After an action-packed previous instalment, BBC horror comedy Video Nasty slows the pace down. Here’s our review of episode 5:
Spoilers lie ahead.
Welcome to another review of BBC’s Video Nasty! We’re now up to episode 5 and I do hope you’re reading this after you’ve managed to pick your jaw off the floor after the shocking revelations in episode 4.
Video Nasty episode 5 begins with a news story on the history of Ashdale. The village has a long history of burning things on a pyre that the villagers believe are destroying society and harming their Christian values. Guess what’s going on the pyre this year? Yep, video nasties!
Billy, Zoe and Con, after discovering the bodies in Ethel’s shed basement and managing to escape their captors, take refuge at a local police station which is empty at night. There they find records of several missing people, most of whom are probably in the aforementioned basement.
After two busy, plot-heavy episodes, Video Nasty slows down in episode 5. It’s a chance for us to breathe and take in everything that has happened and to process. It also gives time for some character moments, especially between Billy and Zoe who have found a connection. However, Con is forced to pick between his best mate and his sister when Billy suggests going back to Ethel’s house to get the all important video tape while Zoe just wants to get as far away from Ashdale as possible.
The further into the story we get, the more Video Nasty reveals itself to be a love triangle of sorts. Not necessarily a romantic one, but Con is constantly being torn into two different directions; Zoe and his family in Dublin and Billy’s dreams of moving to London to work on film sets. It’s a fascinating underlining to the plot, but one that’s somewhat overshadowed by the twists and turns.
Read more: Video Nasty episode 4 review | Whatever It Takes
We don’t wish to spoil too much but there’s a reveal in the episode which feels like an afterthought rather than an actual, meaningful plot development. It remains to be seen if nothing comes of it and we wouldn’t want to judge it prematurely, but Video Nasty does often feel like it’s trying to do too many things in a very limited time.
The parents are also still in this and looking for their kids. They turned up at Ethel’s house last week, asking for some petrol after their car died. Topher kindly helped them and then sent them on their way. Considering the kid went on to find his dead dad in the basement, something tells me Topher might be starting to doubt his family’s murderous ways.
The pace of the episode picks up towards the end and ends on an exciting cliffhanger. After episode 4 solidified Video Nasty as religious horror, there’s very little sign of that here. Episode 5 includes fewer movie references and less of those horror elements that have really drawn this writer in, but the penultimate episode sets us up for what I’m hoping will be an outlandish, graphic finale.
All episodes of Video Nasty are available on BBC iPlayer.