Comedy has clearly taken a turn for the dark lately. There's the domestic horror of Am I Being Unreasonable? and now here comes sexy slasher Wreck sailing into port. It's more thriller than sitcom but I suspect it is aimed at young comedy fans as well as young horror fans.
Wreck is set on a cruise liner called the Sacramentum. When Pippa, one of the young members of staff dies after – spoiler alert but it is the very first scene – being chased by a person dressed as a giant duck (unless it's a real giant duck), her brother gets a job a few months later to find out what actually happened.
It's a fairly simple plot which is lucky because it looks like it has been shot on a shoestring budget. There are lots of scenes in the ship's corridors (which do offer nice echoes of Kubrick's The Shining, a homage which is made more explicit at one point) and lots of running around, partying and necking drinks.
Every now and again to remind us that we are on a ship and not a Poundland version of White Lotus there's a shot of the boat. It looks massive and, maybe I missed it but you don't seem to see many passengers. Not in the first episode anyway. Spooky.
Instead the young sexy crew work hard and play hard and seem to get plenty of use out of the ship's facilities including a plunge pool (my girlfriend suggested that maybe there was a staff plunge pool and she did work on a ferry between Harwich and the Hook of Holland so maybe she has inside info. She also suggested the staff quarters were way to big and comfy).
What the cast lacks in talent it makes up for in enthusiasm, short shorts and renditions of Rupert Holmes' Pina Colada song (which also cropped up in an episode of Better Call Saul). The main character, Pippa's brother Jamie, is played by Oscar Kennedy who played lead Leeds youth Liam in one of BBC Three's best shows, Ladhood.
Jack Rowan from Noughts + Crosses is the malevolent bully Danny. Thaddea Graham is relatively sensible Vivian, Peter Claffey, who was in Harry Wild and Bad Sisters, is short shorted hunk Cormac. It's not particularly original but there is also going to be plenty of fun to be had watching characters being picked off by a big scary duck. Let's face it, you'd be quackers to miss it. See that knife? Time to duck.
Wreck, Sundays from October 9, 10pm, BBC Three and all available now on iPlayer.
Picture - Jack Rowan left, Oscar Kennedy right: BBC
