Doctor Who Review: Sleep No More – The Good, The Bad And The Crumbly
6. Viral Videos And The Mad Scientists Who Love Them
Reece Shearsmith does a good job with a role that left him with little more to work with than standard cartoon villain. Rassmussen is a character we care nothing about as he is given no backstory. Without any sense of his motivations he is little more than an annoyance. Shearsmith does imbue his performance with a wry whimsy however and that helps to keep this one-note villain from completely fading into the background. Rasmussen is the poster child for the unreliable narrator. He has apparently engineered this story from beginning to end, though to what degree is again unclear, in order to create a video that is entertaining enough that people will be compelled to spread it throughout the solar system. Someone watching it will then have their brain chemistry altered in such a way that they are turned to dust. Thats a fascinating idea and its unfortunate we werent given more time to explore it. This story is such a curious mixture of classic and contemporary psychological horror and neither part works though it was a brave attempt. It feels like a two-parter that was compressed to fit into a shorter time frame and the disparate bits somehow ended up jumbled together in one incoherent out-of-order stew.
Mary Ogle is the author and illustrator of “Orangeroof Zoo” a whimsical tale of magical realism told through the pages of a coloring book for adults. Working as a professional artist in the digital medium, Mary’s commissions have included everything from fine art to fan art, book cover design, illustration and book layout. Find more of Mary’s work at www.maryogle.com. Mary currently finds inspiration in the Ojai Valley, residing in a snug little cottage with a recalcitrant cat.
