A Binge too Far #60: Doomwatch duo (1972 – 1999)

Doomwatch (1972) poster

Following the classic BBC sci-fi television series Doomwatch (1970 – 1972) – that I’ll tackle in Static Age soon – horror studio Tigon British Film Productions made an acclaimed 1972 film under the same name, which in turn was followed by a 1990s sequel.

 

Doomwatch (1972) poster

Doomwatch (1972)

 

Dumping chemicals into the waters is never a good idea, and this is exactly what is happening on the shores of a British island in the middle of nowhere, turning the locals into deformed creatures. Although this was directed by Peter Sasdy, who had already given us the masterful Taste the Blood of Dracula (1970), with this project he resorted to his television drama sensibilities (the small screen was the filmmaker’s usual employer) delivering what could barely be characterized as a sci-fi opus.

 

Doomwatch: Winter Angel (1999)

 

Atomic scientist Dr. Spencer Quist (Phillip Stone) sends a note to university professor Neil Tannahill (Trevor Eve), informing him that the Soviets are using British shores in order to dump nuclear waste. Although the Doomwatch watchgroup is at the centre of this mediocre TV-movie, everything else is reminiscent of the then-popular The X-Files (1993 – 2018), from conspiracies to secret facilities, and whatnot. It was directed by Roy Battersby and it is barely watchable.

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A Binge too Far #59: The Decadent Arts and Sinful Crafts of the Five Nights at Freddy's duo (2023 – 2025)

Five Nights at Freddy's (2023) poster

Based on the same-titled video games that spawned a whole universe of novels and action figures, this duo of horror films from Blumhouse was panned by critics, but became a sensation for audiences.

 

Five Night at Freddy's (2023)

Five Nights at Freddy’s (2023)

 

Mike (Josh Hutcherson) lives with trauma – inherited by his missing brother who was taken many years ago – and doesn’t seem able to put his life together as he is a certified loser that keeps getting fired by one dead-end job after the other. His newest gig is as a security guard in an abandoned pizzeria that back in the 1980s was massive attraction for youngsters, mainly due to a selection of animatronics human-sized toys. But spending the nights in the old building won’t be an easy feat.

 

Made on a modest $20 million budget – which surprisingly managed to afford some pretty stunning mechanical special effects – by producers Jason Blum and Scott Cawthon, this is rarely creepy, and it is rarely lively enough to maintain your interest. Director Emma Tammi [The Wind (2018)] does a competent job, but most of it is standard (by the numbers) coverage, and it doesn’t really offer anything inspired. The critics took note and commented negatively, but somehow audiences loved it as it grossed a stunning $297.1 million – an excellent amount that spawned a sequel.

 

Five Nights at Freddy's 2 (2025)

Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 (2025)

 

Although this was made a couple of years after the original, it is set a year after the events of the first film and it finds Abby (Piper Rubio) reconnecting her animatronics friends from the local abandoned pizzeria when she feels left out of science class, but as the deadly robots offer an emotional hand of help, they also offer pain.

 

Once again directed by Emma Tammi, this doesn’t really take advantage of the potential that creepy animatronics could have – it is only really scary on very few occasions – and it even spends a lot of time to unnecessary character development, in a needless attempt to present itself as a serious suspense picture, forgetting that it needs to be a horror movie. Nonetheless it grossed a bombastic $237 million, so who am I to judge?

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