This is the last one (technically) for spooky season, next week is a highly debated mixture and then CHRISTMAS!!!
Can I just say, that despite having the highest respect for Phil Davis, I would not trust him as far as I could throw him. I've got nothing against the bloke, in fact I think he is a top man, but his performance in Sherlock left such an impact on me I avoid taxis unless I'm in a group, and I find it really hard to trust any character he plays even if he is supposed to be a good guy. Despite that, I mean it with the highest praise possible, Mr Davis is such a good actor he completely convinced me he is a murderer and that's final.
Moving on then....I remember back during my childhood my parents would watch this and I'd catch snippets of what was going on, but as such an impressionable child who had night terrors anyway it wasn't the best content to sit and watch with them. But as I grew I became more and more interested in the supernatural and history and this series merges the worst aspect of both. So without further ado!!
The first series of Whitechapel focuses almost entirely on a recreation of murders by Jack the Ripper. This link with the place Whitechapel would naturally have given anyone the assumption this would have some relation to Jack the Ripper in the first place. But it just gives the show such a creepy vibe, this part of history seems very taboo, especially in the exact place it happened. We also focus on the relationship between our three foremost characters, DI Chandler, a 'paper policeman', DS Miles, the man who's seen all the action and knows the job back to back, and Mr Buchan who is an unofficial expert/historian on the matter of Jack the Ripper.
Miles doesn't like Chandler, he thinks he is nothing more than a paperpusher, who has a severe case of OCD, is using the department to gain respect and further himself up the ranks, and cannot handle the gore and chaos of a crime scene. Chandler doesn't like Miles as he acts the superior through years on the job, he's blunt, brash and mirrors the dislike the other man holds for him. Then finally we have Buchan, Miles doesn't like him either due to the fact he is a know it all civilian messing in police business. He views the case like a game and Miles doesn't hesitate to remind him lives are at stake. Though through all the hardships they face during this gruesome business, the plot develops to explore their relationship and see them all accept each other.
What I really enjoyed during this series was the emphasis on historical villains and how they came to ruin lives back then and how they are doing the same now. The theme history repeats itself is really strong and I suppose that's true in any sense, copycats or not. Monsters recognise their own kin. But we explore Jack the Ripper, The Kray twins, The Ratcliff Highway murders, Thames Torso murders, and countless others inspired by centuries old gruesome acts. It is a shame it was cancelled after four series as that final episode damn near killed me. Toward the end, baring in mind early on we had defunct any supernatural doings and narrowed it down to just humans being evil (apart from Miles, he knows otherworldly when he senses it), we really got the an increasing sense not all was what it seemed in the town full of evil. Ghosts, ghouls and a general sense of unease follow our characters especially hard through the final series, all coming to a climax when Chandler reads a message taken from his late father by a medium he failed to believe. I won't tell you the message as spoilers, but all I will say is oh my lord, what a brilliant twist, and a cruel end. I am both astounded and cross.
I actually get chills when I think back to this series, it really echoed the dark, dank streets of Whitechapel and the chilling events that took place there. Otherwise pinpointing it as the Devil's doorway, I certainly wouldn't go there after dark. I struggled watching the show in the dark, baring in mind I am a 22 year old woman who is hardened to a world of horror films, I could not sleep after watching this. Especially once the ghosties came into play. I ended up limiting myself to an episode a week, even though the option was there for me to have a full binge on Netflix, I had to do one, maybe two episodes on a Monday night, as it was the only other night I didn't have anything else to watch, so I could go to bed when it was still light, watch some chilling crime and then drown out my thoughts with cartoons as the sun was going down.
Now Netflix likes to haunt me with scary posters for it in my suggested viewing bar. Not cool. This show did however have other uses, it became a gateway for my newfound love of learning, more specifically in the area of History. Despite Whitechapel not having the best history, it was still very interesting to note things that really did happen there and how it still impacts us years on. Lets face it, historians and other people are STILL trying to gain the real identity of Jack the Ripper, we just can't leave the macabre well enough alone.
I find it very interesting, as we go back to exploring the characters of the series, how long exposure to this evil they are investigating has changed them. We are forced to watch as each of our characters are subjected to a change most unlike them, they end up warping into their worst nightmare or experience the explainable, and it's very well done as it leads to the question on if there is truly something wrong, or if all the evil they failed to put to justice has just taken its toll on their mental state. Like we see Kent through distorted glimpses of himself, he feels he is warping into a monster and he wishes harm onto others, a far cry from the original eager do gooder we met early on in the series. Miles feels haunted by unknown footsteps, Chandler has blood dripping from the taps, Buchan has damp spreading through his archive like a disease, trying to eradicate the history which may stop life from repeating its terrible mistakes. It indicates a far higher power is at play here, and that ghastly woman who was basically the devil incarnate kept popping up but the series was cancelled before we got proper answers, it's now just guesswork and that kind of makes it scarier, we will never know.
So in fear of spoiling a great show I want to cut my review short and give you a rating. I'm going to go with a 7/10 for this one. Jump scares, gore, a general uneasy feeling as if I have invited bad vibes when watching something so chilling, altogether a brilliant ride. I know a 7 doesn't really pop out, but it's safe, obviously the show was cancelled for a reason but I personally think it is dependent on your tastes. In 2019/2020 our tastes have warped more to the macabre to distract from our own current tragedies, back in the early 2000's there wasn't as much call for this type of show, it seemed too real. Nowadays we have complete interest in serial killers and how they work, horror is back as top on the market, why not give a slightly dated show a try, you won't regret it.
As always ladies and gents, stay safe, do NOT mess with Ouija boards, and try and avoid murder, it's the decent thing to do.
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