This is a journey not a destination film. Used to be a lot of films like this. Today, not so much. That said, for its genre, it is top of class. Burke has an everyman look and attitude which Jenkins uses to advantage. The characters, all superb, are people you want to meet once in your life, but only once. Recommended.
24 Reviews
Channeling the spirit of Viv Stanshall, after a pint of laudanum
squelcho27 August 2021
Somwhere between Royston Vasey and Rawlinson's End lies ...Northampton.
Some excellent gags and deadpan metaphysics conspire to enliven some less than stellar thesping.
More of a TV Movie, going by the production values, but well worth a watch for the unpredictability. That nice Mr Moore is a cunning devil, and he manages to steal the show purely by dint of having a certifiable personality.
Some excellent gags and deadpan metaphysics conspire to enliven some less than stellar thesping.
More of a TV Movie, going by the production values, but well worth a watch for the unpredictability. That nice Mr Moore is a cunning devil, and he manages to steal the show purely by dint of having a certifiable personality.
I'm delusional, not stupid
nogodnomasters31 August 2021
Warning: Spoilers
A man (Tom Burke) who goes by various names goes to Northampton to locate James Mitchum. He first introduces himself as Robert Mitchum. He discovers James has passed and wants to know what happened to the Rosicrucian Cross he was wearing, the real reason for his visit. He starts investigating what happened and encounters a host of bizarre characters. When he sleeps he encounters a bunch of odd people who happen to be dead. There are all kinds of bits and pieces of explanations including the Rosicrucian, time duplicator, and the afterlife. I liked the creepy guy who worked in the morgue. He had a special power. He sees dead people. It was that kind of odd humor. Could be a cult classic.
Guide: F-word. No sex or nudity.
Guide: F-word. No sex or nudity.
Is like being high without drugs
israellippelo19 September 2021
Lacked a Connecting Theme
westsideschl10 February 2022
Warning: Spoilers
Opening scene of overhead view of car on road; then inside car. Almost always a sign/litmus test of cheap to follow. Started interesting & different, but soon became tediously convoluted. Dozed off after two nights of trying to watch this went nowhere dreamlike surrealism. A detective is hired to find a simple neck cross pendant. Dream characters were all dumb not believable. Film ends with no pendant & left open a sequel. Possibly written while on drugs.
imaginative Alan Moore
SnoopyStyle14 April 2022
Fletcher Dennis (Tom Burke) arrives in Northampton in search for a missing artefact. He dives into this world of supernatural oddities and darkness.
The big name here is writer Alan Moore. He has filled this story with imaginative ideas, characters, and weirdness. I've never heard of director Mitch Jenkins. He may not have the budget nor the skills to pull off Moore's visions. Burke has an intriguing look but his acting skills fall short for a cinematic lead. He's more fitting as an antagonist than a protagonist. The story feels overstuffed and somehow lacking in narrative drive. It feels meandering. This movie is very intriguing but the execution falls a little short.
The big name here is writer Alan Moore. He has filled this story with imaginative ideas, characters, and weirdness. I've never heard of director Mitch Jenkins. He may not have the budget nor the skills to pull off Moore's visions. Burke has an intriguing look but his acting skills fall short for a cinematic lead. He's more fitting as an antagonist than a protagonist. The story feels overstuffed and somehow lacking in narrative drive. It feels meandering. This movie is very intriguing but the execution falls a little short.
Not sure what I just watched
kevinsstone25 January 2022
To describe The Show as silly does disservice to silliness the world over. The storytelling is stilted and plodding, the production quality ranks about two stars on the community access channel scale, and the surprises are patently unsurprising. There's the sort of self-imagined cleverness usually exuded by first-timers who are blithely unaware of their lack of talent. How someone with Moore's talent cranked out this waste of two hours is a complete mystery. I'm not sure how something like this is actually made and aired. I guess I'll blame Covid-19.
Mitch Jenkins and Alan Moore's darkly comic fantasy noir is a surreal uniquely British journey that is oozing with cult appeal.
IonicBreezeMachine8 January 2022
Private investigator Fletcher Dennis (Tom Burke) arrives in the town of Northampton, England in search of a bejeweled golden cross for his client Patsy Bleeker (Christopher Fairbank) who alleges the cross was stolen from his daughter by con artist James Mitchum (Darrell D'Silva). As Fletcher searches for clues to the crosses whereabouts, he encounters a cast of eccentric and bizarre characters and surreal episodes as his case may not be as simple as it initially seems.
Alan Moore is one of the most widely known names in the medium of comic books having established himself with his re-interpretation of Swamp Thing and cemented his reputation with the enduring classic Watchmen. While Moore is known mainly for his comic work, Moore has ventured into other areas such as his novels Voice of the Fire and Jerusalem which like The Show are set around Moore's hometown of Northampton. The Show teams Alan Moore's screenplay with first time feature director Mitch Jenkins who's primarily known for his photography work and after having photographed Moore in 1986 for an issue of Q Magazine became friends. Aside from some individual shorts Jenkins made in collaboration with Moore, The Show marks Jenkins' directorial debut in feature filmmaking and with Alan Moore's captivatingly bizarre screenplay and a terrific cast of British talent, The Show is the type of film just itching to be discovered for its inevitable cult audience.
From the get go, it's clear that Mitch Jenkins has an affinity for the stylings of David Lynch and Terry Gilliam as we enter the bizarre and surreal world of Alan Moore's Northampton via our proxy, Fletcher Dennis, as a seemingly simple search for a stolen cross leads to "masked superhero" librarians who know all and see all, voodoo gangsters, quirky performers (both living and "possibly" dead), and East End hoodlums who curse up a storm. The lines between dreams and reality are continually blurred as Fletcher encounters Northampton's that run the gamut from a couple of pre-pubescent private eyes, to "possibly" vampiric hospital staff, and flamboyant nightclub owners with every character a memorable oddity in a town filled with oddity.
Tom Burke of BBC's Three Musketeers and playing Orson Welles in David Fincher's Mank is fantastic as our private investigator Fletcher Dennis who concocts all manner of aliases spinning legends as easily as he breathes air but makes for a solid anchor for the audience against the weirdness both he and the audience encounter. Siobhan Hewlett is fantastic playing a self-asphyxiating journalist named Faith who forms a partnership with Fletcher as the two find themselves experiencing shared surreal visions that are tied together by information they shouldn't know. Even Alan Moore shows up playing one half of a supposedly dead comedic duo in Frank Metterton and despite the fact that he's more or less playing himself it fits in the context of the world the movie creates and the design of his costume where his hair, face, and beard are shaped into a crescent moon is a sight to appreciate. Special mention to Andrew O'Neill who plays Brenden, a neighbor in the flat Fletcher rents who gives some of the most engaging line reads that result in some of the funniest moments.
The Show like most fantasy many similar fantastical and surreal films like this is often times opaque and confusing, but it's such a visceral experience with unique and interesting characters and an immersive world that I didn't care that the "why" behind certain scenes was elusive with characters such as Frank Metterton seeming to operate on a level above the characters that they and we were outside the comprehension of mortal thought. While that type of storytelling and filmmaking technique is very hit and miss with certain directors trying to build themselves upon it and coming up with more duds than successes, The Show understands what makes compelling storytelling and characters and earns leeway from its nebulous explanations of the fantastical nature of its world.
The Show is a movie that people will love or hate for the exact same reasons. Regardless of your feelings about the movie it'll undoubtedly be an experience you remember long after the ending credits (which with the selected soundtrack are as compelling as the movie itself). If you like the films of Terry Gilliam and David Lynch then you owe it to yourself to give The Show a chance.
Alan Moore is one of the most widely known names in the medium of comic books having established himself with his re-interpretation of Swamp Thing and cemented his reputation with the enduring classic Watchmen. While Moore is known mainly for his comic work, Moore has ventured into other areas such as his novels Voice of the Fire and Jerusalem which like The Show are set around Moore's hometown of Northampton. The Show teams Alan Moore's screenplay with first time feature director Mitch Jenkins who's primarily known for his photography work and after having photographed Moore in 1986 for an issue of Q Magazine became friends. Aside from some individual shorts Jenkins made in collaboration with Moore, The Show marks Jenkins' directorial debut in feature filmmaking and with Alan Moore's captivatingly bizarre screenplay and a terrific cast of British talent, The Show is the type of film just itching to be discovered for its inevitable cult audience.
From the get go, it's clear that Mitch Jenkins has an affinity for the stylings of David Lynch and Terry Gilliam as we enter the bizarre and surreal world of Alan Moore's Northampton via our proxy, Fletcher Dennis, as a seemingly simple search for a stolen cross leads to "masked superhero" librarians who know all and see all, voodoo gangsters, quirky performers (both living and "possibly" dead), and East End hoodlums who curse up a storm. The lines between dreams and reality are continually blurred as Fletcher encounters Northampton's that run the gamut from a couple of pre-pubescent private eyes, to "possibly" vampiric hospital staff, and flamboyant nightclub owners with every character a memorable oddity in a town filled with oddity.
Tom Burke of BBC's Three Musketeers and playing Orson Welles in David Fincher's Mank is fantastic as our private investigator Fletcher Dennis who concocts all manner of aliases spinning legends as easily as he breathes air but makes for a solid anchor for the audience against the weirdness both he and the audience encounter. Siobhan Hewlett is fantastic playing a self-asphyxiating journalist named Faith who forms a partnership with Fletcher as the two find themselves experiencing shared surreal visions that are tied together by information they shouldn't know. Even Alan Moore shows up playing one half of a supposedly dead comedic duo in Frank Metterton and despite the fact that he's more or less playing himself it fits in the context of the world the movie creates and the design of his costume where his hair, face, and beard are shaped into a crescent moon is a sight to appreciate. Special mention to Andrew O'Neill who plays Brenden, a neighbor in the flat Fletcher rents who gives some of the most engaging line reads that result in some of the funniest moments.
The Show like most fantasy many similar fantastical and surreal films like this is often times opaque and confusing, but it's such a visceral experience with unique and interesting characters and an immersive world that I didn't care that the "why" behind certain scenes was elusive with characters such as Frank Metterton seeming to operate on a level above the characters that they and we were outside the comprehension of mortal thought. While that type of storytelling and filmmaking technique is very hit and miss with certain directors trying to build themselves upon it and coming up with more duds than successes, The Show understands what makes compelling storytelling and characters and earns leeway from its nebulous explanations of the fantastical nature of its world.
The Show is a movie that people will love or hate for the exact same reasons. Regardless of your feelings about the movie it'll undoubtedly be an experience you remember long after the ending credits (which with the selected soundtrack are as compelling as the movie itself). If you like the films of Terry Gilliam and David Lynch then you owe it to yourself to give The Show a chance.
Interesting Trip into English Noir
Colonial-Oak17 July 2022
Warning: Spoilers
Does anyone here remember the English spy series THE AVENGERS from the mid-late 1960's? Patrick MacNee, Diana Rigg, and later Linda Thorson.
During a few of these episodes they had similar "dream" or "hallucinogenic" sequences. This film reminds me of those shows -- a lot of similarity.
This is definitely an odd film. I may need to watch it twice to grasp the entire thing. Plus it never really "ended" ... where is the cross?
During a few of these episodes they had similar "dream" or "hallucinogenic" sequences. This film reminds me of those shows -- a lot of similarity.
This is definitely an odd film. I may need to watch it twice to grasp the entire thing. Plus it never really "ended" ... where is the cross?
High reviews by high people
fibulator77731 December 2021
It tries to be funny. It's not. (It's British... so the comedy might just be lost on me)
It tries to be artistic. It's not.
It tries to be 'detective'. This it kinda is... but he's spoon-fed lead after lead effortlessly and without any thought.
It tries to be trippy. I might be... if you're high as a kite on hallucinogens. This actually seems like the target audience, and the source of all the 'high' reviews.
It's not terrible, but not worth your time unless you're really bored, and it happens to be on TV for free.
It tries to be artistic. It's not.
It tries to be 'detective'. This it kinda is... but he's spoon-fed lead after lead effortlessly and without any thought.
It tries to be trippy. I might be... if you're high as a kite on hallucinogens. This actually seems like the target audience, and the source of all the 'high' reviews.
It's not terrible, but not worth your time unless you're really bored, and it happens to be on TV for free.
Surreal detective story set in Northampton
radhrh10 September 2021
Surreal detective story packed with quirky characters which plays out half in dreamland and half in Northampton ( because why not Northampton?) To say this is a bit hard to follow would be an understatement but maybe that's the point; you're not supposed to understand it because most of it doesn't make any sense. It's still a very enjoyable watch, often hilarious, sometimes shocking, regularly disturbing. It could do with being 20 minutes shorter though. I'm really glad that there are still people willing to take artistic risks with film in these days of formulaic Hollywood blockbusters.
A little bit different
fluffchop5 January 2022
SKINCRAWLER
batemi29 August 2021
This movie makes my skin crawl and i don't mean that as a compliment. The movie looks like a caricature of several British TV shows badly joined together. Utterly without meaning or substance. Everyone praising the movie must either be directly involved with it or was handsomely paid. Don't waste your time watching this trash, but on the other hand, if you're prepared to throw 2 hours of your life down the drain, then by all means, please go ahead.
Maybe this would have been better as series...?
Kukkahattuseta9 March 2024
I think most of the series are such that they would only have the makings of a film. In other words, the series are often forcibly prolonged with content that does not add value to the story. This time I think this movie would have been better as a 4-6 episode series. The film was rushed through. There were a lot of interesting characters and elements in the film, but these were not exploited and remained very superficial. A pity in itself, as a strange series these characters and elements could have been better exploited. That's not to say that the series would have been good, but it would have had a better chance to make a difference.
Garbage, and I'm from where it was filmed!
mckeen-1363911 December 2021
I gave it half an hour, it's "artistic" nonsense, it really is, seriously don't waste your time. It's terrible, if could get my half hour back I would, and this is from someone who can laugh at and enjoy asylum films, huge fail.
Another worst film! Full of boring conversation, and super annoying overuse scene! Avoid at all cost!
kwenchow1 January 2022
Warning: Spoilers
This film start with a man "Fletcher" riding in a taxi, and he arrive at his destination scene! As turnout, this film is about a hitman "Fletcher" helping his client "Patsy" finding his heirloom, and eventually Fletcher need to kill Patsy after he found out Patsy cheated him! Entire film full of boring conversation, and annoying overuse scene! Such as, overuse of the walking scene, overuse of the searching scene, overuse of the arguing scene, overuse of the calling names scene, overuse of the watching TV scene, overuse of the staring scene, overuse of the eating scene, overuse of the drinking scene, overuse of the hallucinate scene, overuse of the sleeping scene, overuse of the waking up scene, overuse of the reading scene, overuse of the spying scene, overuse of the surveillance video footage scene, overuse of the radio broadcasting scene, and overuse of the driving scene! Make the film unwatchable! At the end, Fletcher killed Patsy! That's it! Completely wasting time to watch!
psychedelic supernatural film noir
spasticfreakshow24 August 2021
If this bizarre genre mash-up appeals to you, and you've watched John Waters films multiple times...then this is going to be a real treat! I wasn't familiar with any of the actors aside from Sheila Atim, who was mesmerizing in a small role, and I agree with the IGN critic who referred to Tom Burke as a bit of a low-rent Robert Pattinson, yet he and every actor were perfectly cast, alternately charming, alluring, whimsical, and eccentric. Not a moment wasted in the script; edited to perfection, but I would love to see the footage that got cut. Costumes, sets, hair and makeup were Rocky Horror Picture Show-worthy. I could see this eventually becoming a cult classic. Definitely a hidden diamond in the rough at present.
Like God and Satan.
mikecarswell-299259 September 2021
An Interesting Magical Mystery Allure!
silicontourist3 September 2021
As soon as you see and hear Tom Burke at the films start, well, you just know something is not right, and that continues throughout the drama! Just what the writer and director want you to feel; so its off to a good start!
There is definitely a bit of the Rocky Horror Show's strange, but beautiful, oddness going on...but with more of Circus/Carnivà le, mixed with a little Alice in Wonderland's Mad Hatter lunacy, thrown (If you remember the short lived American television series, 'Carnivà le' (2003-2005) you will know exactly what I mean. Nothing is as it seems and with weirdness interspersed with weirder still, you are very much entertainingly engrossed. If not! You probably think it sucks...as its one of those presentations that is devoid of the "well it was okay" decision!
Its definitely more of a TV Film and whether you 'Love it or Hate it'...its entirely up to your good selves! :)
There is definitely a bit of the Rocky Horror Show's strange, but beautiful, oddness going on...but with more of Circus/Carnivà le, mixed with a little Alice in Wonderland's Mad Hatter lunacy, thrown (If you remember the short lived American television series, 'Carnivà le' (2003-2005) you will know exactly what I mean. Nothing is as it seems and with weirdness interspersed with weirder still, you are very much entertainingly engrossed. If not! You probably think it sucks...as its one of those presentations that is devoid of the "well it was okay" decision!
Its definitely more of a TV Film and whether you 'Love it or Hate it'...its entirely up to your good selves! :)
Not another murder mystery
vancebcunningham27 August 2021
Famous comic writer Alan Moore's first film feels like one of his graphic novels. He most likely wrote a comic script and gave it to a director instead of an illustrator. The pacing is more akin to a comic book than a film. With a comic you can slow down and read it at your own pace, but with a film some things fly by too quickly and things, like the dozens of similar names and faces, can be missed. This lead to the ending not hitting like most other shocking and satisfying Moore endings, but I can see how it would play better on a rewatch. The film had probably the most realistic dream sequences in film, the nightmare scenes felt like they filmed inside an actual nightmare. Love the immense detail in the production, sound, and costume design, even with the obviously smaller budget. Great performances, even from Moore himself, and great direction from Jenkins. Definitely will play better on a rewatch.
In Bruges in Northampton - Film-noir detective story
OJT26 August 2022
I didn't expect much with the score og 5,6 om imdb, but the film was right from the start a treat to watch.
It's odd, wild and comic, but also dark and mystical. It reminded me of In Bruges.
A dark gothic looking you g man comes to town. He's a rental killer after a guy he finds dead, but then the important thing is to get some piece of jewelry, but is he telling the truth?
He lies about his true name. He's got many names, and he meets a lot of strange people.
Is there a mystery to solve? It's cool, different, interesting and odd. Well worth an 8/10.
It's odd, wild and comic, but also dark and mystical. It reminded me of In Bruges.
A dark gothic looking you g man comes to town. He's a rental killer after a guy he finds dead, but then the important thing is to get some piece of jewelry, but is he telling the truth?
He lies about his true name. He's got many names, and he meets a lot of strange people.
Is there a mystery to solve? It's cool, different, interesting and odd. Well worth an 8/10.
Lynchian & darkcity vibes
xrahelx21 May 2022
What a treat!
Lindseydillon1213 November 2021
Alan Moore, what can I say.
harte-chris1 March 2024
Surreal, in the literal sense of the word, because dreams do play quite an important part in this film. Filmed in the entirely fictional town of "Northampton", well at least I hope so, this is the journey of a character looking for... something. Full of fascinating characters from the hitler lookalike lead singer to the ghostly mortuary attendent this is a very engaging movie. Alan himself makes a cameo as... well, Alan Moore really. The highlight for me though was the twelve year old detective who provided his own hardboiled voice over as he interacted with the main character. Lots of witty in jokes and pop references that are not obscure, (I think we all know who Robert Mitchum is).
Very entertaining and very watchable. What more (Moore?) could you ask for.
Very entertaining and very watchable. What more (Moore?) could you ask for.
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