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Garth Marenghi's Darkplace: The Complete SeriesFrom the best-selling master of darkness... Celebrated horror genius Garth Marenghi introduces his long-lost television project: a haunting medical drama set in Romford. The best-selling writer is already known to hundreds as the creative force behind such classic chillers as The Ooze (can water die?), Afterbirth (a mutated placenta attacks Bristol) and Black Fang (rats learn to drive). Darkplace was originally filmed in the 1980s and has since earned a cult reputation as one of the most terrifying and radical television programmes ever made. Even now, Garth warns that the show, which he describes as an effort to radicalise men's minds, may prove 'too subversive, too dangerous, too damn scary'.... Read More »
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Average User Rating: 80% (117 Reviews) | |
| 5 / 5 | You humble fabulist writes...
"portender" - 21 March 2006 It's great to see so many Marengheniae (that's fans of me, Garth Marenghi) writing reviews for a product that hasn't even been released yet. And well they may. Well they may. After all I did invent the internet with my short story Mindgrid and Amazon probably owe me several cheques of gratitude. So my hospital-based horror medical drama set in pre-apocalyptic Romford finally goes digital i.e. is coming out on DVD. About time too. Those people at Channel 4 yanked me any which way but loose on this one but at least they saw sense in the end. Although, it wasn't all their fault. The fact that Darkplace has not been released until now is a testament to its radicality. MI8, which is the one three levels above MI6 pulled the plug. Simple as. They were scared of what it would have done to people's minds. My aim with "Darkplace" was a simple one: to change the evolutionary course of Man over a series of half-hour episodes. This was not going to be easy. It took me days to write the most vital work of my career. Sixty-three terrifying teleplays that breathed hope into the dramatic arts. But even when filming, the plug was eventually pulled by the unbelievers and those too blind to see the truth. In two months we managed to film only 50 episodes. This DVD contains the first six episodes, is packed with blood curdling extras and it renders all future and previous DVD releases redundant. Asda will be doing a three quid off deal, but if you order it direct from my website, the first 30 punters get a complimentary egg cup in the shape of a skeleton head. Whatever: it belongs to its audience now. |
| 1 / 5 | Can I give Garth Marenghi's Darkplace a dog?
Lillian Montuoro "Horror Queen" (Australia) - 3 July 2006 Garth Marenghi's Darkplace is just terrible. The show wasn't cutting-edge or too scary to be broadcast as Garth Marenghi would have you believe - the show was probably axed because it was very very bad. I can't believe I wasted my precious time watching this hogwash. Thank God I wasn't living in Peru when the show was broadcast there. The series did not depict day-to-day hospital life accurately and the horror was undoubtedly poorly conceived. The costumes - the Gorilla costumes for example - were laughable. I actually did laugh when I saw the Gorillas riding bikes - pushbikes which made motorbike noises. How childish! Let me say a couple of things about the acting. Dean Learner should stick to publishing books (by the way I've looked for Garth Marenghi's books and I am repeatedly laughed at by bookstore owners - what does that tell you about the author/actor?). Dean Learner acted appallingly and couldn't seem to stop looking at the camera man throughout the first season. There were scenes when he completely got out of character and looked at the camera with a smile on his face. Yes, he smiled in scenes that were supposed to be serious horror. I can't believe that this rubbish even got a first season back in the bad old 1980s. If you want a real hospital show, watch ER. If you want real horror, watch 666 - the movie. ... Read Full Review » |
| 2 / 5 | Am I missing something?
Mr. T. Hopkins - 17 August 2006 I can't believe the unjustified praise this poorly made and, until now, justly forgotten series. I lived in Lima for most of the seventies and eighties and thus saw Darkplace on its original run. My friends and I (hello Pedro and Miguel) were shocked by how amateurish and slovenly the production was - bearing no comparison to the seminal works of John Carpenter, Hal Warren and the great Jacques Jacques Liverot. The one high point (and the basis for the second star) is the genuinely creepy sight of a young man being assaulted by Skipper the Eye Child, that one will stay with you for a while. On a related theme, Mr Merenghi's novels are of a much higher standard - those reviewers who struggled to find them might be advised to seek them out in the original (and best) spanish language versions. The Ooze (or, strictly, El Lama) is particularly unsettling.... Read Full Review » |
| 5 / 5 | Absolutly original and hilarious
damir164 (dublin) - 26 September 2006 "I've been there, hombre. When I found out my wife had died I was so upset I could barely finish my lunch." ANY show with a line like that deserves a second series! |
| 5 / 5 | GENIUS!!
John H. Beyer "ScanMan" (New Orleans Evacuee) - 6 September 2007 I am from America (forgive me), and I could not wait for this to be released as a Region 1 disc... I ordered it here and converted it for my I-Pod. Look up "DARKPLACE OPEN" on YouTube, watch it, and if you laugh out loud at it, then the series will rank as one of the funniest things you've sen in the past decade, if not ever. It is a brilliant deconstructionist comedy that's so good that some people actually believe its an 80s show... both a testament to the creators' genius (and attention to detail), and a confirmation of all your (justifiably) worst assumptions of the average American IQ. The most rewarding aspect of DARKPLACE is the sound design... The show storylines are funny enough, but the vacillating disconnect between sound and video adds another level of comedy that rewards the repeat viewer. This blows anything produced in the US out of the water. Thank you Britain!! ... Read Full Review » |
RRP
£20.00
Release Date
16 October 2006
Price Range
£5.99 - £17.26