Brothers Edward (Reece Shearsmith) and Harry (Steve Pemberton) need answers from their mum, specifically the whereabouts of a large sum of money stolen by their East End gangster father.

The problem is that she’s dead, so Edward has unearthed (by which I mean Googled) an ancient ritual that may well be the solution. Unfortunately plans go awry when the new owners arrive back from holiday early, owners with a connection to their late parents.

After series opener the Bones of St Nicholas was appropriately shown at Christmas this penultimate season kicks off in earnest with a tense and occasionally gory four-hander. As married East End villains Reggie and Frances we have a pair of erstwhile EastEnders in the form of Anita Dobson and Phil Daniels. These two are distinctly not the usual cliche of loveable rogues but an extremely nasty and sadistic couple, written and performed with appropriately broad strokes. The humour helps take some of the edge off the unpleasantness but it is at times very nasty indeed; personally I felt it crossed the line at one point (you’ll know it when you see it).

Having said that, this is a series that pays homage to a wide variety of sources, and the horror-themed episodes don’t have to look just to the safe horror of Hammer and Amicus for inspiration. Plus it also is genuinely funny at times, with Dobson and Daniels clearly relishing playing these monsters. I especially enjoyed the reference to one character’s personal bugbear, one I happen to share.

Verdict: While certainly not among the strongest series openers it’s a lot of fun and as usual I look forward to what’s to come. 7/10

Andy Smith