Doctor Who- The Well review

 

Something Doctor Who does less frequently these days is the outright horror story in which something terrible is lurking picking off victims. `The Well` is an excellent example of how to do this yet keep within the show’s remit of being inclusive to a younger audience. Its secrets were held back during the promotional trailers for good reason because this is one of those episodes that needs to be watched with as little information as possible for it to have maximum effect. So, if you’ve not watched it yet, please don’t read this review or any other reviews till you have.

Spoilers past this point

 

Bathed in hazy blues and industrial metal so vivid you can almost smell the oil and feel the tension `The Well` finds the Doctor and Belinda- plus the trusty Vindicator which looks like a guitar from another planet- soon involved in a search at a mining complex. Nothing has been heard from the crew for a while. It may be that same quarry we’ve visited before but at least it really is a quarry in the story and above the effects team have created a gorgeous galactic vista of stars.

Landing just as the investigating troopers are about to head down, courtesy of the psychic paper, the Doctor is soon in charge. Yet what they find are bodies, smashed mirrors, and eerie jump scares as they go. Shot inside what looks like a real old factory the vastness of the building creates a believable scenario. If they had done this story back in the days of the classic series the place would have been a handful of cramped sets. The mystery deepens when they find a cook called Aliss Fenley who appears to be the only survivor. Sitting awkwardly on a case it would seem she has lately killed her best friend whose body lies nearby and her explanation suggests everyone went mad and she had no choice.

`The Well` is the most traditional story we’ve had for some years; even the obligatory cameo from Mrs Flood fits into the narrative rather than being some cheeky fourth wall break. Unlike the classic series though, where inevitably some hulking creature would emerge and probably not look half as horrific as it was supposed to, this is a story that relies on atmosphere and deduction. Early suggestions that this might be some sort of Alien homage recede as the nature of the threat becomes clearer. “Its behind you” is one of those old-fashioned scares with which we’re all familiar only in this case it is literally true. Once again the show twists a familiar expression to scare us all! This creature hides behind someone and if they are killed will then leap behind someone else.

We never properly see this threat. There are hasty shadows and on one occasion- only because by now we’re looking- you sort of see a grey shape but wisely a full reveal does not happen and that really does help keep proceedings as scary as possible. Even the exposition needed as the Doctor and the others work out what is going on doesn’t drag the pace as there are always incidents to keep matters moving.

Social media being what it was, I had been semi spoilered as to the fact that this was a sequel to a well known story but I’d thought it would be `Planet of Evil` or `The Satan Pit` I imagined this would turn out to be either of those planets millions of years after the events of the story and we’d see a new version of the anti matter monster or The Beast rising from the Well. Come on, RTD did bring back the Macra once, so it’s not impossible!  Instead, it is a sequel to `Midnight`, a story that I would place as one of the best ever and I’m talking all the way back to 1963. Its not an episode I ever thought needed a sequel though as part of its appeal is how little we learn about whatever it is terrorising the passengers. I’m not sure `The Well` really needed the link as it has a strong enough set up to be a story of its own.

The creature’s methods are different here- explained due to the 400,000 years elapsing since the events of `Midnight`- enough to warrant it being something else entirely. There are superficial similarities though `Midnight` achieved its appeal by being confined. Here, even the room where most of it happens is larger than the shuttle in which the Doctor’s previous encounter with the creature took place. This does allow for some gymnastic deaths as troopers are hurled about by the unseen enemy but `The Well` employs broader strokes than `Midnight`.

It’s also more optimistic than its predecessor; with the exception of Cassio, the scenario brings everyone together rather than as happened in `Midnight`, mistrust and accusations spread as things got worse. On the other hand, the reveal doesn’t get in the way of the storytelling and has little bearing on the denouement. Also, we know little more out this entity by the end, even its name, so that doesn’t harm the impact that `Midnight ‘had.

The cast sell the danger and tension perfectly. Both Ncuti Gatwa and Varada Sethu are excellent benefitting from the material being shared between them with Belinda  not just following the Doctor but involving herself in matters interpedently. As Aliss, Rose Ayling Ellis is terrific – her deafness integrated seamlessly into the story- while there is also a great performance from Caoilfhionn Dunne as Shaya Costallion whose final acts are moving due to the way she performs them. I love the nomenclature in the story with characters having names like Callo, Hanno, Cassio, and Ulric.

Thia is a very cohesive script- the deliberate mercury leak to force the creature to confront itself works well conceptually and visually.  Matters stay within their own logic and the last ten minutes wrong foot the viewer a few times for an unsettling ending.  A lot of modern Doctor Who stories end abruptly but `The Well` has a lingering chill with the suspicion that perhaps the creature has not been destroyed at all and may even have been able to escape the planet- when Aliss and the others leave, the life sign monitor shows one more life form on the craft. Or it could be that it is still on the planet with one of the last troopers present- Mo- now the host. Could a threequel be in the works?