Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #662 in DVD
• Released on: 2009-08-03
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Format: PAL
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 200 minutes

DVD Description

I Know What You Did. A chilling message that draws five seemingly disparate characters into a dark tale of blackmail and desire. A blind recluse with an unusual hobby, a love-struck telekinetic dwarf, an embittered hook-handed clown, a murder-obsessed man-child, and a deranged but caring midwife all receive the same ominous message sending their already bizarre lives into turmoil.

All are affected in different ways by the letters and as more chilling messages are received the five are forced to confront their past and the secret that binds them together. From the team behind cult classic The League of Gentlemen, this cliff-hanging comedy thriller weaves a tale of intrigue, mystery and suspense.

Written by Reece Shearsmith & Steve Pemberton.

DVD EXTRAS:
Behind The Scenes
Episode 4 ‘split screen’ option
Audio Commentaries on all 7 episodes
Extended Interviews
Photo Gallery

Customer Reviews

One of the best series for some time
Further to the reviews above, this is not laugh out loud comedy, however it is all the better for this as allows the series to focus on the storyline, development of characters and horror/thriller aspects. it is something refreshing for a change, rather than unfunny 'forced' studio bound comedy with canned laughter we tend to see all the time these days.

I have to say this has been one of my favourite programmes of 2009 if not the past few years, certainly the cliff hangers make you keep coming back week after week.

Let's hope the BBC realise what a gem of a progamme Reece and Steve have come up with and give them a second series!

Ingenious thriller of dark laughs and twisted poignancy
A mysterious figure begins to orbit the lives of a group of diverse and extraordinary characters. A series of messages are sent by the mystery figure - a black gloved blackmailer - to these seemingly unconnected people, setting in motion memories of an incident from their past which is coming back to haunt them.

This is the basic premise of 'Psychoville', which unfolds over seven remarkable episodes of intrigue, humour & suspense, suffused through the multiple storylines of superbly realised characters. The series is one of engrossing brilliance and stands out as a creation of striking originality & dark imagination that could only have come from members of The League of Gentlemen - namely, Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton.

The central characters are full blooded (sometimes literally) deeply felt & wonderfully realised. Each in their own way is driven by obsession. There is embittered children's entertainer Mr Jelly - a hook handed clown whose life has taken a downward spiral. His rage is directed towards his rival, Mr Jolly. Pudding bowl haircutted son David is obsessed with serial killers. He & his indulgent mother Maureen have a disturbingly close relationship. Oscar Lomax is a blind millionaire recluse whose life's purpose is his "holy of holies" - a collection of beanie toys. Disturbed midwife Joy is obsessively devoted to a sack clothed demonstration doll. So all enveloping is her psychosis that she treats it as if its her real child & she's driven by a dream to bring it to life. Finally, Robert is a dwarf appearing in a 'Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs' panto. He's in love with the company's Snow White. He's seemingly possessed of special powers which come to the fore when he's provoked to anger.

The Sowerbutts, Mr Jelly & Oscar Lomax are portrayed by Reece and Steve and they inhabit their characters so convincingly, giving superbly layered performances, by turns brilliantly comedic & touchingly poignant. They are extraordinary actors & these characters allow them to explore the full range of their talents.

There are pitch perfect performances from a wonderfully eclectic cast, including Dawn French, Eileen Atkins, Adrian Scarborough, Daniel Kaluuya, Jason Tompkins, Daisy Haggard, Lisa Hammond, Christopher Biggins, Elizabeth Berrington, Janet McTeer, Nicholas Le Prevost & featuring a brilliant cameo by Mark Gatiss.

'Psychoville' is a tv series of great ambition, maturity and complexity. There are boxes within boxes in terms of plotting, which up the tension and mystery, creating moments of startling surprise. It helps develop a depth to the characters and a context to the motivations driving their obsessions. The sprawling narrative is layered and textured, demanding the audience fully engage with what they are watching. Switching off & letting it wash over you is not an option. There are no simple explanations or expectations easily fulfilled. Its a comedy hybrid that asks you to work and concentrate. What it delivers in return is quite simply the best thing to happen to television comedy in years. Its just a staggeringly good programme - its very rare to see something this brilliant in any genre.

Each episode is superb with moments to cherish:Mr Jelly's array of hooks & inappropriate behaviour at a children's princess party;the online Ebay auction for Lomax's lost 'commodity', Snappy the crocodile;Joy stealing blood from a hospital blood bag & replacing it with Vitmo, singing 'When You Wish Upon a Star' as she does so;the technical achievement of episode four's stand alone 'Rope' homage - a mesmerising modern classic three-hander brilliantly performed by Steve, Reece & Mark Gatiss;demonstration doll Freddy apparently come to life and terrorising Joy;infamous serial killer waxworks serenading David in song;the especially dark episode six, which builds the horror, melancholy and poignancy to fever pitch;the hilarious interplay between Mr Jelly & an elderly woman handcuffed to him;Nurse Kenchington's sadistic treatment of her patients at Ravenhill and her emotional and physical victimisation of David.

'Psychoville' delicately balances its material on a knife edge between triggering laughter and jolting feelings of surprise. Comedy tips into poignancy or perversity subtly and distinctively. Its a difficult balancing act but one that the series achieves brilliantly, and something the writers are proven masters of.

A cinematic sensibility is realised through superb production values. The design, photography, editing, costumes, lighting and music are all magnificant. There is a cinematic sense of colour at work throughout the series, which is used to heighten the experience of a scene - like the bold, sumptuous colours of the clown court, giving a feeling of unreality to the nightmarish dream sequence. Likewise, colour is used to convey a mood or give a sense of meaning to particular characters - the low lit, green tinge of the scenes inside the Sowerbutt's flat being a prime example.

Brilliantly directed and produced, showing the care and attention to detail at one with the creators' vision and ambition for the series.

This presentational care can be seen with the dvd itself. It looks beautiful - a slipcase cover, 2-disc set housed inside a case complete with wonderful artwork. The menus are gorgeous, the extras insightful. Above all, there are commentaries for each episode by Reece and Steve. Their commentaries, like The League's dvds, are to be savoured and are almost worth the price of the dvd alone.

To be responsible for a series as groundbreaking and unique as 'The League of Gentlemen' is achievement enough that few can match. To do it again with 'Psychoville' is a testament to the exceptional talents of Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton. They can rightly feel proud of 'Psychoville'. A boundary breaking comedy hybrid, it leaves today's bland, predictable, dumb and dumber tv schedules looking even more redundant and pathetically feeble in its wake. 'They' must commission another series. Without fail.

Darkly Comic Drama
Psychoville is the new creation from Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton of The League Of Gentlemen fame, a series which combined brilliant comedy with horror-influenced subject matter. Throughout the League's three series, film stage shows and Christmas special, there were often strong hints at something even darker that was waiting to emerge someday. To a certain extent this is what Psychoville is.

The series follows the lives of a seemingly disparate group of individuals, each one being sent a letter bearing the words "I know what you did". The rest of the series follows these individuals as they are slowly drawn closer and closer together in the web created by a mysterious stranger. The characters in Psychoville are one of the biggest reminders of TLOG. There is a charmless clown (Shearsmith), a serial killer-obsessed mother and son (Shearsmith and Pemberton respectively), a blind, reclusive millionnaire (Pemberton), a dwarf with telekinetic powers (Jason Tompkins), and a nurse (Dawn French) who treats her baby training doll "Freddie" like a real son.

Now, you may have noticed that I have mentioned The League many times already in this review, which is because it will inevitably draw comparisons and attract fans of Shearsmith and Pemberton's previous project. Psychoville is similar in that it contains an unusual and often grotesque group of characters, some very dark themes featuring clear horror and thriller influences (episode four is dedicated to just two main characters and is in the style of Alfred Hitchcock's classic Rope), the continuation of a solid plot, and the fact that the humour is largely typical of the very British style used in The League. The series also features the return of a very familiar face to League fans...

The series does also differ from The League in quite a few ways. The humour in the series is considerably down-played in comparison, which feels like a concious effort to focus in more on the thriller aspect of the series, and the weaving plot. As a result, it is less funny. But this should not be a criticism, as the show isn't attempting to make you laugh as loudly as you would with The League. It is more likely to raise a chuckle or a wry smile than a belly-laugh. There is also an even greater emphasis on the more sinister elements, as a result. The finale is probably the most disturbing and sinister of the whole series.

The acting in the series is of a good standard for a lot of the characters. Pemberton and Shearsmith are used to playing the type of macabre creatures they embody here, and there are some nice turns by the other actors they have brought in. (Dawn French is surprisingly impressive as the worryingly deluded nurse Joy). The series feels very professional and well-made, as well as being very British. The plot is also progessively entertaining as it carries on. The first episode hints at a slow burner, but it soon picks up, throwing out twists and particularly in the last couple of episodes.

So, if you're looking for a darkly comic thriller with an intriguing premise treads on the more sinister side, then this may be the thing for your DVD collection. If you are a League Of Gentlemen fan, then this may not be a guaranteed winner, especially if you are expecting the amount of hilarious comedy delivered there. But it should still prove to be a worthwhile investment, because of the many shared elements that it contains.