Good morning, Readers!
Fun fact: most of my entertainment watching comes from YouTube. There's not an awful lot on television that I want to watch these days, and those that I do are usually behind a paywall or subscription. Being of the financially challenged (thanks, inflation… and also writing) type, I do not have subscriptions, and I'm loath to spend money on things like shows in any case.
This past weekend, I watched the entirety of the independent television show The Edge of Sleep, as it is now free to watch on Tubi (it was previously on Amazon Prime). Markiplier, who I've been watching for a little bit now, was both executive producer and starred in this little production... which is how I knew about it in the first place.
I wasn't expecting much, but it turns out, this was actually pretty good. Not spectacular, but I'm still thinking about it two days later, so actually quite good. Based on the acclaimed podcast by Jake Emanuel and Willie Block, this wonderfully weird little show surpassed my (admittedly low) expectations.
The style is wonderfully surrealist (though not entirely, making it far easier to follow than most surrealist things I’ve watched), which suits the subject matter perfectly. You would expect a story dealing with dreams, nightmares, and parasomnia to have surreal elements, and boy does this show deliver on that. I really, really loved the surrealism here. It's weird, and out of the mainstream, and it's good that this was an independent project because anyone more mainstream would strip all the weirdness out of it, I'm sure.
The premise is great. From IMDB:
After completing his night shift as a security guard, Dave is shocked to discover that anyone who fell asleep the previous night has been trapped in a fatal nightmare, never to wake again. Now, he and the remaining survivors must resist the overwhelming urge to sleep and race against time to unravel the mystery behind this global nightmare epidemic.
If I'm being completely honest, the acting was sometimes a bit janky, but I think that might have been more to do with direction and writing than the abilities of any of the actors. Not that I have much grounds to critique anyone’s acting. My last attempt was when I was in amateur theatre in high school. You know, the Stone Age. I confess, I didn’t expect Markiplier to be good. He’s not a trained actor, and while I really enjoyed the entertainment offerings on his channel (not just him goofing around while playing games, but Heist with Markiplier and In Space with Markiplier were both great), I wasn’t sure it would translate so well onto an actual dramatic television show. He did very well, actually.
I have to say, as far as acting goes, the stand out was Eve Harlow, who played Linda. Good lord was her intense, conflicted, and slightly unhinged character exceptional. I really believed that she was struggling to come to terms with a nightmare epidemic that was killing people. No. Literally a nightmare epidemic.
The more I think about it, the more I adore how weird, surreal, and unhinged the editing of this made the story; sometimes jarring… but, like, not in a bad way. It’s difficult to explain. It’s kinda like how I imagine sliding in and out of a bad trip would be. Talkings whales in the sky? Yup. A weirdly long, repeating 90’s-style animated ad for a pill that keeps you awake? Yup. An elephant monster? Sure! Why not?
Not that I would know what that’s like. Man, I’m pretty dull.
Look, this show is bizarre, and feels very much like a small, independent production. That’s a good thing. It’s something that likely wouldn’t have seen an adaptation at all were it not for people taking it on as a passion project, because we all know that mainstream entertainment studios have been playing it safe to the point of unhappy mediocrity and utter tedium for years and years now. Long gone are the folks willing to go out on a limb, bringing us the weird and wonderful movies we now consider cult classics. Why are there no more stories like Willow or Lady Hawke? Because those in charge largely no longer care about story telling or craft. This was the risky thing to produce that I have so often (and loudly) lamented wasn't being done in modern visual entertainment.
There are only six half hour episodes, so if you can handle or even enjoy the weird, then this is the show for you. The more I think about it, I find I like it more and more.
Incidentally, Markiplier is currently making a film based on the game Iron Lung, which I will now definitely make an effort to see if ever it’s given a theatrical release here in Canada-land.
Look, the state of mainstream entertainment is absolutely abysmal, to my mind. It’s so refreshing to see stuff like this out there. And the only way we’re going to get more weird, experimental stuff is if we reward those who take the risks to bring it to us.
Go watch it. Be weirded out. Curse my name after. Thank me later.
Slán go foill!
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