The reason League Of Gentlelmen alumni Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton are so brilliant on the verge of becoming national treasures is their amazing ability to create vivid comedy characters within horror story conventions, and yet still produce moments of real tension. The second series of the acclaimed Psychoville follows favourite characters especially Dawn Frenchs bonkers nurse Joy but still creates new ones, who slot into the serial killer story effortlessly.
The plot itself follows the mystery of Nurse Kenchintons locket but now a detective, Finney, is on the case. He encounters some of the characters from series 1, including Oscar Lomax and his assistant Michael, and the oedipal Sowerbutts couple David and Maureen. Its the new characters who really catch the eye though, especially Shearsmiths librarian Jeremy Goode, a man who gets obsessed with a missing book and has hallucinations. This is Psychoville at its best Jeremy is a funny character but at times his visions are genuinely disturbing.
Just when you think theyve pushed it too far and gone too dark, Shearsmith and Pemberton throw in a manager of a toy shop who is camper than a row of tents, pure comedy value. They also have a lot of fun referencing other horror films you can have arguments with your friends about just how many there are, but some of the more obvious ones in series 2 are Scanners and Frankenstein. If it all sounds too gothic for you there is also at least one brilliant wordplay joke in every episode.
The set also includes the Halloween Special, an essential watch that includes one genuinely creepy sequence involving two small trick or treaters. In the great tradition of one-off specials, My Jelly actually dies, but comes back to life in series 2 as if nothing has happened.
Overall Verdict: Beautifully filmed, consistently funny and always gripping, Psychoville 2 is proof that Pemberton and Shearsmith have plenty of ideas left.
Special Features:
Halloween Special
Audio commentaries on every episode
Reviewer: Mike Martin