BEHEMOTH (2011)

Ed Quinn

BEHEMOTH (2011 telefilm). Director: W. D. Hogan. 

Thomas Walsh (Ed Quinn) is a construction foreman working at Mount Lincoln in the small town of Ascension. There are constant tremors and a leakage of CO2 from the ground which kills one workman and threatens to endanger the entire town. Is a long-dormant volcano awakening? Geologist Emily Allington (Pascale Hutton), an old girlfriend of Thomas', is convinced that it is but another geologist, Jack (Ty Olsson), sent from the government, knows that the real truth behind the tremors is even worse. Just as Thomas' somewhat crazy father, William (William B. Davis), has been insisting, there's a gargantuan creature in the mountain that is about to break out and threaten the entire world. 

the creature pops out

Behemoth reminds one of a story from Atlas/Marvel's old monster comics like Strange Tales, where huge, frightening beasts roamed in all sorts of places. However, in Behemoth the science behind all this is never explained in any rational or logical fashion. Worse, when the monster finally breaks out of the mountain -- "it is the mountain," says one character -- its design is not much more credible than what you get in, say, the fifties creature feature The Giant Claw! The computer effects in the movie are variable, but one sequence when a humongous eyeball peaks out through a hole in the mountain is effectively creepy. The creature has many snake-like tentacles and a reptilian kind of beak with many teeth. 

Have a smoke? William B. davis

Behemoth does manage to have some suspense and a couple of good scenes, especially one when Thomas nearly falls off the mountain trying to retrieve a weapon left behind by Jack. However, the weapon itself, a kind of bazooka, is laughable when you consider it's meant to destroy a creature of such tremendous size. The actors, at least, are quite convincing in their roles. The only recognizable face belongs to Davis, who had a recurring role on The X Files as the "cigarette-smoking man." The sequences when he tries to escape from a sunken diner with the waitress Zoe (Jessica Parker Kennedy) quickly become tiresome, unfortunately. Cindy Busby and James Kirk are appealing as Thomas' pretty sister and her ill-fated boyfriend.

Verdict: Not as good as The Giant Claw but you can't have everything. **1/2. 

INJUSTICE

James Purefoy

INJUSTICE (5 part British mini-series/2011). Director: Colin McCarthy. 

I often find British mystery mini-series to be a little too deliberately-paced -- I generally prefer the "let's get on with it" pace of Law and Order -- to hold my attention for long, but happily that wasn't the case with Injustice. In this very interesting limited series lawyer William Travers (James Purefoy), who gave up criminal law after a kind of breakdown, agrees to represent an old friend, Philip Spaull (Robert Whitelock), who has been accused of murdering his mistress. Meanwhile Police Investigator Mark Wenborn (Charlie Creed-Miles), who has faced Travers in court as a witness, looks into the cold-blooded killing of a man that Travers once got off a murder charge. Wenborn, a rather nasty character who has a physically abusive relationship with his frightened wife, who remembers him as a kinder person years ago, begins to wonder if Travers had something to do with his old client's death even as Travers -- a regular Perry Mason -- insists he is taking Spaull's case only because he is convinced of his innocence.

Verdict: Although frankly a little far-fetched at times -- for instance, defense attorneys wouldn't make much of a living if they only took on innocent clients -- Injustice is very well-acted, keeps you in suspense, and has several interesting twists. This is streaming on Amazon Prime and is well-worth a look for mystery fans. ***. 

YOURS TRULY, JACK THE RIPPER

YOURS TRULY, JACK THE RIPPER. Robert Bloch. Subterranean Press; 2011.

This interesting volume gathers together writings on Jack the Ripper by Psycho author Robert Bloch. There is a foreword on Jack the Ripper, originally written by Bloch for the anthology, Ripper!; Bloch's essay on "Two Victorian Gentleman" -- Dracula and Jack the Ripper -- and the way they continue to fascinate the public all these decades later; Bloch's script for the Star Trek episode "Wolf in the Fold," which concerns the essence of Jack the Ripper possessing innocent people in the far-flung future; and three stories and one novel. 

The stories are the title tale, which is perhaps more comical than frightening; the clever "A Most Unusual Murder;" and the rather weird and disturbing "A Toy for Juliette," all of which employ Jack the Ripper in one way or another. The novel is Bloch's masterful The Night of the Ripper, which was covered in a previous post. 

Verdict: Very interesting collection, of decided value for The Night of the Ripper alone. ***.