(1995)
Dir - Lawrence Gordon Clark
Overall: MEH
A Final Destination precursor with incessant keyboard music, some mild nudity, and some also mild death sequences, "Prophecy" kicks off the short-lived ITV anthology series Chiller, an adequate if less than memorable collection of five supernatural tales for the small screen. Not to be confused with the Christopher Walken vehicle The Prophecy which was released the same year, novelist Stephen Gallagher concocts a bog-standard story here about a group of friends conducting a seance while not taking it seriously, (always a bad idea), only to inadvertently bring back into some semblance of existence a villainous spirit that starts picking them off five years later. He also possesses the young child of Sophie Ward's new boyfriend's son, but said child also gets possessed by a priest that is trying to help, plus Ward comes to a revelation that she too is the source of some form of possession. It has the feel of being made up as it goes along, but A Ghost Story for Christmas director Lawrence Gordon Clark manages to deliver a slick production and if anything else, it is nice to see him back in the saddle for some genre material that he is well-versed in.
(1995)
Dir - Bob Mahoney
Overall: MEH
Several fetus/ghost of a dead baby haunting/possession yarns have come down the pike over the years, and the Chiller installment "Toby" goes through the motifs while offering up a few unique details to the formula. Here, Serena Gordon loses her unborn baby in a car accident that she feels responsible for, understandably having a more difficult time moving on than her frustrated husband Martin Clunes does. When the couple thinks that they are pregnant again and start planning accordingly, certain kinks in the armor arise, leading to a disturbing melding of physical and psychological traits that push Gordon to the point where everyone of course assumes that she is mentally compromised. Also, Rosemary Leach plays a crotchety cat lady neighbor. Despite the odd details surrounding Gordon's quasi-pregnancy, it eventually just turns into another scenario where a poor women is wracked with guilt, preyed upon by a malevolent force, and not believed by anyone. Certain events are inexplicable yet still denied by everyone except Gordon, and the story chooses to live both in the material and metaphysical world which makes for muddled results.
(1995)
Dir - Lawrence Gordon Clark
Overall: MEH
The second and last Chiller episode to be written by Stephan Gallagher and directed by Lawrence Gordon Clark, (also representing Clark's last foray into horror), "Here Comes the Mirror Man" is neither dull nor spectacular. It takes the concept of sinister invisible friends which children usually interact with when residing in a haunted abode, except here it is the young adult John Simm who is under the influence of a fellow that only he can see. Said fellow "Michael" appears at random intervals, reminding our doomed lead that he is the only one who is here for him, encouraging Simon to murder certain pesky individuals who will interfere with him squatting in an abandoned church. Simon is far from likeable, yet this is the point since he is portraying a schizophrenic social outcast. Unfortunately Paul Reynolds gets little to do as his demonic string-puller besides smirking, so the duo lack the necessary charisma to make their mysterious bond interesting. This is ultimately just the sad story of a troubled man who succumbs to malevolent forces, with the supernatural elements underplayed to the point where when they finally become pronounced in the closing shot, it makes for an unearned tag.
(1995)
Dir - Bob Mahoney
Overall: MEH
Skeptics vs. the supernatural is a formula as old as time, and the penultimate Chiller episode "The Man Who Didn't Believe in Ghosts" takes on such a formula. We have a haunted mansion, a child who sees a creepy woman in a mask outside of his door, and a lead character who makes a living debunking all manner of otherworldly claims. When protagonist Peter Egan suffers a stroke after doing his skeptic shtick on a television show, he and his family move into a house with both a ghostly history and a recent murder having occurred there. The previous owner is still around as a handy man and gets more than handy with Egan's Mrs. at one point, (an unnecessary scene that is never brought up again afterwards), and several unfortunate events befall the new homeowners which inadvertently cause a wedge between them. Director Bob Mahoney does his best with some of the spooky set pieces, but these are few and far between, plus Anthony Horowitz' script is too adherent on uninspired tropes to offer up anything unique. It is a slick production that makes solid use out of its location, but it is also as forgettable as most of the other installments in the short-lived program are.
(1995)
Dir - Rob Walker
Overall: MEH
The final Chiller episode "Number Six" mixes a child murderer, the ghosts of their victims, and mysterious druid rituals, all done as a police procedural that is as competent and unadorned as the proceeding four stories. Anthony Horowitz also authored the previous "The Man Who Didn't Believe in Ghosts", and he blends a different assortment of familiar motifs here. Kid drawings play into the identity of the killer being discovered, and said reveal links right up to Kevin McNally's main police detective who just so happens to have a young son that has made similar drawings and is himself prone for abduction. Sadly, the mystical elements are underplayed to the point of being redundant, as are the few supernatural moments, both of which take a back seat to the formulaic tracking down of a serial killer. Not that the show had to be otherworldly first and foremost, but the material here only teases at such potential and would have been better served as a straight true crime thriller. It is no wonder that the series wrapped up after only five episodes since none of them stick, merely providing fiftyish minutes a piece of some mildly chilling, (pun intended), atmosphere.
