The Day of the Devil

My all-time favourite episode has always been Masonic Mysteries, but Day of the Devil is so brilliant, it almost surpasses it in terms of tension, suspense and terror. This time, Morse and Lewis hunt for a psychotic escapist, who challenges them to a cat-and-mouse game that could end in deadly consequences. John Thaw and Kevin Whately are both excellent, but they are out shadowed by an outstanding performance from Keith Allen as John Peter Barrie, a performance that riddles with terror and tension. The scene when he dressed up as the devil was so terrifying, I was beginning to wonder, whether the fright on the supporting characters' faces was actually genuine. The music, script and camera-work are all brilliant. The performances from Harriet Walter, Richard Griffiths, Gilly Coman and James Grout are all impressive, but at the end of the day, it is Allen that walks away with the acting honours. Outstanding! 10/10 Bethany Cox.

This episode concerns an escapee from a mental hospital who is violent criminal and also a "Satanic fundamentalist." Gee whillikers! The plot has some interesting twists and turns, to be sure, building toward a dramatic resolution which is satisfying on some level. But the content is pure Satanic-panic stuff, very characteristic of its time and highly suspect. (There's much talk here of Lammas Day, when "the devil is paid homage," but in fact Lammas is an old harvest festival. In medieval Britain this was the "Loaf Mass" when people would bring a loaf of bread to church. Not very Satanic, I'm afraid.) The climactic Black Mass ritual in the woods is simply laughable. In the end, it's enjoyable in the way that cheesy low-budget horror films can be enjoyed. Pursue this case at your own risk. For my money, the most interesting scene is a discussion between Morse and a female cop which gets into the value of feminism. A subtle moment but intriguing. Watch for it.

This stands out for me as one of the best episodes in the Morse collection. Very much darker and more harrowing then the usual Morse stories, this one contains some very dark and sinister moments, and is without doubt the creepiest episode of Morse. So much subject matter, Domestic violence, Devil Worship, deceit, religion, and plain old good versus evil.

The story itself is wonderfully complex and intricate, as the episode moves along the plot is untangled in a hugely effective way. The principle characters are all fantastically realised, none more so then the lead villain John Peter Barrie, incredibly well performed by Keith Allen.

Some hugely powerful scenes, the emotional one between WPC Curtis and Esther Martin where she discusses her childhood memories of her brothers and the motorbike. The encounter between Barrie and Canon Appleton, the fear Richard Griffiths realistically portrayed was fantastic. The terrifying appearance at the ceremony, and of course the final showdown.

Superb characters, a fabulous story, all you can say is that 'they don't make 'um like this any more.' Brilliance 10/10

This is one of those entertaining stories if one doesn't think too much. A man known as the worst of the worst escapes from a high security mental hospital. He then goes about trying to seek revenge on a man he believes got him arrested. He has raped and killed a number of women and has no conscience. Soon the whole Satanic business is brought into this because this man has associated himself with the devil. There are vast webs of conceit and they are hard to follow at times. I liked the story but the sophisticated efforts made are a bit too much to take seriously. There are numerous events that could have gone awry so easily, just by little miscalculation. Morse and Lewis are their usual fine characters.

A quite original episode of Morse. Not a set-piece murder investigation but a manhunt for a satan-worshipping rapist. The villain proves to be quite the formidable adversary for Morse, edluding him on several occasions through the use of clever disguises and escape plans.

It all threatened to unravel at the end though. Many of the Morse episode fall short of greatness simply because the writers overegg the pudding and throw in a few twists too many. This makes the plot more complex than it needs to be and reduces the plausibility of it.

This episode comes close to that, but doesn't quite undo all the good work. In the end, while complex, it's quite plausible and understandable. Very ingenious, even poetic, in fact.