SHOCK provides a primer to prep for the impending premiere of PENNY DREADFUL Season Three.
The latest upsurge in the appropriation of the Gothic in horror media might lead some audience members to believe that revisionist fantasy and canon welding are relatively new avenues explored in pop culture. But any purist would point out that the current crop of shared-universe narratives dominating the multiplexes and small screen are in fact part of a recurring phase of de-constructive cross-overs that has been happening for decades. Cinematic and literary properties have, by dint of their public domain status, guaranteed an endless catalogue of permutations in Gothic reboots and innumerable incarnations of Frankenstein, Dracula, Dorian Gray and Doctor Jekyll and Mr Hyde.
John Logans PENNY DREADFUL (on Showtime) is one such example. It re-imagines these architects of horror in the same fog-enshrouded setting and set against the backdrop of a suitably grim Victorian London, it eschews the camp brevity of Hammer Horror and the universal-appeal of the creature-composite entries the studio system doled out in the 30s/40s to offer something new. A large chunk of horror media is (to a greater or lesser extent) affiliated with the Gothic tradition, but its the execution that counts and PENNY DREADFUL is a niche, intellectually pulp-y reinterpretation of monstrosity, the kind of work that merits more recognition.
Now entering its third season (which will premiere this May), this contemporary retelling is penned by Logan (SWEENY TODD, GLADIATOR) with Dorian Gray, Frankenstein and The Wolfman serving as the jumping-off point for the shows myriad plots. The first season (partially adapting from several texts in Gothic literature) sees the literary staples orbit protagonist Vanessa Ives (Eva Green), a tormented visionary who assembles a rag-tag group of characters to locate the whereabouts of childhood friend Mina Harker (Olivia Llewellyn). Members of this intertextual monster mash-up are: Ethan Chandler (Josh Hartnett), a mysterious American drifter with a hairy nature, the sensitive, socially-awkward Victor Frankenstein (Harry Treadaway), the taciturn Sir Malcolm Murray (Timothy Dalton), the tragic John Clare aka Frankensteins creature (Rory Kinnear), Brona (Lily Frankenstein) Croft (Billie Piper) and the woefully underused Dorian Gray (Reeve Gray). A melting pot of vampire, possession, mad science and werewolf tropes and revolving around the aforementioned Vanessa Ives, a woman struggling internally with demons and confrontations with the very real and merciless agents of darkness.
The highlights of the first season were Séance (check out the sneaky cameo from the next seasons Big Bad), the Vanessa-centric Closer than Sisters and finale Grand Guignol. The second season was a departure from the shows literary origins and this time Vanessa and her Scooby Gang were pitted against Helen McRorys Evelyn Poole, a demonic witch and leader of The Nightcomers, a deadly order of Satanic acolytes. The Gothic aesthetic was more visually aligned with the cinematography of Dario Argento in its sophomore year with shades of Francis Ford Coppola in its art direction and visual style. The themes of rebirth and redemption propelled the story forward and there was some bold direction (particularly Dorians dalliance with transgender character Angelique), a twisted flair for the baroque (Evelyns Voodoo Doll Room) and Logans staggering talent for intricate characterization was on display: you wont see Lily Frankensteins evolution from apparently simple girl-to-homicidal-immortal-anarchist coming. The highlights: Fresh Hell, The Nightcomers and And They Were Enemies.
Jekyll and Hyde and the duality of monstrosity
Those themes of monstrosity and duality will be even more explicit in the third year and will riff on Robert Louise Stevensons THE STRANGE CASE OF DOCTOR JEKYLL AND MR HYDE. There will be an institutional setting and Vanessa Ives will once more be alone and under-siege from dark forces: Another story thread will feature the diabolical Duumvirate of Dorian and Lily as the primary season antagonists who take a young girl called Justine (Not De Sades Justine surely?) under their wing. But back to DOCTOR JEYKLL, largely considered a second-tier monster when up against the heavyweights who reside in Gothic horror real estate, how will he fit into the universe of PENNY DREADFUL? Will his arc be tied into Vanessas incarceration? Will he be a peripheral entity, like Dorian and Lily in the earlier seasons? And what source materials is Logan planning on drawing on for this iteration? Will Robert Louis Stevensons text make the translation as seamlessly as Frankensteins arc did, will it be as legitimately terrifying as John Clares story? How will this storyline overlap with the world-dominating arc of Lily? What variant of the dissociative devil are viewers getting this time round? Will there be call-backs to F.W Murnaus 1920 THE HEAD OF JANUS or will it take a leaf out of Kim Newmans ANNO DRACULA by slowly incorporating another classic ghoul into the story slowly? Whatever creative direction they eventually take, it does present an opportunity to tackle that duality inherent in the core characters: the struggle between their monstrosity and their humanity, providing a morally-grey terrain for them all to navigate next year.
The characters and their arcs:
Vanessa Ives:
After she defeated Evelyn Poole and The Nightcomers, spurned Lucifers infernal advances and lost the people closest to her, Vanessa is now languishing in a slum and turned her back on God. Ferdinand Lyle talks her into getting some help, which comes in the form of Doctor Steward (a returning Patti Lupone as a different character) it will be interesting to explore the revelation that Vanessa is the reincarnation of an ancient deity will be a key storyline as the season progresses.
Dorian Gray and Lily Frankenstein and Victor:
The last we saw of Lily and Dorian they were waltzing, covered in blood and plotting a takeover with other immortal beings and will draw Victor into their tangled web. Pipers transformation was awe-inspiring last season and I think two mad scientists might play a pivotal role in bringing their plans to fruition. The Dorian scenes are the most erotically-charged so no doubt there will be weird bloody/sex fusions here. So far the show has managed to tastefully exploit the connection between sex and horror.
Ethan and Hecate and John Clare (Caliban)
The Wolfman was arrested and taken back to the USA; Frankensteins monster exiled himself and Hecate, the last surviving Nightcomer is still around and wanting to cause trouble for our heroes. Both Ethan and Caliban will be back, maybe before the season halfway point. Not sure how Hecate (though a fun character) will fit into the overriding arc this year. Perhaps shell team up with Vanessa? Her motives for betraying Evelyn seemed pretty murky last season her story might be resolved quite quickly.
