Garth Marenghi's Darkplace is a hilarious parody of 80's horror, super serious horror authors, and low budget horror series! There were supernatural hospital shows before Darkplace which all connect to the Danish horror mini-series, The Kingdom by Lars Von Trier. Its first season was 1994, second in 1997 and The Kindom: Exodus (2022). This goes to the teaching hospital, All Souls, which lasted one season. Then, Stephen King, another subject of Darkplace’s parody go in the game for Maine’s sinister Kingdom Hospital (2004)! The show also parodies 80’s horror shows like Tales from the Darkside from George A. Romero, syndicated, four seasons from 1983 to 1984. Also, Tales from the Crypt, a popular horror show on HBO based on the well loved EC Comics. It ran for seven seasons from 1989 to 1996 and now streams on Amazon Prime. A special on the show, Garth Marenghi’s Horrificata Illuminata appeared as a DVD extra. Garth’s stories continue with Garth Marenghi’s TerrorTome (2022). Darkplace begins with “Once upon a Beginning”… He have the eerie intro of horror author, dreamweaver, Garth Marenghi (Matthew Holness) reading from his book.
Garth is lit by an orange light as he reads with glasses and a leather jacket. He emphasizes the blood to up the horror element. Garth introduces himself swings into a closeup, funny!, talking about his show that he wrote, directed, and starred in, Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace. He explains that the series was so daring that the channel had to take it down. Garth continues walking down a staircase with a Dutch angle and pinkish light that the channel now has decided to air the show. He went to his basement and spent three hours putting Darkplace together with interviews especially with his publisher, Dean Learner played by Richard Ayoade. Holness and Ayoade worked together to put on the stage production of Garth Marenghi’s Fright Knight. This was two years before Ayade was Maurice Moss in the masterpiece comedy, The IT Crowd (2006-2013). Darkplace has Garth at his typewriter roto’d on a cosmic backdrop, as his narration explains he is a “visionary and plus actor.”
His boasting is so aburd, it is hilarious. Then, we see Darkplace Hospital, as in the Monty Python film, “It’s only a model.” He runs with a plastic baby as an ambulance explodes! The parody is on American programs. Garth’s character is Dr. Rick Dagless, M.D. His co-star is actor, Todd Rivers (Matt Berry) who plays Dr. Lucien Sanchez. Berry was Douglas Reynholm in The IT Crowd and currently Laszlo in What We Do in the Shadows. Lucien has a gun out and fires. Then, we have Madeleine Wool (Alice Lowe) as Liz Asher. Lowe was Tina in Hot Fuzz (2007) and was also in Black Mirror: Bandersnatch (2018). Then, we get “and introducing DEAN LEARNER as “Thorton Reed.” He rides a bicycle and next holds a shotgun. The Ayoade Holness collaboration continued with the faux chat show, Man to Man with Dean Learner, a parody of Hugh Hefner’s Playboy After Dark. His guests are all played by Holness. The ep begins with “Special Effects by Deanamatronix.” There is a somber synthesizer score by Stig Baasvik (a nod to Von Trier) “Based on melodies originally whistled by Garth Marenghi.” Everything makes me laugh.
Liz walks in with 80’s hair and pink outfit, she reaches out, and then a cat is tossed to her! The bad editing is hilarious. The cat tells her (in Berry’s voice), “Just leave.” She walks on, we get a King Lear quote thrown in, no reason. Liz goes to the desk clerk, Jim (Kim Noble) to apply to become a doctor since she graduated from Harvard College, Yale. The man at receiption listless gives his lines that a doctor just died there and that he paged Dr. Sanchez. He appears and remarks, “You’re a woman.” The sexism in this show is just funny because it’s extreme. Dr. Sanchez welcomes her and then is psychic feedback, in narration Todd remarks, “My hand!” and Sanchez screams. We see Liz’s eye and then turns around in darkness. This is a long sequence which makes it even more funnier. Sanchez turns to look to the side still screaming. Finally, he lets go and Liz collapses on the floor. We get the episode title and Darkplace Hospital shot before Garth is interviewed saying he is written more books than he has read! Then, Dean tells about reading the script and saying it will be monumental like Quantum Leap.
Dr. Rick Dagless, M.D. enters the hospital through the elevator door. He was told about Liz’s fall, but he makes his visit to “a very special friend.” Rick sees his young patient who asks about the health of his father. He consoles him and then gets a beeper message. Rick is called to see his boss. The young boy says that he works too hard and should be paid “a hero’s wage.” Rick salutes him goodbye, a real faux humaizing scene, in the edit, Garth adds, “Never take drugs.” In the interviews, it is stressed that Dean Learner is not a actor, but Garth said he wanted the truth. Thorton Reed’s fast delivery of lines are funny, ham taken to well done. Rick thinks about the head of the department who has to answer to Won Ton. Dean continues about her claim about the supernatural. Sanchez says that’s the specialty of “Dag.” Rick calls him "Sanch." So Thorton assigns the case to Rick. We hear the added sound effect of footsteps as Rick walks off, the door is in the other direction. Rick calls for Jim, who jumps into the scene, to give him some nonsense orders. Then, we see Liz staring in her hospital room when Rick enters.
She explains she is a psychic. Then, she appears in a doctor’s coat in a meeting with Sanchez and Rick. Sanchez says if there was a room number. We see Liz focusing on Room 213, Rick thinks, “That’s where Renwick is.” Liz asks about Renwick, Rick sidetracks the conversation, Liz says she will be a woman in a year’s time. Rick finally explains that Renwick was his former colleague at Darkplace. They were interested in the occult and Renwick wanted to open the gates of hell in the canteen. Rick says he refused, but Renwick convinced him to perform the rite. Then, he went to make coke floats for them in the kitchen. Renwick goes insane, his head blurring from side to side. Rick takes a shower so he can walk the hospital in a bathrobe and says he will take the case. Liz’s voice is dubbed over by Madeline. Rick tells Sanch to wait as he enters the room. He sees Larry who explodes all over the room! Off screen Garth says, “Are you all right?” Larry’s head still remains and he begs Rick to kill him! The evil of Darkplace continues and only Rick Dagless can stop it! Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace is hilarious, goofy with its “horror”, and over the top characters!
Five Darkplaces out of Five!
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