What's it about:
"Collinsport, it seems quiet. But it's like it's waiting for something to
happen. Something bad.” Gerald Conway has come to
Collinsport in pursuit of a dream. For the last few months, he's been haunted
by visions of the House By The Sea. Now
Gerald is staying at the House, he's beginning to uncover its dark past.
Warlocks, vampires and murderers have all come here looking for something – and
they've all died. What dark secret of the Collins family is hidden there?
Something terrible is waiting under the House By
The Sea. Waiting for Gerald...
Psychopath: Gerald will happily tell you that he is crazy.
Not the sort of 'crazy for marshmallows' or 'she drives me crazy' but genuinely
fruit loop crazy. It's the only explanation as to why he came to Collinsport.
It started with his dreams and when he used to see the house by the sea...
Eventually his wife had enough of his night terrors and demanded that he see
someone. It has been such a long time since Gerald has been by himself without
responsibilities and decisions to make. Just him. After moving to Collinsport
to the house by the sea Gerald is considered something of a mystery and there
are all kinds of tales concocted about the purpose of his visit. A reclusive
author, a famous painter, running away from a doomed love affair.
Standout Performance: Nobody has to convince me that Colin
Baker is an extraordinary actor, especially on audio, but this is the first
role I have heard him play that isn't the Doctor such his chilling turn as Lord
Burner in the Gallifrey spin off. He's outstanding, holding up the
entire piece on his own and delivering a tour de force of complex and emotive
narration. We go on one hell of a journey with Gerald and Baker is more than up
to the task of keeping you riveted to your headphones for an entire hour. So
different to how he plays the Doctor (and given his material of late in the
main range hasn't been the most challenging despite him still giving 110%) and
plumbing the depths of lunacy, I was spellbound by one of his best ever audio
performances. And that is quite a statement.
Sparkling Dialogue: 'When did we become one of those couples
that everybody looks at and says 'Why do they stay together?'
'Whatever happens to you, no matter how big or how terrible,
it doesn't mean anything to the sea. When I'm gone, when the whole town is
gone, the waves will still be there.'
'Dragged out of the ground by a crazy, lonely man...'
Audio Landscape: The sound design s genuinely frightening in
places, especially the sudden cuts to different sections of the recording. Rewinding
a tape, lapping waves, thunder rumbling, a knock, a squeaky door, the storm
outside, the rain hammering on the roof, madly shaking plumbing, crows
squawking, banging, the lashing wind atop a cliff top, footsteps, laughter, mad
knocking, pouring a drink, digging away into the earth, striking a match,
dropping pills...
Standout Scene: The last track had me on the edge of my
seat...it's an ambiguous ending but one that will have you scurrying for the
one you love for a big comfort cuddle. I don't think I have ever heard terror
so expertly portrayed on audio. Pop pop...
Result: Flesh creeping terror brought to courtesy of Colin
Baker, James Goss and Joe Lidster. Let's deal with each of these individuals in
turn. Baker is one of the shining stars of Big Finish, a man who has taken his
scant reputation with the majority of Doctor Who fans and has managed to become
the most popular actor to play the role in this medium. He tackles The House by
the Sea with unrestrained gusto, giving an extraordinary performance that tops
some of his very best in the Doctor Who range. He kept me on tenterhooks
throughout. James Goss is slowly becoming the most reliable pair of hands
writing for Big Finish, his works have all been gripping, surprising and really
get under the skin of the characters in an intimate way. The House by the Sea
is magnificently written and characterised with some deft and chilling moments.
There wasn't one point where Goss wasn't leading me on like a dog hankering for
a stick. Finally we have Joe Lidster, the man responsible for this range and
who encouraged me to give it a try. I'm truly pleased that he did. I have been
hankering on about missing his subversive style of storytelling in the main
range for some time now but what I didn't realise was just how skilful he would
turn out to be in the directors chair. As a piece of audio, this is a fantastic
piece of work with some stunning editing that had me lurching for the light
switch as I sat here listening in the near dark. It's very easy to assault the
listener with a variety of scary noises but it takes much more skill to send
subtle goosebumps up the spine, to make you feel as if there is somebody in the
room behind you, to make you wonder if those sound effects are in your
headphones or somewhere in the far distance... Lidster has a bright future
ahead of him in the directors chair if this is the sort of horror he can
produce on audio. This is a slow burn mystery that gets under your skin and
sinks deeper as the mystery thickens and the terrors emerge. This is exactly
the sort of bone gnawing dread that I expected to experience with The Phantom
Bride and its ghostly apparitions but there are number of important
differences. The House by the Sea is an intensely personal experience and told
from the point of view of somebody teetering on the edge of a breakdown, the
attacks are far more subtle and thus make much more of an impact and the
direction truly pulls you into the mystery of the house, allowing us to
experience Gerald's foolishness along with him. That mixture of visceral
thrills and psychological terror is a winning, horrific formula. Definitely do
not listen to this one in the dark. You might just cack your pants. The ending
is unforgettable: 10/10
2 comments:
Not listening to 'Dark Shadows' in the dark? It's unthinkable!
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