Inside No 9 – ‘Private View’

After a wonderful run of varied and captivating episodes, this third series of Inside No 9 has now come to a close. But we’ve one more episode to go out on – ‘Private View’ takes an art setting and gives us a darkly-funny slasher film. It’s the kind of thing you’d only find in this series, and it’s a strong episode on which to end a strong run.

It’s a private viewing of a modern art show, Fragments by Elliot Quinn. An assorted cast have been invited, including former Big Brother contestant Carrie (Morgana Robinson), smutty novelist Patricia (Felicity Kendal), art expert Maurice (Reece Shearsmith), health and safety consultant Kenneth (Steve Pemberton) and Irish dinner lady Jean (Fiona Shaw). The only member of staff is a waitress called Bea (Montserrat Lombard), but she’s in the dark about why this group of people has been hand-picked for the viewing. As the evening progresses, a number of the guests are slain, and the survivors realise they must escape the gallery to remain alive. But who is the killer, and how have they selected their victims?

This final instalment takes a decidedly different flavour from last week, but is no worse for it. ‘Private View’ is a lot of things – a satire on the world of modern art, a parody of classic Vincent Price horror films (I picked up a lot of references to Theatre of Blood, one of my absolute favourites), and a full-on, Agatha Christie-esque murder mystery. Very few writers would be able to fit in such a big story without making it feel rushed or unsatisfying, but not here. This is hugely efficient and really gripping storytelling, and exactly what we’ve come to expect from this series.

This is a horror outing that delivers on the horror and the humour

‘Private View’ boasts the customary strong supporting cast, including a surprise cameo that sets the perfect tone. Robinson shines with her impression of a vacuous reality star, and gets a lot of laughs in the process. Kendal plays against type as a crude author of erotic novels, and her blindness results in a wonderfully tense sequence between her and the killer. But the whole cast are fantastic and well-sketched, a testament to the authors that every character has their moment in a packed bunch.

Last week, I said that ‘Diddle Diddle Dumpling’ looked like a piece of art – appropriately enough, so does ‘Private View’, but in a completely different way. The lighting and set design really create a feeling of claustrophobia, almost making the gallery another character in this story. Coupled with a series of fairly gruesome murders, this whole episode could pass for a slasher film. Pemberton and Shearsmith have done horror-infused episodes before, and this is another strong inclusion in that canon.

‘Private View’ wraps up the most inventive and varied series of Inside No 9 yet, showing that Pemberton and Shearsmith are masters of the short form. This is a horror outing that delivers on the horror and the humour, and in many ways captures what this show is all about. It’s a shame that it remains so underrated, and so criminally hidden away in the schedules, but hopefully the higher-ups at the Beeb will see how strong this third series has been and deliver on a fourth nice and soon.