This is a strange episode but a largely enjoyable one.
The TARDIS is brought to a setting which appears to be a mid Twentieth Century hotel where each guest has a room which holds their 'phobia' or deepest fear. A beast roams the hotel killing those who have faced their fear after somehow getting them to transmit their faith in what they believe in towards him. The initial fear scene is not great featuring a lame pantomime style gorilla but some of the scenes do give you the creeps.
The best thing about this episode is the creepy, scary aspects. It clearly tries to evoke The Shining with the hotel corridors and has many horror cliches which while not original are effectively unsettling. The weirdness of the episode is a mixture of weird but good (mostly) and weird and not so good (occasionally).
The themes of faith and fear are interesting but those themes are not explored entirely coherently. One issue I had personally with this was the scene where the Doctor tries to shake Amy's faith in him. I feel this episode reveals a shared need that Moffatt and episode writer Toby Whithouse seem to have to portray the Doctor as someone who uses people and is a dark, dangerous character. It comes across as if they are telling us that we should not have faith in the Doctor ourselves as viewers and should see him as an ambiguous character with questionable morals. I prefer the Doctor to be a less ambiguous hero - damaged by his tough decisions and battles but essentially a force for good.
One other reservation I have is that when the reveal happens in the end telling us what is really going on it does not really ring all that true to me. Why would anyone imprison a creature but allow victims to continue to be brought to it to 'feed' it? Why if the beast is so sad and not really malicious does it continue to pursue and feed on people? Not a major issue but a little grumble for me.
There are plenty of positives though. The interactions between all the characters makes for some good scenes and there is pleasant humour. The script and acting are good quality and the direction and all production values are good. Along with the creepiness it all makes for an entertaining episode with some thoughtful ideas and it helps that it is a neat, self-contained story.
My Rating: 7.5/10.
The TARDIS is brought to a setting which appears to be a mid Twentieth Century hotel where each guest has a room which holds their 'phobia' or deepest fear. A beast roams the hotel killing those who have faced their fear after somehow getting them to transmit their faith in what they believe in towards him. The initial fear scene is not great featuring a lame pantomime style gorilla but some of the scenes do give you the creeps.
The best thing about this episode is the creepy, scary aspects. It clearly tries to evoke The Shining with the hotel corridors and has many horror cliches which while not original are effectively unsettling. The weirdness of the episode is a mixture of weird but good (mostly) and weird and not so good (occasionally).
The themes of faith and fear are interesting but those themes are not explored entirely coherently. One issue I had personally with this was the scene where the Doctor tries to shake Amy's faith in him. I feel this episode reveals a shared need that Moffatt and episode writer Toby Whithouse seem to have to portray the Doctor as someone who uses people and is a dark, dangerous character. It comes across as if they are telling us that we should not have faith in the Doctor ourselves as viewers and should see him as an ambiguous character with questionable morals. I prefer the Doctor to be a less ambiguous hero - damaged by his tough decisions and battles but essentially a force for good.
One other reservation I have is that when the reveal happens in the end telling us what is really going on it does not really ring all that true to me. Why would anyone imprison a creature but allow victims to continue to be brought to it to 'feed' it? Why if the beast is so sad and not really malicious does it continue to pursue and feed on people? Not a major issue but a little grumble for me.
There are plenty of positives though. The interactions between all the characters makes for some good scenes and there is pleasant humour. The script and acting are good quality and the direction and all production values are good. Along with the creepiness it all makes for an entertaining episode with some thoughtful ideas and it helps that it is a neat, self-contained story.
My Rating: 7.5/10.