Its The Wicker Man…….in Wales….

Anytime a new film or TV show tries to do anything within the “folk-horror” genre, comparisons to Robin Hardy’s 1973 masterpiece The Wicker Man are inevitable, even though these days, with my twisted humour, I’d rather watch the awful Nicolas Cage remake, just to witness and laugh at the incredible “THE BEES…..THE BEES!” scene.

Look at the start of this review, I am only two paragraphs in and I’ve mentioned “The Wicker Man” twice – well now make that the third time – and yet there are similarities to Hot Fuzz in Toby Whitehouse’s brand new thriller The Red King, minus the humour and the Bad Boys II love in of course.

Every week, a new TV Crime show drops, offering either a fresh murder or a missing person and while many try their best to become the new Happy Valley, Whitehouse the creative mind behind the quite brilliant Being Human – oh how much I miss Mitch, Annie and George – knows a thing or two about horror and tweaks the formula to bring a quite splendid treat that doesn’t re-write the genre, but does give us six episodes of utter binge that we can feast on.

Set in the fictional Welsh island of St Jory, apparently not far from Tenby, a missing kid is the focus, but even before we can settle to digest the plot, we know that something is amiss. A tourist boat leaving the Island with the residents waving them off in masks, before eerily falling silent sets the mood that something is not quite right and poor Police Sergeant Grace Narayan (an impressive Anjli Mohindra) sent to the island as the new chief for some kind of punishment for whistle-blowing, and just after witnessing a fellow cop commit suicide, is walking right into it.

Not satisfied at the original investigation, Grace along with the only one other copper by her side – its a small place- starts to ask questions, much to the delight of the child’s father and the island drunk Dr Prideaux (Marc Warren), but to the aghast of retired police chief Gruffud, played wonderfully with gruff and menace by Mark Lewis Jones who tries his best to unsettle Grace at every given opportunity.

While Grace struggles to adapt to a place where a few  make it clear she is not wanted, but her sheer determination makes you root for her every move, a massive positive for the viewer as each episode passes. Learning the town’s history in which during the Spanish Flu epidemic in 1918, the island closed its doors for a few years, in which teachings of the “TRUE WAY” were adapted with the villagers all looking up to a pagan called the Red King, its clear to Grace that some of the rulings are still in place, but who among so little friends can she actually trust?

As secrets are revealed, the plot takes some unexpected turns, those expecting a full blown horror will be disappointed, but there is an air of beauty to the whole story that Mohindra wonderfully holds together, more so when she starts to seriously doubt her own values as the scene stealing Adjoa Andoh playing the lady of the manor with such relish and clear enjoyment, looks on. Extra kudos to Maeve Courtier-Lily, whose character Winter is a clear reference to another character in a certain a film I will not be mentioning for the fourth time.

In a clustered genre, The Red King stands tall as one of the year’s best, offering some creepy moments alongside a mystery that will keep you guessing and while the climax doesn’t quite reach the danger levels of a burning statue or even the threat of multiple bee stings, it does more than enough for fans to hope that Whitehouse is not quite finished yet with the goings on in St Jory….

Rating: ★★★★☆