Tony P Radio Show

My first ‘horror’ of the season. A random choice for some daytime viewing whilst doing the ironing. Took me a while to see this was set in the 70s. I think it was the sideburns that tipped me to make that conclusion. I saw many references to other horror genre films and even Bowie’s Jump video. At the beginning, a bit of dialogue hinting at Peeping Tom, the bizarreness of Malpertuis. Even the architect Erno Goldfinger and his iconic west London tower clock. All the way through, A Clockwork Orange’s stylised violence and the requirement for fake blood, though mostly, it’s the films of Peter Greenaway and his use of marvellous scores is what comes to my mind. No one wears their class very well besides the dark-haired, moustachioed top floor dwellers, though just barely. Even the dresses seem to be a pastiche. There is a noteable lack of working class and ethnic people, though this is perfect for horror films of the 70s. Unless directly employed as cleaners, etc, why on Earth would the upper classes even think about the lower classes. The plot suffers from too many characters and the viewer suffers from the need to keep all these knowing references. Why the inhabitants don’t just leave is what crossed my mind constantly. The ending was spoiled somewhat by including a snatch of Thatcher spouting on about capitalism. As for the ending, I can’t quite understand how it was supposed to end. I must read the book.