Alfred Hitchcock press clippings - British Comedy Guide (original) (raw)
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Press clippings
Inside No 9 was a perfect little half-hour of claustrophobic grand guignol, and Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton are the bastard love-children of Alfred Hitchcock and Roald Dahl. A Eurostar six-berth couchette from Paris to Bourg-St-Maurice, a scarily thin, scarily ambitious doctor, a fat farting Kraut, a northern top-bunk couple anticipating their mad daughter's wedding, Jack Whitehall as a spoilt-posh delivering seriously undeliverable lines with entirely believable gusto, an unnerving twist in the tail. Beautifully, beautifully dark, and guiltily funny, and nobody now does it better.
Euan Ferguson, The Observer, 29th March 2015
A completely different cup of tea this week. Instead of the usual rogues' gallery, we focus entirely on murderous (and hideous) mother-and-son duo the Sowerbutts (Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton), who are bundling their latest victim into a chest as we meet them. But hang on, this looks different, too. Instead of the usual gothic style, we have a simple, stagey approach: one room, a single shot with no edits. Yes, what we have here is Psychoville's very own tribute to Alfred Hitchcock's Rope. It's an ambitious idea and it's slickly done, with the expected touches of the surreal. As they try to get over the unpleasantness of the murder, the pair put "the cheering-up tape" on - an upbeat aerobics workout to which they do a hopeless dance routine. But no sooner have they put the kettle on than there's a knock at the door and they're disturbed by a stranger in a belted mac and trilby, asking uncomfortable questions. He's played by a familiar face (especially to fans of Shearsmith and Pemberton's work), but the show begs us not to reveal his identity.
David Butcher, Radio Times, 9th July 2009
Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton's macabre comedy pays homage to Alfred Hitchcock's Rope tonight. The entire episode (apart from the 'previously...' bit and the exterior shot) is filmed as one long, continuous take on a single set.
Just as in Rope, two murderers - in this case, Maureen and David Sowerbutts - have hidden the body of their latest victim inside an antique wooden chest when there's an unexpected knock on the door.
Their visitor is a detective - who could have stepped straight out of a 40s movie - and the pair panic at the possibility their killing spree will be rumbled.
Don't underestimate the huge pressure that cast and crew would have been under trying to achieve an entirely perfect run at this (like a stage play only with cameras and microphones).
But this daring departure from the series' usual template is also one of the funniest episodes yet. And does Maureen remind anyone else of Brian's mum from The Life Of Brian?