Pasckie Pascua's Nerdy Squirrel Reviews: TV Series.

“The Texas Chain Saw Massacre” (1974, Roku) independent horror film , directed by Tobe Hooper . This is the original of the franchise. The plot follows a group of friends who fall victim to a family of cannibals while on their way to visit an old homestead. Although the character of Leatherface and minor story details were inspired by the crimes of murderer Ed Gein , its plot is largely fictional. The film was marketed as being based on true events to attract a wider audience and to act as a subtle commentary on the era's political climate.         Tobe Hooper produced the film for less than $140,000 ($700,000 adjusted for inflation) and used a cast of relatively unknown actors drawn mainly from central Texas, where the film was shot. Due to the film's violent content, Mr Hooper struggled to find a distributor. But of course that was the 1970s. Gore and violence have evolved. But it is interesting to revisit the original work that spawned a st...

“Child 44” (2015, Amazon Prime) mystery thriller film , loosely based on the case of Soviet serial killer Andrei Chikatilo or the 2008 novel (same title) by Tom Rob Smith.         Background per movie: During Joseph Stalin's rule of the Soviet Union in the early 1950s, Ministry of State Security (MGB) Agent and war hero Leo Demidov uncovered a strange and brutal series of child murders . However, MGB leadership refuses to acknowledge the deaths as murders because Soviet doctrine states that only capitalism creates serial killers. The son of Leo's partner is murdered by the serial killer and during Leo's investigation, his wife, Raisa, is accused of being disloyal to the state. Leo suspects that his amoral and ambitious enemy in the MGB, Vasili Nikitin, is behind the charges. Leo refuses to support the accusation and he is forced to take a demeaning militia position in the town of Volsk. Raisa accompanies him and must work as a janitor. ...

“The Trial of Christine Keeler” (Max) British television series based on the chain of events surrounding the Profumo affair in the 1960s. Sorta structurally daytime soap-operatic but I like this a tad better than the 1989 movie “Scandal,” directed by Michael Caton-Jones and starring Joanne Whalley as Ms Keeler.        The story, based on facts: Christine Keeler , an English model and a showgirl, becomes entangled in a scandal at age 21, after a series of events involving her two ex-boyfriends Johnny Edgecombe and Lucky Gordon , in combination with MI5 's secret service intrigues. These combine to reveal publicly two of Christine's affairs from two years before when she was 19. Both affairs were with prominent married men – Soviet Union naval attaché Yevgeny Ivanov , and Secretary of State for War , John Profumo , at the height of the Cold War.        If that premise doesn't interest you, I don't know what is. Sophi...

“The First Omen” (2024, Hulu) supernatural horror film , a prequel to “ The Omen ” (1976), and the sixth film in “ The Omen”franchise . The plot follows an American nun sent to work at a Catholic orphanage in Rome who uncovers a sinister conspiracy to bring about the birth of the Antichrist .        Debuting director A rkasha Stevenson scored big with her first feature. This is a lot better than the original “The Omen,” aesthetics-wise although the 1976 movie was undoubtedly scarier. Credits too to screenplay writers Tim Smith and Keith Thomas . Their treatment is more plausible than fantastic, which is the usual case in horror flicks.         The plot follows an American nun sent to work at a Catholic orphanage in Rome who uncovers a sinister conspiracy to bring about the birth of the Antichrist .         The nun, Margaret, is Nell Tiger Free . Ms Free's “horror swagge...

“Human Trafficking” (Amazon Prime) crime drama, about an ICE agent going undercover to stop an organization from trafficking people , and shows the struggles of three trafficked women.         This series is 20 years old but, I figured, it could be timely as the Immigration and Customs Enforcement implements President Trump's deportation orders, following a number of (illegal) border crossings from 2021 to 2024, under Joe Biden. Gain some areas of clarity, somehow.         Although I am very familiar with human trafficking stories, especially with the sequences in Manila, this Lifetime series left more questions than answers. Truthful with Lifetime melodrama, this is more soap operatic than a political treatise or sociocultural (crime) navigation.          Nevertheless, “Human Trafficking” won acting nominations for Donald Sutherland in the Golden Globes and Emmy...

“Until I Kill You” (Britbox) true crime drama. Synopsis: Delia Balmer was a nurse at the Royal Free Hospital in London . She lived for several years in a relationship with a carpenter called John Sweeney, who later became physically abusive, including hitting and sexually assaulting her in a degrading manner. Later, after she had reported him to police and changed the locks on her doors, and while he was out on bail after being arrested, he attempted to murder her outside her home, leaving her with extensive injuries and close to death after a neighbour had beaten Sweeney off.        As always British true crime threw the trajectory straight to heart, no qualms and no chasers in between. Pretty much like a dramatized documentary. Nick Stevens’ script from Delia Balmer's autobiographical book “Living with a Serial Killer” (2017) gave us the flesh and blood of the crime as is. A detailed police report with a poet's treatment. Director Julia Ford survive...