Inside No 9 – ‘The Devil of Christmas’

This Christmas, as a bonus present, we’ve a new instalment of Inside No 9. Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith have conjured up a festive special that’s also a loving homage to Christmas specials of the 1970s, and it works perfectly. A meta-addition results in a fun tale that works well on several levels, and is perhaps the best thing we’ve had on TV all Christmas.

It’s Christmas time, and a family have gone away for a break at a lodge on a snowy mountain. Cathy (Jessica Raine) is pregnant and her partner Julian (Steve Pemberton) has told her that she must relax, but the other members of the party may impact her peace. Julian’s mother (Rula Lenska) isn’t keen on her son’s second wife, and makes no secret of it. And, after hearing the story of Krampus for their guide Klaus (Reece Shearsmith), Julian’s son is convinced that the demon is present and coming for him. Partway through the first scene, we learn that we’re actually watching a seventies TV film called ‘The Devil of Christmas’, and the director Dennis Fulcher (Sir Derek Jacobi) is providing a voiceover.

I’ve always been fascinated by horror but, when you’re a kid, you’re not allowed to watch anything that scary. As a result, I would often watch shows like the Hammer House of Horror (in a way, the natural predecessor of a programme like Inside No 9) – things that were once scary, but now they’re just considered hammy and poorly put together. ‘The Devil of Christmas’ is in many ways a parody of this kind of show, and it nails it perfectly. You can tell that there’s an affection for this horror specials of old, and it translates here, right down to the windy plot of the TV film.

‘The Devil of Christmas’ offers two effective stories in one episode

Kudos to the crew for getting the tone so right, and without it ever feeling like overkill. You’ll notice the 4:3 aspect ratio, the 70s style costumes and the lack of any grace in how the camera moves. The usual score is replaced by some excessive music that feels like it’s trying to do more work than it possibly can, again catching the perfect vibe. And then there are all the stylistic traits – emphasis zooms on faces all the time, the vague sounds of people in the background and hammy dialogue. The level of attention by Pemberton and Shearsmith for what really was a total lack of attention in the 70s is hugely impressive.

The actors are all great too, acting badly but not badly acting. Raine’s excessive use of RP and the spooked way in which she stares into the distance evokes so many of the era’s female victims. Pemberton’s actor channels the vibe of a man who clearly feels as if he could do much better, and Shearsmith gets to ham it up as a German man. It takes skill to act ‘bad’ without making it look like parody, and the cast do perfect. On a wider level, Jacobi is clearly having fun as the director, throwing out lots of remarks about working conditions and familiar 1970s TV stars.

‘The Devil of Christmas’ offers two effective stories in one episode, doing so with good humour and some genuinely affecting frights. Few shows could pass off such a combination, and Inside No 9 once again makes it look easy. We’ve a third season coming in a few weeks’ time, and this special has whet my appetite beautifully.