Snap

Like one, that on a lonesome road

Doth walk in fear and dread,

And having once turned round walks on,

And turns no more his head;

Because he knows, a frightful fiend

Doth close behind him tread.

Samuel Taylor Coleridge

“The Rime of The Ancient Mariner”

Bookended by Tom Baker's recitation of the above extract from Coleridge's masterpiece this fifth series episode of the ITV series 'Dramarama' with it's folk horror aura would have been well at home in it's seminal 'Spooky' series.

Young Peter Ibbotson is dropped off for the day on Romney Marsh - the setting for Russell Thorndike's 'Doctor Syn' books and numerous E.F. Benson stories - where he roams the area taking Polaroid photos while, all the time, being followed by a hooded figure.

Written by Richard Cooper, who also gave us 'Knights of God', and directed by Michael Kerrigan (Knights of God', 'Spine Chillers', 'Doctor Who') it's an atmospheric and effective little chiller enhanced by some great use of it's eerie setting and some fantastic avant garde soundwork from Christopher Gunning ('The Day of the Triffids', 'The Last Train', 'Knights of God').

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Moviedrome: Welcome to the Cult

'Moviedrome' ran, intermittently, on BBC2 from May 1988 to June 2000.  The format was simple, hosts Alex Cox (series 1-7) and Mark Cousins (series 8-12) introduced a 'cult movie', or two, of the sort that were almost never shown on British TV and, in those halcyon years, long before the arrival of the internet, were often unheard of by those of us growing up in more remote parts of the country, with little or no access to any sort of 'arts' cinema, and it quickly became a Sunday night staple for my circle of friends, with each film taped and dissected over the following week.

I never really saw much of Cousins' run on the series but to this day many of the films I number amongst my favourites were first introduced to me by Cox in that treasured Sunday night slot - Night of the Comet, Psychomania, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, The California Dolls, Witchfinder General, Dead of Night, Wise Blood, An American Werewolf in London, Carnival of Souls, Excalibur, The People Under the Stairs - and I've sung it's praises on Wyrd Britain before - here.

The film below is an affectionate celebration of the series made in 2025 by the BFI and featuring contributions from Cox, series creator Nick Freand Jones and fans Samira Ahmed and Stewart Lee.  

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The Eye

The final episode of series 2 of the children's spooky anthology show Shadows, written by Ewart Alexander - who also wrote episodes in series one, 'After School', and three, 'Eleven O'Clock' - is a bit of a strange one.

George (Julia Lewis) is obsessed with the historical figures she's postered her room with and lost in the mosaic she's creating in the garage, while her brother Steve is freaked out by the grecian urn at the bottom of the stairs that has seemingly taken on a life of it's own, is hearing voices, being attacked by pictures of Napoleon and generally struggling to cope with life.

There's a real Sapphire and Steel vibe to the whole thing and a fabulous hissing, burbling, throbbing soundtrack.  It's fantastically odd, makes very little sense and is all the better for it.

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If you enjoy what we do here on Wyrd Britain and would like to help us continue then we would very much welcome a donation towards keeping the blog going - paypal.me/wyrdbritain

Affiliate links are provided for your convenience and to help mitigate running costs.