemned to join them both in Hell for all eternity. “Happy families,” as her father puts it, with a quick zoom in to his brimstone-ravaged face before the credits roll.

It's chilling. I can dig it.

Based on one of Tom de Ville's better scripts for the series, 'Old Nick' benefits from a complete absence of the Whedonesque quips and one-liners he packed some of the earlier episodes with. It helps that there are no teens or twenty-somethings in this story. Only children, a creepy old man and a pair in their thirties, too aware of the weight of the tragedies that surround them to be glib.

Though it would have doubtlessly benefited from an extra 15 minutes (a criticism I can make of most Urban Gothic episodes as I curse the Channel 5 executives for imposing a half-hour format), 'Old Nick' doesn't feel compromised or rushed the way some other episodes do. Early scenes fly past very quickly indeed, but by the second half things do slow down so that important plot points and character moments have a chance to resonate. It helps considerable that, while it still looks like cheap telly in the same vein of Doctors or Family Affairs, director Marcus D.F. White (who also helmed 'Sum of the Parts' and 'Deptford Voodoo') makes efforts to show some visual flair, making good use of the rundown council estate setting, some theatrical lighting, a bit of movement from the camera and an understated synth score (much more effective than the pulsing rave numbers of previous episodes, which only helped to drown out the dialogue).

Most recognisable in the cast is Lindsey Coulson as Jake's mum, who brings an appropriately world-weary sure-handedness from her years playing Bianca's mum in Eastenders to proceedings. Eastenders actors are, of course, renowned for their skills in looking miserable, crying and screaming, and Coulson gets a chance to show her full range here (particularly when she enters the block's knackered lift and fails to notice the mutilated body pinned to the ceiling until it begins to drip blood over her). She wouldn't be the last Eastender to pop up in Urban Gothic (thinking about it, it's surprising there weren't more).

Everyone else in the cast gives a good account of themselves. As Old Nick (a role I imagine written with someone like Max von Sydow in mind), Mark Kingston treads the line between benevolence and malevolence well. With more screen-time, there could have been much more fun to mine from his performance (for him and the audience) as everyone at home tries to figure out whose side he's on.

You never expect the kids in these things to be particularly good, but it's nice to be able to report that Jake (Nick Robinson) and Sadie (Ella Jones, these days directing Enterprice for BBC3!) are both good enough, with Jones shining particularly well when she gets to show her evil side. 'Old Nick' might be the only episode of Urban Gothic told from a child's perspective (I think so, but I don't remember for sure). That, with the calibre of actors involved, plus the production values, all adds up to make this feel like an especially grim, bloody episode of The Sarah Jane Adventures. And honestly? That's no bad thing. It certainly works for me.

S1.07 LACUNA

“Death is the truth. Life is a lacuna. It fades to nothing.”

I'm aware I used the word 'grim' twice in my analysis of 'Old Nick' so I'm reluctant to use it again to describe 'Lacuna', though it would be accurate. How about 'grimy', instead? A suitable compromise?

'Trainspotting' meets 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Next' by way of 'Jacob's Ladder', this is an episode that very much wears its influences on its sleeve. Junkies Spike (Christopher Mills) and Sidney (Andrew Sherridan) break into a mental health facility in search of drugs, but are caught by the staff who mistake them for inmates attempting to escape. Initially treating their predicament as a bit of a joke, when they get to know some of the other patients and spend a bit of time with the head nurse (Lindy Whiteford doing her best Nurse Ratched), the lads come to realise things are a bit more serious than they first imagined.

'Lacuna' has an inescapable problem. If you limit your focus to the episode itself, to everything that's happening on screen, it's really quite good. The premise is solid. The performances are great. There is a huge amount of energy and some lively visuals (including a surprise cameo from John Lynch aka The Most Pierced Man in the World), enhanced by the location – a suitably decrepit old hospital building of some kind – and a production team committed to making everything look as dirty and horrible as possible. The story, taken on its own merits, works, with some nice twists and a good emotional core.

The problem is there is not a shred of originality to any of it. If you've seen 'Trainspotting', 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest' and 'Jacob's Ladder' then you already know, within about three minutes of the episode starting, everything that is going to happen. There's nothing wrong with taking influence from others to inform your own work. It's inevitable. But you need to add something of your own to make it feel fresh and unexpected. Unfortunately, 'Lacuna' feels like an empty retread. It has its influences, but nothing else. Which doesn't leave me with much more to say about it.

That said, if you haven't seen 'Trainspotting', 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Next' or 'Jacob's Ladder', you might quite enjoy it.

Join me next time for 'Cry Wolf' and 'Be Movie'.