Intruders Season One
Mastering life after death
Release Date: OUT NOW!
2014 | 15 | Blu- ray/ DVD Creator: Glen Morgan Cast: John Simm, Mira Sorvino, Tory Kittles, James Frain, Millie Brown
In many ways
this BBC America/ BBC Two co- production resembles another transatlantic partnership. It revolves around a shock revelation about death, and a secret controlled by a small, powerful elite. A key character’s a sleazeball who does horrible things to kids. The lead was a recurring guest on Doctor Who; the exec producers are alumni too. Hang on… it’s Torchwood: Miracle Day all over again!
This dark, gritty paranormal thriller isn’t quite as bewilderingly all- over- the- shop as Captain Jack’s last hurrah, though. John Simm is Jack Harkn… sorry, Whelan, a Troubled Ex- Cop drawn into a web of conspiracy after his missus ( Mira Sorvino) starts acting out of character: speaking Russian; stroking her arms like they’re new to her and, most disturbing of all, suddenly developing a liking for jazz. Her soul’s been displaced by one of the Qui Reverti, a secret society who’ve mastered how to return after death. And she’s not the only one…
Simm does his best with a character painted in broad strokes (“I’ve got anger issues! Look, I just punched the French doors!”), but he’s overshadowed by Millie Brown as Madison, a nine- year- old possessed by a centuries- old serial killer. The physicality of her performance impresses: when she flashes a murderous glare, or flops down in a chair like a geezer, legs spread apart, you buy it. And watching a little girl cuss like a docker never gets old.
Intruders has its flaws, though. Jack is annoyingly resistant to the truth. After eight episodes, the series’ mythology remains both out of focus and resistant to logic. And there’s something faintly disrespectful about the use of historical figures – one returnee is jazz musician Bix Beiderbecke. But the major frustration is that it takes a big idea with global implications, and manages to make it seem small. All too often the focus is on internecine warfare between the Qui Reverti and their hitmen lackeys; as a result the stakes never seem as substantial as they should.
One measly talking heads intro featurette ( 10 minutes). Ian Berriman
The series’ mythology remains resistant to logic