What could have been the cause of series of murder in town. The police is dedicated to investigating but renowned explorer Sir Malcolm Murray and medium Vanessa Ives know there is something darker at play than mere murder.
As creator John Logan moves away from the horror by the Thames and more toward the internal demons that haunt his protagonists, Penny veers toward the overwritten and overwrought. But by then, you may well be in for a pound.
Showtime subscribers have already put their money down, but many of them will probably decide that Penny Dreadful, while hardly dreadful, isn't worth it.
The language is wonderful, the performances excellent, and the direction by Bayona so fluid and gorgeous that I found the whole thing a treat even as I quickly lost interest in whatever it is all these people are working together to accomplish.
Penny Dreadful stirs the characters of the iconic British horror novels of the 19th century into a shadowy world of vampires, witches, demons, and dark magic in Victorian London, a world both real and unreal.
Some of its mumbo jumbo may hurt your head, but the last words of Episode 2 are precisely on point. They whet the appetite for more, more. We'll see how it all comes out in the bloody wash.
