Psychoville

The story behind Psychoville's two-take episode

With much discussion at the moment around how the sixth episode of Netflix's The Haunting Of Hill House was shot in just five long takes, let's revisit an episode of Psychoville which accomplished a similar feat back in 2009.

In Psychoville, the goblins have been running riot for some time. Last night's stunning episode balanced dark drama with dark comedy, leavened with a perfectly pitched, yet subversive, homage to Hitchcock's Rope shot in two long takes. The serial killer obsessed serial killer David (Steve Pemberton) has been killing people, under the evil aegis of mother Maureen (Reece Shearsmith).

It says something about the skill of the men's writing and performance that you look past the grotesque drag of both characters instantly. You laugh at the ridiculous mix of homeliness and psychopathy and at the deliciously childish wordplay, then shudder at the truth of their relationship: incestuous, yes, but their bond - the shady death, finally revealed here, of David's father - was movingly evoked, as was their shared dependence on one another.

The script was devilishly fast and crafty. Mark Gatiss was brilliant as the camp and unknowing interloper bringing the secrets of the past to the surface. He seemed to be a policeman, but wasn't: he was an am-dram devotee after a role, and hopeful that his brazen theatricality would win David and Maureen into casting him in a murder-mystery event. The twist was that they were going to kill him, believing him to be a real policeman, but let him go when they discovered he was not. He was murdered ultimately, having discovered that Maureen had killed David's father, not David (as David had believed). David hadn't known that either.

Matt Lipsey's direction would surely have made The Master proud: in the claustrophobic confines of David and Maureen's scuzzy, blood-spattered flat the camerawork was as unrelenting and viciously playful as the script. The over-stylised, freaky vibe of Psychoville can sometimes appeal only to the dedicated, the horror and comedy too grave-robbingly close to its cousin The League of Gentlemen. However, this episode was supremely classy and stood alone as a fluent, delicious piece of television. Lucky you if you caught it.

Things took a weird turn in Psychoville, even by said show's agreeably weird standards. The whole interlinking plot thing took a time-out to allow Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton to indulge themselves in a homage to Hitchcock classic Rope, perfect murderers Maureen and David Sowerbutts doing the dance of death around guest star (and League Of Gentlemen mate) Mark Gatiss. Admittedly it was movie buff heaven but it smacked of selfindulgence. Psychoville's impressive head of macabre steam came grinding to a halt and though we learned some vital clues - Maureen is rather more than an over-indulgent mother - I missed the randy dwarf and madcap midwife action.

Psychoville episode 4 review

Psychoville plays its trump card as the Beeb's new best show just got better...

TV Review: Psychoville 4

Last night's Psychoville was a departure from previous episodes. Instead of switching between stories and location, the whole thing had a feeling of theatre about it. Watching it was almost like watching something on the stage, with one room and no discernible edit. It was a real treat and not something comedy usually tries out in prime-time.

Psychoville 1.4 Review

The fourth episode of Psychoville was an unmitigated treat on many levels. Joyous, clever, witty, intelligent and beautifully-honed black comedy. The acting, writing and staging of the episode was excellent, and the script delighted me with a clever twist halfway through.

Psychoville episode four: 'Give 'em enough rope'

A familiar face to League of Gentleman fans makes a return - with typically gruesome results - in an episode laden with Hitchcock references.

A completely different cup of tea this week. Instead of the usual rogues' gallery, we focus entirely on murderous (and hideous) mother-and-son duo the Sowerbutts (Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton), who are bundling their latest victim into a chest as we meet them. But hang on, this looks different, too. Instead of the usual gothic style, we have a simple, stagey approach: one room, a single shot with no edits. Yes, what we have here is Psychoville's very own tribute to Alfred Hitchcock's Rope. It's an ambitious idea and it's slickly done, with the expected touches of the surreal. As they try to get over the unpleasantness of the murder, the pair put "the cheering-up tape" on - an upbeat aerobics workout to which they do a hopeless dance routine. But no sooner have they put the kettle on than there's a knock at the door and they're disturbed by a stranger in a belted mac and trilby, asking uncomfortable questions. He's played by a familiar face (especially to fans of Shearsmith and Pemberton's work), but the show begs us not to reveal his identity.

Alfred Hitchcock was a film-maker who could be relied upon to find the grotesque humour in any given situation. It's therefore appropriate that tonight's instalment of Psychoville, possibly TV's first gothic sitcom-cum-thriller, should pay homage to Alf. More surprisingly, Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton choose to riff off Rope in an episode shot in two long takes, with the murderous David and Maureen at the centre of the mayhem. Prepare for a killing, a trunk, an unexpected caller, a sudden panic and a fixation with pyramid teabags.

Alfred Hitchcock appears to be one of the influences on this weirdly compelling comedy-thriller series. Here The League of Gentlemen's Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton pay homage to his oft-overlooked film Rope, which in turn was inspired by the real-life murder of a young boy in 1924 by two college students. Tonight David (Steve Pemberton) and his mother Maureen (Reece Shearsmith) are mid-murder at their home when an unexpected visitor knocks on the door and throws them into a panic.

Of all the episodes in this strange series, this is the strangest and most fascinating to date. It is a homage to Alfred Hitchock's 1948 film Rope with James Stewart, which told the story of two young men who murdered a classmate, put his body in a wooden chest and invited the victim's friends and family round to dinner. It was a daring and experimental film, shot as though it were taking place in real time using long, unbroken takes. The same technique is used here, with a single location and only three characters - the comic killers (Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton) and their unfortunate victim (Mark Gatiss) - shot in two long takes. The effect is theatrical, claustrophobic and totally mesmerising. One of the greatest pleasures of watching television is coming across a complete surprise; in the fast-forward world of snappy editing, tonight's episode has a shocking originality.

A trifle it may be in advancing the plot, but this central episode of the Pemberton-Shearsmith series is nonetheless a brilliant piece of pastiche, lovingly assembled and technically remarkable. We join the action in a Hammersmith flat, as David and Maureen strangle their next witness and stuff him into a trunk. Then make a cup of tea, of course, while Bernard Hermmann plays in the background.

Everything's going swimmingly until an unexpected guest arrives and the uneasy alliance begins to crumble under a volley of chin stroking accusations resembling those of James Stewart in Rope.

Which is, of course, exactly what this three-hander celebrates, with two guilty parties and one smart cookie with a secret dancing around as much as the cameras must have been: the whole thing was filmed in only two takes.

Logistical achievements aside, the script is ingenious (but still grotty - David's stools are the colour of banoffee pie, apparently) and the physical comedy inspired. Hitchcock scholars will find much to recognise and enjoy, but not knowing the film certainly doesn't impair the enjoyment of three pros playing off each other for all they're worth.

Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton's macabre comedy pays homage to Alfred Hitchcock's Rope tonight. The entire episode (apart from the 'previously...' bit and the exterior shot) is filmed as one long, continuous take on a single set.

Just as in Rope, two murderers - in this case, Maureen and David Sowerbutts - have hidden the body of their latest victim inside an antique wooden chest when there's an unexpected knock on the door.

Their visitor is a detective - who could have stepped straight out of a 40s movie - and the pair panic at the possibility their killing spree will be rumbled.

Don't underestimate the huge pressure that cast and crew would have been under trying to achieve an entirely perfect run at this (like a stage play only with cameras and microphones).

But this daring departure from the series' usual template is also one of the funniest episodes yet. And does Maureen remind anyone else of Brian's mum from The Life Of Brian?

Reece Shearsmith introduces a special episode

Hello again. Episode Four of Psychoville looms upon us - and a very exciting episode it is too. We wrote the fourth episode like a mini Play for Today (as if you remember what they were), and when it came to filming it we decided to try and capture the whole thing in one continuous take.