Pegg and Frost reunite but where are the laughs?
The new paranormal comedy from Simon Pegg and Nick Frost is haunted by the ghosts of the great show it never quite becomes. Truth Seekers (Amazon Prime) marks the reunion of the Shaun of the Dead/spaced duo and at times leans heavily on their nerdish chemistry. Yet its stab at merging vintage horror (Arthur C Clarke’s Mysterious World was apparently an inspiration) with contemporary chuckles goes off half-cocked.
The big novelty, of course, is the return of Frost and Pegg. In a reversal of the pair’s recent dynamic, Frost has star billing as Gus, a broadband installation technician with a side hustle hosting a supernatural investigation show on Youtube. Pegg plays his Alan Partridge-esque boss, Dave. It’s a smallish part and the Star Trek/mission Impossible actor demonstrates considerable generosity in allowing himself be outshone by a vast and ominous wig.
Frost, however, spends most of the eight, half-hour episodes as part of a different double act as he is partnered with Samson Kayo’s “Elton John” (possibly not his real name). Elton is a broadband installation novice who is soon joining Gus in his adventures in the supernatural. This leads them to cross paths with Astrid (Emma D’arcy), a mysterious woman literally pursued by the ghosts of her past, and
with the Mighty Boosh’s Julian Barratt, playing sinister guru Dr Toynbee. Malcolm Mcdowell also pops up, as Gus’s father (as with Toynbee there is more to him that meets the eye).
Frost and Pegg contributed to the script, which shamelessly calls back to the terrifying telly of their childhoods. As Gus and Elton investigate a succession of gloomy mysteries, Truth Seekers evokes the dank, beige creepiness of period shows such as Children of the Stones and Chocky (traces of X-files and Scooby Doo too).
The nostalgia isn’t without its charms. Gus’s struggle to come to terms with the passing of his wife, meanwhile, is the gateway to a moving meditation on grief. And when it’s time for gore Truth Seekers doesn’t hold back. The problem is that it secretly wants to be an unnerving BBC kids caper circa 1978 and lacks any deeper ambitions. Frost and Pegg will never not be likeable together. It’s just a pity that this isn’t that bit funnier. Truth Seekers ★★★