Dark Fiction - Apocalypse Talk Radio

Apocalypse Talk Radio

Written By Casey Douglass

‘Thanks for tuning in! We’re getting reports of a massive nuclear detonation somewhere near Woking. There’s no official word yet, but as always, we want to hear from you if this has affected you in any way. Even if just hearing about it has affected you, get in touch! You can call or text, email or tweet us, but let us know what is happening in your part of the world. We could just wait for official clarification, but we’ll do what we always do when we don’t know and just repeat what we do know over and over. Oh we have a text.

Julie writes that she saw the flash from the supermarket car park as she was putting the shopping in her car boot. She adds that her eyesight is dimming, but she’ll be sure to keep us up to date as her health deteriorates. Thanks Julie, stay safe!

Clive has tweeted to say there was no flash where he was on the outskirts of Paris. Thanks Clive!

We have Michael on the phone. Michael, where are you?’

‘Hi. First time caller! Well I’m not too sure. I got thrown down the street by a massive blast of air, and I’ve managed to hide behind a wall. Everything’s really bright. My skin feels like it’s burning.’

‘What are other people doing around you?’

‘A lot of them are on their backs in the street.’

‘Are they dead?’

‘I reckon so.’

‘How many bodies can you see?’

‘I’d say about twenty.’

‘What will you do now?’

‘I’m going to stay behind this wall for a bit mate. Feeling tired.’

‘Stay safe!’

‘Will do!’

‘There we have it folks, the tales of regular people during what might just be the end of times. We’ll be sure to keep you up to speed with your fellow citizens’ predicaments, no matter how samey it all gets. We might be interrupted by a government announcement soon, but rest assured we’ll soon get back to our usual dull repetitive style, lulling you into a docile sense of acceptance well before the nuclear fallout reaches your location. And now a word from our sponsor...’

THE END

The inspiration for this piece came from the recent coverage of the recent issues with electronic card payments. One radio station insisted on interviewing person after person who had been affected, the only thing changing being the shop they had been to and the length of the line at the cash machines outside. It was mind numbing and so so boring. We understand! Card payments not working means we have to use these floppy bits of plastic currency, or those small round hard things that hurt your teeth if you chew them. Hearing the trauma of having a card payment declined over and over is just the very definition of a #firstworldproblem.

Dark Film Review – Perfect Sense (2011)

Review Written By Casey Douglass

I find myself in a little bit of a quandary. I really want to talk about Perfect Sense in-depth but on the other hand, I don’t want to provide lots of spoilers for a film that really truly rewards a first viewing in ignorance. I’ve decided to reign myself in and only treat this like a normal review, rather than a deep analysis. Maybe I will write that later, seems like a shame to waste the 5 sides of A4 I covered with notes.

Perfect Sense follows the story of Susan (Eva Green) and Michael (Ewan McGregor), two unhappy people that find each other just as the world starts going to shit. Michael is a chef, Susan is an epidemiologist. He works in a restaurant near Susan’s home, she works in a lab trying to get to the bottom of a strange condition that is beginning to manifest in people. Both have baggage, both have their jobs affected as globally, things go from bad to worse. They find though, that they have each other, and dare I say it, this makes them happy, some of the time.

To say much more than that would be too spoilerific sadly. While the film is a love story, it is one with a difference, one that doesn’t gloss over everything with a Disneyesque sheen of dreams being fulfilled and two lovers eating apple pie as the rain hits their window. Perfect Sense is a film about two self-labelled arseholes finding each other and growing into each other as society slowly goes down the drain. Even the very opening moments of the film give a great illustration of the tone: a voice-over saying “There is darkness, there is light...” and then we see Susan spit over the edge of a bridge. The film doesn’t stand on ceremony that’s for sure. The viewer gets to spend time with both characters separately, but this slowly changes as they first interact via shouting through open windows and generally gravitating into each other’s lives.

The score of the film is a melodic affair, piano and violin creating a variety of moods, although most are tinged with melancholy and sadness. The other auditory aspects of the film are just as strong, sounds expanding to muffle conversation at times, or vanishing into a hissing drone at others. Again, I can’t really go too in-depth about why this makes such an impact but on seeing the film, you will hopefully appreciate it as much as I do.

Visually, the scenes are shot with a variety of camera techniques, many of the scenes given a frenetic quality by fast moving hand-cams or cameras fixed to bikes. This sense of energy certainly adds to the frenzy of the people seen on screen, whether happy, sad or rioting. The film is also not short of some very striking images, that taken as a still, would look amazing on the wall. My particular favourite is Susan locked in her car watching a rider-less police horse amble past.

What I like most about Perfect Sense though, is the relationship between Susan and Michael. It’s not neat, it’s not fairytale, but it comes across as real, and that’s the most any film can hope for. The broader situation certainly puts a strain on their interactions, both helping each other or at times, being cruel, but there is also humour in the film, which is much needed as otherwise it would have felt a little relentless. Most of the humour comes from the couple, smirking or playing games but the other light relief comes in the form of James (Ewen Bremner), another chef in Michael’s kitchen who always has plenty to say, be it conspiracy theories or inviting people to sniff his finger.

The first time I watched Perfect Sense, it felt like a sledgehammer had hit me in the chest. Few films have gripped me as tightly as the happenings in this film. In part, this is due to the nature of the disease that is affecting the world, tapping into a variety of my own phobias and fears, but also, it is because it is a love story for the disaffected, the darker-natured, more twisted viewer that thinks love is something that always happens to other people or that if it does happen, it’s more trouble than it’s worth. While the love story in Perfect Sense is far from idyllic, it made me genuinely feel that even a few weeks of what Susan and Michael had is something that would be well worth experiencing.

If you haven’t seen Perfect Sense and like darker films, do yourself a favour and watch it when the opportunity arises. In some ways, it’s scarier than most horror films. A big claim I know but one that was personally true for me at least.

As far as a rating, I give Perfect Sense an easy 5/5, no doubt about it.

You can watch the Perfect Sense trailer below:

Perfect Sense Images © Copyright Arrow Films

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Dark Review - Edge of Tomorrow

Edge of Tomorrow Review

By Casey Douglass

 

Edge of Tomorrow is another one of those Groundhog Day style movies. Not in so far as the humour but someone doomed to live the same day over and over and over. It is to Edge of Tomorrow’s credit that this doesn’t get boring.

The film follows PR soldier man Major William Cage (Tom Cruise). He is forced into what should be the final victorious battle against alien invaders that arrived on Earth via an asteroid some time ago. He is the man who ‘sold’ the war effort to the masses, gaining the army new recruits on the basis of their newly designed combat ‘jackets’ (ExoSuits). These half-pint mech-like body add-ons are purported to make any soldier a deadly killing machine, even if they have had next to no training.

Image © Warner Bros. Pictures

Unfortunately the aliens know they are coming. The aliens are referred to as Mimics due to their ability to mimic human military behaviour which makes them very hard to beat. The final assault on the shores of France doesn’t go well, and through some ‘good’ fortune, Cage ends up with the ability to start the day over again if he dies. And die he does.

This is where the occasional humour of the film comes in, seeing Cage gradually learn what happens if he does this or that and then fall afoul of something totally mundane like being hit by a truck. He always wakes up in the same place with an angry soldier standing over him shouting at him to get on his feet.

Image © Warner Bros. Pictures

As the story progresses, Cage meets Rita Vrataski (Emily Blunt) a Special Forces soldier and poster girl for the whole war effort after her victory in previous battle Verdun. The two become entwined (not that way filthy people) and revelations abound at what is going on and how much they share the same burden. There are other characters too of course, the one that stands out the most being Bill Paxton’s Master Sergeant Farrell Bartolome who is always on Cage’s back and has a wry couple of lines that just made me chuckle.

Image © Warner Bros. Pictures

I went to see Edge of Tomorrow with no real expectations. I don’t mind Tom Cruise as an actor and his performance in this, and his fall from grace at the start of the story all make a nice coherent whole. Emily Blunt plays Rita in a convincing way and it is truly a nice thing to see their friendship blossom as each day plays out in different ways.

Image © Warner Bros. Pictures

The Mimics are scary multi-limbed adversaries that put me in mind of The Sentinels from The Matrix. They are brutal and quick and really gave the impression of something humanity would struggle to overcome.

The action on screen was frenetic and added to the impression of a chaotic massacre for Cage to run through really well. Even as a viewer, the day repeating gives you a chance to see things more and more clearly, on the battlefield at least.

Image © Warner Bros. Pictures

The film doesn’t outstay its welcome at just under two hours and I really didn’t notice that amount of time passing, which is another thumbs up from me.

I would rate it 4/5 because it exceeded my expectations and I am struggling to find anything negative to say about it. It's a 4 because it wasn’t a perfect movie by any means, just highly likeable.

Edge of Tomorrow on IMDb.

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Dark Fiction - Hot Water

Hot Water

By Casey Douglass

as part of #fridayflash

Survivor log #27482-EURO – Kenneth Brown

‘Most people have the concern that as soon as they sit on the toilet, get naked or do anything else that makes them vulnerable, that they will be burgled. Or that some other contrived situation might arise causing them to deal with the emergency services whilst only wearing a dressing gown. Few would expect the world to end at bath time. Even fewer would actually have it happen.

I was in the bath when it happened, as you might have guessed. It was a nice deep one, the kind with the water upto my ears and the buoyancy making my arms float pleasingly a few inches from the bottom. I had some lavender fragranced Radox bath salts which were making me very drowsy. I remember having the thought that I had better pull the plug or end up drowning, when a colossal boom made me flinch so hard that as I relaxed again my head thumped on the backward slope of the white bath. I wasn’t sure what was going on, although my whole body tingled and ached with the flood of adrenaline. My ears sang like a wet finger being run around the rim of a crystal glass. Before I could marshal my thoughts, the bathroom window blew inwards in an explosion of twirling glass. Somehow I did manage to get my arms up to protect my face, the only injuries being some nasty gashes on my forearms and shoulders.

The next thing I remember was the broiling heat. I moved my arms down away from my face and saw waves of rolling flame licking in through the window frame and moving along my ceiling. It was like it was alive, an ocean of orange and yellow lapping around the light fixtures. I gasped as I felt my face tighten and begin to itch, so I sank lower into the bath water to escape some of the heat. The air had become thin and bitter, tanged with the smell of burning. My breathing rasped in my throat. I thought I was going to die, to blackout or get cooked alive. It was then that I felt a malodorous breeze on my face and quickly realised that air was being sucked through the plumbing by some sort of equalizing pressure. I moved my face closer to the overflow drain halfway along the bath and breathed in deeply, fighting the urge to retch as the smell of drains corrupted my nose. It was horrible, but I think it is what saved my life.

I don’t know when the fire vanished, my shell-shocked mind was just happy to be breathing and was wholly focused on the source of air. When I did look up, my ceiling was black and smouldering, my shower curtain gone, its rings charred and clinking in the breeze from the window space. I do not know why the fire burnt out. Later, when the fire-brigade did finally turn up, they put it down to some kind of unique mixture of the atmosphere in the bathroom and the construction of the house. They told me I was very very lucky. I didn’t need to be told, I knew. I later found out that one of the fireballs from AST6-75 landed in the field behind my house. It was only a few feet across but I am just thankful it wasn’t where the main rock fell to the earth. Others weren’t so lucky so I count my blessings. The burns have healed now, and they don’t hurt as much as they did. I am told that with time they wont bother me at all, but for now, I have my writing.’

THE END

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Dark Fiction - Fast Forward

Fast Forward

By Casey Douglass

‘Where the hell did that come from?’ Bev said in a voice that increased in volume and tapered off at the end, leaving the question mark hanging in thin air.

Steve winced as he lifted the black rectangle from the cardboard box, trying to stifle a satisfied smile when he felt how heavy and well made it was. The golden light of the afternoon sun cast a pleasing rectangle across the top, adding to the aura of perfection.

‘It was erm...a free upgrade, only cost a tenner for the delivery, it was a total bargain!’

‘It won’t affect the channels will it? If I can’t watch Dancing on Ice you’ll be in trouble!’

‘Nope, no it wont! All the channels stay the same, we get more choice if anything with the on demand stuff!’

‘Like what?’

‘Watch films and TV stuff through the internet connection when you want for a small charge.’

‘We won’t be doing that then!’

‘You never know.’

‘No Stephen.’

Steve slowly shuffled his knees across the carpet, offering up the Tivo to the TV cabinet like a priest making an offering to the Gods. A few sneaky cables were then tracked down and pushed into the back, each wiggled to make sure it had a good connection. A cup of coffee thunked down on the shelf near his right ear, a hand patted him on the shoulder.

‘Boys and their toys,’ Bev’s voice came from above softly.

He turned and smiled. He knew the expression he had been wearing was dynamite for changing Bev’s mood. He had perfected it years ago by watching and mimicking his little dog Phoebe when Bev shouted at her. She always seemed to close in on herself and give a slight tremble until Bev spoke more kindly to her. Steve had tried it with the tremble but that had only ended up with him being coerced into bed because he was “probably coming down with something.” Now he just let the expression do it’s business, and it worked almost every time.

‘Boot it up then Steve, let’s see what all the fuss is about!’

He turned and rooted through the remnants of the packaging, finally finding the remote control was beside his left foot all along. He flicked the battery cover off like a ninja, the batteries seemed to mysteriously click into place of their own volition. He looked at Bev who had seated herself on the sofa, but she was browsing her Heat magazine and hadn’t seen his skill. Bloody Heat he thought, that magazine had cost him more missed opportunities for adoration and respect than anything else he could think of. He briefly adopted “the face” but then it occurred to him she still wasn’t looking. With a heavy sigh he slowly got up and joined her on the sofa.

***

‘Wow it’s dark outside!’ Bev said with a laugh.

Steve stirred, his brain taking a few moments to take stock of the situation, and the location of the parts of his body that kept him in the seat. With a click, he straightened his head, slyly wiping a bit of moisture from the side of his mouth.

‘Is it over?’

‘Yes, Darcy won.’

He forced a smile.

‘Nice.’

‘Oh these bloody adverts,’ Bev passed him the remote. ‘Forward them while I’m making us some tea.’

Steve leant forward and stared bleary eyed at the adverts.

‘I can’t. You can’t forward ads unless you’ve pre-recorded the show.’

‘Try it anyway.’

‘There’s no point...look.’

He pressed the fast forward button on the remote and gave a small choke when the images on the screen started to flick forward.

‘You taped it then!’

‘No I didn’t.’

‘You must of.’

‘No Steve!’

‘But how is that poss-’

Steve rubbed his eyes and watched the screen closely. The news was up now, the digits on the clock rushing forward with a speed that almost made him feel like he was watching some time lapse nature film, where the clouds above some nice scene go haywire and anything living that happens to walk around looks like it just can't make up it's mind where to settle. It made him feel a bit sick.

‘Do you want sugar in your tea?’ The voice carried through from the kitchen, snapping him out of his revery.

‘Yes please.’

‘Where’s Phoebe gone?’

Steve glanced around the room and saw Phoebe staring back at him from near the radiator.

‘Don’t give me that look missy!’ he whispered. Louder he shouted, ‘She’s by the rad, think she’s cold.’

The clattering of cups and the roar of the kettle masked any reply, but he didn’t really listen for it anyway. The pictures on the screen were picking up speed now, zipping along like a flick book in the hands of a some hyperactive toddler, only with less chocolate stains.

He pushed fast forward again, pushing it further and further. News programs came and went, celebrities disgraced themselves and were forgiven, but after a few more minutes, he didn’t really recognise any of them. Who was this tosser with the pink mohawk? What the hell was Bust-a-gut? It looked like some strange offshoot of the krypton factor.

A news report flashed up out of sequence, a stern faced young woman with a picture of the Large Hadron Collider behind her. He pressed play. This looked important.

“...today that the Large Hadron Collider has successfully created a black hole. However it is not contained and is in immediate danger of destroying the earth. Scientists are scrambling to find a solution but the clock is ticking. The government has advised everyone to remain calm until further news is available.”

‘Jesus,’ he muttered under his breath. He looked at the date of the newscast as he felt his pulse in his temples throbbing. He relaxed a little when he saw that it was some fifty years from today. Still, he thought, maybe they solved the problem.

He punched fast forward again, just enough to make the date move on slowly. After another three days had passed, all the pictures just disappeared. With a small crackle, the Tivo went dead, a small wisp of smoke signalling its early entry to the next life. Steve didn’t notice.

‘They didn’t solve it.’

‘Solve what? Here’s your cuppa.’

Bev sat next to him, handing him his hot beverage.

‘Are you okay?’ she asked. ‘You look dreadful. Are you coming down with something again?’

Steve’s eyelids flickered. The very last picture he had seen was of a great chasm opening up in Switzerland, the sides gaping like a giant mouth, and everything on the precipice slowly tumbling inside, falling slowly and gracefully over and over and over...

‘I’m okay,’ he smiled sheepishly. He decided that he had to stop what he had just witnessed from happening, it was his duty to the human race, his duty to his loved ones, his duty to-

‘Good! I just found this receipt on the side. You said it only cost ten pounds for delivery! So why does this say “Thank you for your payment of £200!” hey?'

The smile vanished from Steve’s face as he adopted the look. He just needed to survive the next five minutes, the fate of humanity depended on him now. He started to tremble. Well, it couldn’t make things any worse.

The End

This story is dedicated to my good friend Steve with his James Bond good looks, his partner Bev with her feminine wiles, and Phoebe their little dog, with her fearless attitude to all bigger dogs and her phobia of fat ginger cats.

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