Samantha Vandersteen

TV Review: Hannibal

So are serial killers the new vampires? Now that our favourite serial killer Dexter Morgan is going to be hanging up his plastic sheeting after one final, bloody outing in July, it looks like American network NBC is keen to fill the void with a reworking of the classic serial killer story, Hannibal.

In recent years viewers seem to have taken a bit of a shine to deadly creatures, first vampires, then zombies and now serial killers? We’ve come a long way from the days of the original Teen Wolf. The real difference with these new deadly creatures is that, of course, serial killers actually exist. Maybe not in the same form as Dexter or Hannibal but they are real enough to give a truly sinister edge to the programme.

It is particularly strange how a character that in real life would be jailed and vilified can become much more accepted and understood when fictionalised. We may only be a few episodes in to the gripping new Hannibal, played expertly by Mads Mikkelsen, but it is easy to see how by immersing himself into everyday life, even working closely with the FBI, he can remain hidden in plain sight. He comes across as educated, well spoken, normal even. Will Graham on the other hand, played by Hugh Dancy, is erratic, complicated and misunderstood.

It is a brave move by Mikkelsen to take on such an iconic role; hardcore Silence of the Lambs fans may find it hard to see anyone other than Anthony Hopkins playing the world’s most famous cannibal. Having only watched the Hannibal films a couple of times I may be easily swayed, in fact only a few episodes in and I am already hooked by the psychiatrist’s calm, reserved and haunting manner.

I should also probably admit that I have never read the books, but after discussing the show with people who have, I learned that the TV show stays much closer to the story of the books than the films. This might make a hard transition for the film lovers but I hope they stick with this new take. Exploring human relationships, mental illness and murder might not make for comfortable viewing but it does make damn good TV.

TV Review: Dexter

We are coming to the end of the penultimate series of Dexter and it’s dangerously close to unravelling for our favourite serial killer. If you are not familiar with Dexter then where the hell have you been?

Arguably one of the best shows on TV it has a surprisingly small audience in the UK. As all the best things do, it has a cult following that seems appropriate for the dark nature of the show. I’m always surprised that the American show has lasted as long as it has without being watered down or ruined by studios. Dexter Morgan is not your run-of-the-mill American hero and this often does not go down well with American audiences. We Brits however love an anti-hero and that is why I am surprised more people in the UK are not aware of the show.

Dexter is an anti-hero is ever there was one. After seeing his mother brutally murdered in front of him as a toddler, Dexter is adopted and raised by the policeman that found him, Harry Morgan. As he grows up Harry discovers Dexter killing animals and worries that what he saw at a young age has damaged him. How Harry reacts to this is probably one of the biggest questions of the show; instead of trying to suppress this need to kill, as he grows older Harry encourages Dexter to channel this need into killing only people that deserve it; people who have escaped punishment by the law. Harry sees this as an opportunity to allow his son to be the person he needs to be but also to correct what he sees as a failing in the justice system. By teaching Dexter to cover his tracks and abide by a “code” he will avoid being caught and satisfy his need to kill without hurting innocent people. Throughout all of the series this question hangs over Dexter, did Harry allow him to be who he needs to be or has he encouraged and nurtured a killer for his own sense of justice?

So far, Dexter has managed to keep his “dark passenger” hidden from the rest of the world and has a relatively normal life; he works as a blood splatter expert for the Miami Police, he even had a family but in this last series we have seen things begin to unravel for him as his life and his secret life start to collide. His sister has discovered his secret and struggles to come to terms with his other life, Maria LuGuerta is also getting dangerously close to the truth and Dexter is falling in love with another serial killer.

In the past each series of Dexter has gone from strength to strength but some viewers have criticised this last season, mainly because Dexter has become careless and you can see everything he has worked hard to hide is beginning to unravel before him. This show presents us with a strange moral dilemma, we know we should not like Dexter; we should want him to be found out and stopped because we know killing for any reason is wrong. But at the base of the show is a guy who is a little bit different trying to find a way to fit into society and I think that strikes a chord with many of us.

I think the reason some dedicated viewers are less happy with this season is that we can see it could all be going badly wrong for Dexter. As this series draws to a close and we excitedly wait for the eighth and final season, is Dexter going to make it through to kill another day or has his “dark passenger” taken him too far this time?

Book Review: The First Book of Calamity Leek

If this book sounds like a fairy tale then I am sorry to tell you that this one does not have a happy ever after. The First Book of Calamity Leek is the debut novel of Paula Lichtarowicz and in it she creates a world where nothing is quite as it seems.

The story is told through the eyes of Calamity Leek, a girl in her teens who, along with her sisters, lives in a garden behind the wall of safekeeping completely shut off from the outside world. The girls are brought to the garden at a young age and watched over by Aunty and Mother. It goes without saying that Aunty and Mother are not the caring people they would have the girls believe and of course the sisters are not really sisters. Don’t worry, this is not a spoiler; the story is not so much about how the sisters came to be there but more about how they discover the lies they have been brought up in and the crumbling of the world they thought they knew.

Starting on the night when one of the sisters looks over the wall and begins to question the truth of Aunty’s stories, from then on the book tells the tale of what happened and the aftermath, as Calamity desperately tries to keep hold of everything she has been told and make sense of the new truth. The language used by the sisters and the description of their life gives the impression of a quaint world straight out of a film – they are even named after old film characters and UK landmarks; but it soon becomes apparent that the idyllic world is just a cover for a dark secret cooked up by two disturbed women.

Having finished the book, I cannot quite make up my mind if I actually enjoyed it. This is an unusual take on a story that is essentially about kidnapping and abuse, the quaint language and naivety of the girls makes it palatable but nonetheless sad. If we were feeling picky we might question how no one thought to check the secluded orphanage when local girls in Wales started to go missing but aside from that it is an interesting and thought provoking read. I do not know if I enjoyed the First Book of Calamity Leek but it did make me wonder how you can ever convince someone of the truth when everything they have ever been told is a lie.

Book Review: Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

Starting on the morning of their fifth wedding anniversary, Gone Girl tells the story of Nick Dunne and his wife Amy, who has mysteriously disappeared. It looks suspicious and all the clues point to Nick, but it is not as straightforward as it seems.

I have a real concern that bookshops might unceremoniously shove Gone Girl into the genre of Chick Lit and that would be a real shame. Chick Lit has a reputation for taking on the fluffy novels of the literary world; romcoms, light comedies, even sometimes just having a female author can relegate a book to this candyfloss world. Not that there’s nothing wrong with chick lit – after all, who doesn’t like to sometimes be whisked away to a world where the girl marries the man of her dreams and there is always a happy ending? Gone Girl, however, leaves the fluffy stuff well behind and delves into what happens when the ending is not quite as happy as you thought it would be.

Whilst Gone Girl tells the story of a relationship, it is certainly not a light romcom. Through Nick’s first-hand accounts and from Amy’s diary entries we learn how they first met and how their seemingly idyllic life started to implode. You are never quite sure who you can trust while reading this book and the twists and turns leave you constantly trying to guess if Nick really is as innocent as he proclaims. This is Gillian Flynn’s third novel and, having read this, I am definitely going to be seeking out her first two books, Sharp Objects and Dark Places, which both promise to be as dark and thought provoking as Gone Girl.

At its heart, this is a tale of relationships and how even with the best intentions they can implode. Yes, the characters and the situation are extreme, but I think most people who have been in a failed relationship could find themselves asking the same questions that Nick asks: Who are you? What have we done to each other?

Crime novel, thriller, chick lit, it is hard to categorise this book, but Flynn’s excellent writing and sharp observations take you down into the murky world of her characters and leave you wondering how well do we ever know the person we lie next to?

Film Review: Trance

Oh Danny Boy, we know you are a national treasure after the success of the Olympic Opening Ceremony but I’m not sure your new film is going to be winning gold this year. Okay, so some of Boyle’s past films have involved some suspension of disbelief but excellent storylines and endearing characters can help an audience forgive even the unlikeliest scenarios; unfortunately Trance has a distinct lack of both of these.

Trance, directed by Danny Boyle and starring James McAvoy, is a crime thriller that tells the story of an art heist; Simon (McAvoy) receives a blow to the head which leaves him unable to remember where he hid the stolen painting. Desperate to find the painting and with a crime boss breathing down his neck, he seeks help from hypnotherapist Elizabeth (played by Rosario Dawson) who claims she can help him find it by taking him into a trance state.

The plot undergoes a number of twists and turns which make it hard to tell you much more about the storyline without giving too much away, but probably the most important thing to note is that your instinct about where the plot is going within the first half hour is probably right on the money. As a cinema audience we are quite jaded and as soon as something labels itself a thriller you are immediately looking out for potential twists – unfortunately this means that all too often you see them coming a mile off.

It will not necessarily ruin a film when the twists aren’t quite as clever as the writers thought they would be; I was able to really enjoy Shutter Island despite guessing early on what the dramatic twist would be. In this case the film was so well executed you could almost blame yourself for being just a smug viewer and seeking out clues. With Trance you get the sense that the writers are the smug ones, thinking they have been ever so clever that even avid film watchers would miss the huge hints that are scattered throughout the film until the (un)surprising conclusion.

Trance is not an awful film, the talented Boyle givens us a visually pleasing journey, taking us through trance state and reality and exploring the notion of how far hypnotherapy can and should go. However, despite being a fan of McAvoy I wasn’t convinced by his good boy gone bad character and Vincent Cassel does what he can with a fairly vague and unthreatening crime boss. How many crime bosses do you think would be sympathetic to amnesia and hold your hand through hypnotherapy?

You get the impression that Boyle was trying to take us on an exploration of the mind and leave us questioning what was real and who the real criminal of the film was, but like the scene that involves a full frontal and shaved Rosario Dawson, you wonder if Boyle should have perhaps left a little more to the audiences’ imagination.