People are voting emotionally.

It's no definitive masterpiece but it's damn close.

The first must-see film of the year.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

For anyone unfamiliar with Urban Gothic, it was a half-hour British horror series that was originally shown in the UK on Channel Five. The first series of thirteen episodes was screened in 2000, while the second series consisted of nine episodes and was broadcast in 2001 (the combined total of 22 episodes - the length of a standard American season - would indicate that the producers hoped to sell the show overseas). Intended for post-watershed viewing, it contained a frequent amount of blood and gore, plus a fair smattering of sex and nudity.At first glance, Urban Gothic was an anthology series of self-contained stories, the only link between the various episodes being that they were all set in modern-day London (the show's very first episode 'Dead Meat' will be of particular interest to Hex fans - not only does it feature Jemima Rooper, but the plot centres on a ritual to raise the dead, written by John Dee).However, the last episode of the first series revealed that all the stories took place in the same shared continuity, and in the second series an ongoing storyline gradually emerged, involving a covert branch of British Intelligence called C-TEC which investigates unusual events; a centuries-old secret society known as The Institute; and 'The Heart' - an ancient and powerful supernatural entity that serves as the lifeforce of the city of London, and feeds on the pain, fear and misery of the inhabitants. Several characters - some of which had debuted in the first series - also began to make recurring appearances, including Jude Redfield, a failed journalist who had been chosen by The Heart to become The Storyteller - the chronicler of the city's secret history; Josef Severin, the leader of the Institute; inexperienced C-TEC agent Sean Bendix; Jude's snide zombie sidekick Milton; lesbian police detective Rachel Winter; teenage border-line sociopath Kali Cunningham; autistic savant Loki Brown, who had memorised the scientific formula of Creation; and Jude's missing girlfriend Cora - transformed into the conduit for The Heart.Urban Gothic was made on a low budget and shot on video, and on occasion the ideas and themes contained in the scripts are beyond the reach of the show's meagre finances to be visualized successfully. Also, once you take away the commercials each episode is just over twenty minutes in length, and many of the stories feel rushed as a result, with several clearly needing a longer running time to do themselves justice.Like most anthology series, Urban Gothic is hit and miss, with some episodes working better than others. But it scores a complete or partial bullseye more often than not. Sadly, the ongoing storyline involving The Heart ends with an unresolved cliffhanger in the final episode, but the entire series is still worth watching.

I really like Urban Gothic in a number of ways.It's wildly uneven and you never know what you're going to get. Half the episodes are boring, predictable or just plain funny (see the episode called 'pineapple chunks' and you'll understand.) The other half are brilliant, unusual and original.It's violent and doesn't pretend it has a moral reason to be that way. The fact is that gut wrenching violence can sometimes shock and horrify. We're not talking 'video nasty' proportions here, but you'll wince at some of the scenes. Because of this capacity for violence and its cheapness, you're always on the edge, wondering if something horrible is about to happen. This is no sanitised hollywood production and it's all the better for it. It feels grubby - the title sequence really demonstrates what the show is about.This is really cheap on DVD - I managed to get series one for about 9 quid. I'm off to order series 2!

Urban Gothic is a little rough round the edges but an entertaining show nonetheless. As with all shows of this format, the quality of acting and scripts vary, though in this show's favour it's usually above average. As the series goes on, the shows show marked improvement as the dialogue becomes more natural and far less stilted. There are germs of good ideas here, though only a few are developed sufficiently enough to raise this beyond the level of 'Hammer House Of Horror' to something approaching the class of 'Ultraviolet'. In particular, episodes such as 'Old Nick' and the astonishing 'Boy's Club' break free of the usual formula to show us that horror and evil aren't just about blood and gore. True horror is corruption of the soul, of the heart, and in these two episodes we get to see a darker side of the City that will linger uncomfortably long after the TV set has been turned off.

Having seen the 1st Season of this TV Horror anthology series on DVD, I wanted to comment on it - as there are not many postings relating to this little late night gem.Best way to describe the 13 episodes is to imagine "Tales Of The Unexpected" meets "Hammer Horror" on a cable station budget. Due to this the quality is very uneven, but this could be to do with the direction and production on the individual episodes, assuming the same money is allocated across the board...I found all the episodes watchable, and allowed for the budget restraints - but there are a few real gems that stand out, and make the DVD purchase all the worthwhile (but it was going cheap..) - Vampirology, Old Nick, Cry Wolf and Boy's Club all romp along, look fantastic and are pretty scary, with new (ish) spins on standard horror themes. The filming is pretty basic, and tends to be in one or two locations - depending on the warehouse, theatre or hospital that's available - but making the most of the location, lighting and mood. The creepy London council flats in Old Nick are a great example, and you could just imagine real life horrors played out in those lifts and balconies.I read somewhere that the writer Tom De Ville, was only thirteen when he penned these - this could be an "urban myth", or he spent way too much time with old Hammer and Amicus Films, taking in large dollops of 70's psychological drama and 80's splatter flicks along the way. The retro 70's feel could come deliberately from the directors, but the lovely Ingrid Pitt gets a mention in Vampirology, so that's a direct Hammer Horror writing nod. The 30 minute format (even less on DVD as you lose the advert break) puts a strain on making the stories clear and straight - in fact, most are a bit muddled with slightly rushed "wrap end" endings, but I think this adds to the charm. The acting is also hit and miss, with some performances really great, and others very wooden.Overall - a real nice run of "Old School" inspired horror, with some great ideas - especially if Mr. De Ville was only 13....