Inspector Morse: Infernal Serpent (1992)
Review by Dindrane
Film:
DVD:

Written by Alma Cullen, based on the stories of Colin Dexter
Directed by John Madden
Starring John Thaw, Kevin Whately, James Grout, Peter Woodthorpe, Amanda Hillwood, and Clare Holman

Features:

• Text biographies
  
• Selected filmographies
  
• Trivia
  

Released by: BFS Entertainment
Region: 1
Rating: NR, suitable for audiences 13+
Anamorphic: N/A; presented in original 1.33:1 aspect

My Advice: Rent it.

NOTE: This film contains mention of childhood sexual abuse that will be disturbing to some viewers.

Inspector Morse (Thaw), Oxford-trained police detective, arrives on the scene to investigate the death of an environmentalist the night before said environmentalist was scheduled to deliver a controversial speech. Thrown into the mix are: a big city journalist with secrets of her own; a delicate, disturbed young woman; an Oxford don determined to stonewall Morse at every turn; and some hideous child abuse. Has the big chemical company done in the whistle-blower? Why is someone sending a professor boxes of rotten natural items? Or is the whole environmentalism thing just a red herring?

The plotting of this mystery is as tight as you could ask for. There are enough twists and extra characters to make things nice and confusing without just frustrating viewers into abandoning the whole enchilada. Plot and sub-plot weave into each other nicely. The pacing of the plot could have been a bit faster, though, especially in the beginning, but it's still a good, solid English mystery.

The audio quality might disappoint some viewers used to digital restoration and contemporary filming advancements. However, the film stock looks plenty good for what it is: a slightly aged TV show. This is true for the sound, as well. The camera angles show some real thought; many of the shots are quite artistically done and very effective, without being cheap attempts to horrify or shock viewers.

The features are quite nice on this release, as well. The “trivia” is not a game of any sort, but is a collection of mini-facts related to the actors and writers--very interesting. The text biographies are surprisingly easy to read, given how small these things are against a busy background on some releases; here, they are attractively presented, lengthy, and easy on the eyes. The filmographies will show how impressive the credentials of most of these actors truly are, and will interest anyone who is a fan.

In short, if you enjoy mysteries, especially police procedurals, then you will enjoy this mystery. The Morse series will also interest anyone with a fondness for Oxford, the British educational system, or academia in general. Some of the references will make a lot more sense if you’ve been to graduate school, but the mystery itself is perfectly comprehensible to anyone who likes the genre.