Cult Corner: The dark, eerie elegance of Penny Dreadful

Cult Corner is a new weekly column that will serve as your gateway to the uncharted territories of entertainment. Discover hidden treasures, forgotten classics, and offbeat wonders that deserve your attention. Join us in this realm of pop culture that often escapes mainstream recognition.

Welcome back to Cult Corner, where we, you and I, traverse the uncharted territories of the entertainment world to uncover the hidden treasures that may have slipped past the otherwise watchful eyes of mainstream audiences. In this, our second edition, we invite you to lose yourself in the labyrinthine streets of Victorian London, a place where the supernatural and the literary merge seamlessly, in the Showtime horror series Penny Dreadful.

A dark, gothic rhapsody

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Penny Dreadful isn't just a TV series; it's a dark, intoxicating sonnet that tantalises the senses. Created by John Logan, it beckons viewers into a world where the line between reality and nightmare is as thin as the pages of a vintage horror novel. In a television landscape dominated by predictability, Penny Dreadful emerges as a beacon of unpredictability and eloquent darkness.

The unforgettable ensemble

Eva Green as Vanessa Ives is the MVP of this show, even if the rest of the cast is uncommonly strong as well. She is nothing short of bewitching. Her portrayal of the tortured, possessed heroine is a masterclass in acting. Josh Hartnett's Ethan Chandler adds a dash of Wild West enigma to the Victorian backdrop, while Timothy Dalton's Sir Malcolm Murray brings gravitas and complexity to the ensemble. The entire cast is a dark dream brought to life.

A literary feast

Penny Dreadful will please those who love the literary works set in London and written during the Victorian era. The show serves up a feast for literary aficionados. It's as if the classics of the 19th century have come to life, only to reveal their darkest and most intimate secrets. Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, Bram Stoker's Dracula, Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray, Robert Louis Stevenson's Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, and more are reimagined with a twist of supernatural allure. Each episode is almost like a literary treasure hunt for those who are well-versed in the literature of that era.

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Dark and delicious atmosphere

The show's creators didn't just construct a backdrop; they summoned a realm. The streets of Victorian London, perpetually shrouded in fog, and candlelit chambers evoke a world that's both hauntingly authentic and intoxicatingly atmospheric. Every cobblestone, and every flickering shadow adds to the overall aura of mystery and dread. It is one of the most beautifully shot TV shows around, though I may be a little biased in its favour without intending to, as I’ve always loved novels, movies, and TV shows set in the Victorian England. But no matter what your opinion is on the setting, you are going to love the show's visual style.

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Spellbinding musical score

The musical score in Penny Dreadful, composed by Polish composer Abel Korzeniowski, is very good. It might be the shared historical backdrop, but I couldn't help but draw comparisons between the background score of Penny Dreadful and Hans Zimmer's haunting melodies in Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes films. The dark and atmospheric tunes play a pivotal role in recreating the mesmerising Gothic ambiance, and what's particularly remarkable is the way character-specific pieces capture the essence, or perhaps the absence of it in the case of Caliban, of each character with remarkable effectiveness.

Mystery, morality, and monstrous themes

Beyond the supernatural, Penny Dreadful delves deep into the human psyche. It's a show that asks profound questions about morality, redemption, and what truly makes a monster. The characters grapple with their inner demons (sometimes a little too literal), and sometimes, it's the darkness within that's more terrifying than any external threat.

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