Last night’s first episode of the fantasy horror series The Fades aired on BBC3 after much hype.  Sarah (Natalie Dormer from The Tudors) was fatally injured in the opening minutes having been struck by some monster/demon reminiscent of the cave dwellers in the horror film The Descent.  Teenage outsider Paul (Iain de Caestecker) witnesses this creature attacking a man and we soon learn that Paul suffers from terrifying visions of the apocalypse and during his waking hours sees dead people (yes that phrase can never be used again without thinking of The Sixth Sense).

The Fades are spirits of the deceased trapped on earth.  We learn that when you die some people go up while the unlucky ones just stay put, trapped on earth, eventually becoming hostile.  Who are the creepy monsters and what do Sarah’s and Paul’s dreams of a world covered in ash mean?  The one disturbing aspect that remains with the viewer long after the credits roll is the depiction of purgatory.  Death, just like life can be crap points out Neil (Johnny Harris), the man who was attacked earlier, and like Paul he sees the dead.  If this piques your interest tune in next Wednesday night.

Decent opening that should bring viewers back for episode two.

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