It is not exactly clear what the hell is even going on for most of The Devil's Hour's six-episode runtime, which was written by Tom Moran and co-exec produced by Steven Moffat and Sue Vertue.
Dreams of things that never happened and images of calamities that will never happen plague Lucy (Jessica Raine). She has a peculiar little kid named Isaac who repeats back what people say to him, has a lot of imaginary pals, and never shows any emotion. Isaac is neither autistic nor schizophrenic, and the most recent doctor to treat Lucy and Isaac (played by Meera Syal) is unsure exactly what is wrong with him.
Meanwhile, Lucy is in a room with a strange elderly man named Gideon (Peter Capaldi) at some point. He is chained to the table, and she has bruises all over her face. He asks, "What's the worst thing you've ever gone through?" It isn't until the final episode that the solution to this and a plethora of other questions is made clear.
The Devil's Hour is incredibly compulsive viewing since it is such a high-profile and genuinely unsettling mystery that keeps the viewer wondering right up to the very end. The last episode will consequently be extremely exposition-heavy, cramming in answers, metaphysics, significant themes, philosophy, and more. Most of which will be presented from that room in episode one. There is a lot to unpack.
The Devil's Hour is a large story overall. What is going on with Isaac? Why does Lucy get up at 3.33 every night? Who is the enigmatic red van's driver? A very ambitious show that spins too many plates and gets its shoelaces tangled in the numerous plot threads that result from the addition of two child abductions that occurred decades apart, a few murders, gang warfare, a love story, and a family dispute, ghosts (or not), Lucy's sick mother, and an incredibly bleak worldview. This is not to argue that the programme is bad. It has shiny, well-written dialogue, and a stellar cast for the most part. There is just a lot going on and at times maybe it's too much for just a short series.
Raine puts up a very spirited and progressively frantic performance, never sadder than when she is obstinately attempting to elicit a grin from her odd and pleading child. She does voices, makes up songs, tells jokes, and even forces herself to laugh in an effort to do so. It serves no purpose. Young Benjamin Chivers, who plays Isaac, deserves praise. Even if his only direction is to essentially remain silent and appear sad, he does so in a way that makes him both frightful and sympathetic. While Lucy's need to love him no matter what takes on a tragic air.
It does feel like Peter Capaldi is a little underutilised. While his enigmatic persona is undoubtedly important, he also spends a lot of time at that table being secretive and explaining—or inadequately explaining—things, depending on which episode you are watching. Even though he doesn't have a tonne of actual work to do, it's wonderful to see him assuming a villainous or darker role after Doctor Who. He suits this kind of character well and when we see him in a scene, he draws our attention in.
The Devil's Hour ultimately fails to completely explore the huge ideas at its centre and instead chooses to keep the mystery alive until the very end despite being smart, high-concept, and compelling. Once the whole truth is out there, we'd say it might have benefited from a few more episodes, but alas, we fear the logic could have fallen apart if examined too closely. However, if you see it with your friends, there will be a lot to discuss afterwards.
Performance | 4.2/5 |
Enjoyment | 3.7/5 |
Overall Rating | 3.9/5 |