Daniel Tessier
Bio
I'm a terrible geek living in sunny Brighton on the Sussex coast in England. I enjoy writing about TV, comics, movies, LGBTQ issues and science.
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REVIEW: Possum
I've been on something of a horror trip lately, catching up not only on recent releases but several from the last few years which I'd never quite got round to watching. Possum is a 2018 film written and directed by Matthew Holness, based on his earlier short story published in The New Uncanny (which I now simply must get hold of and read). If, like me, you know Holness best as his alter ego Garth Marenghi (author, prophet, dreamweaver) then Possum is entirely unlike the kind of horror film you'd expect from him. Garth Marenghi's Darkplace was a ludicrously over-the-top, deliberately hammy, parodic horror series. Possum, in contrast, is utterly humourless. It's quite astonishingly grim and serious in its presentation and subject matter.
By Daniel Tessierabout a year ago in Horror
REVIEW: The Substance
While I'm not as blown away by The Substance as some have been, it's undoubtedly an extremely powerful film, an evocative and lurid dissection of the cruelty of our shallow society. I am certain that a woman watching it would find it even more so, as while men are also subject to society's skin-deep judgment, it is women who must deal with it day in, day out. Nonetheless, it is interesting that the one other user of the Substance we meet in the film is a man, when the rest of the focus is so squarely on women.
By Daniel Tessierabout a year ago in Horror
Revisiting the Alien Saga, Part 2. Content Warning.
Crossovers, prequels, and wringing the last drop of blood from every bankable IP are now the dominant approaches in big budget cinema. Twenty years ago, the Alien series was already old enough and established enough to warrant its own relaunch, crossing over with another franchise famed for vicious, alien killing machines. This started a run of Alien prequel films, which would eventually lead us to all kinds of strange destinations.
By Daniel Tessierabout a year ago in Futurism
Revisiting the Alien Saga, Part 1. Content Warning.
Alien: Romulus has hit cinemas at last, while I wait for a chance to see it, I've decided to rewatch and re-assess every film in the saga. Yes, that includes the Alien vs Predator crossover movies. Is this a treat or a gruelling endurance test? Well, a bit of both. Settle down for the first part of this extraterrestrial overview, as I revisit the first four films, telling the life, death and rebirth of Ellen Ripley.
By Daniel Tessierabout a year ago in Futurism
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire
(This review contains some spoilers.) Having relaunched the franchise again with Ghostbusters: Afterlife, Jason Reitman and Gil Kenan return with what might be described as an episode of the ongoing Ghostbusters series. In spite of some negative reviews, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire has done well enough that it's likely we'll get a run of films, coming in every few years, continuing the paranormal exterminators' adventures. Kenan has said that he and Reitman have storylines ready to go for future movies. This, then, is basically the first regular episode after the pilot.
By Daniel Tessier2 years ago in Geeks
Review: The Orville 3-5 - "A Tale of Two Topas"
The Orville: New Horizons continues to deliver relevant surprising and important stories in its revitalised third season. The five episodes released so far have, on the whole, been excellent. After the powerful season opener, “Electric Sheep,” “Shadow Realms” built on the Krill-Union storyline while delivering an effective sci-fi horror story. Episode four, “Gently Falling Rain,” was a thriller with spectacular visuals, strong action and some genuinely touching moments. Further developing the Krill storyline, it commented on political popularism, while briefly taking a swipe at the abortion debate and religious extremism on the whole. Only the third episode, the throwaway “Mortality Paradox,” failed to really make an impact; obvious filler that isn't really about anything.
By Daniel Tessier4 years ago in Futurism
Review: The Orville 3-1 - 'Electric Sheep'
The Orville has, after much delay, returned to our screens for its third season, now sporting a nifty subtitle, New Horizons. During its three years away, the series has jumped from Fox to Hulu (available simultaneously on Disney Plus in many territories outside the US), and it has not been time wasted. Seth MacFarlane has reworked his show, bringing it further in line with what, I imagine, was his original vision of a bespoke version of Star Trek.
By Daniel Tessier4 years ago in Futurism
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
This is a film that's difficult for me to review from an objective standpoint. More than any Marvel film so far, Multiverse of Madness is made for fans, reveling in the lore of both comics and screen and continuing multiple storylines from various properties. What it would play like for a casual viewer is hard for me to imagine.
By Daniel Tessier4 years ago in Geeks
Legend of the Sea Devils
"Legend of the Sea Devils" is only the second Easter special for Doctor Who, which is an oddity since it seems even more suited to that holiday than to Christmas. The last three regenerations have aired on Christmas, yet surely the day marking death and resurrection would be more appropriate?
By Daniel Tessier4 years ago in Geeks
Eve of the Daleks
Precisely one year after “Revolution of the Daleks,” we get yet another Dalek episode. Are we at overkill yet? The Daleks were nearly done to death under Moffat and Davies, and then we've had a Dalek special every New Year's Day since 2019 under Chibnall (saving 2020, where we had the first episode of series twelve with the Master instead). While it's fair to say we're now at the end of a trilogy, we're seeing the Daleks far too often. Once, maybe twice per Doctor would probably do, since they're just about the only villain each Doctor has to face in order to really count. Thankfully the Daleks were kept at a minimum in Doctor Who: Flux, being there primarily to act as antimatter fodder for the Doctor.
By Daniel Tessier4 years ago in Futurism
REVIEW - Spider-Man: No Way Home. Top Story - December 2021.
Now that's how you do a fan-pleasing movie. In all honesty, Spider-Man: No Way Home is an indulgent, over-the-top, absurd cash-in of a film. It's also an absolute joy. Is it designed to be the perfect fan-service for Marvel and Spider-Man fans, which is exactly what it is. This film is tremendous fun, and is far better than it really needs to be. No Way Home could have gotten away with being a stream of classic character cameos and patented Marvel CGI-heavy fights. What we got was a film with genuine heart, intelligent storytelling and three-dimensional characters brought to life by some of our most acclaimed actors and up-and-coming stars.
By Daniel Tessier4 years ago in Geeks
