No. 010 - 'Garth Marenghi's Darkplace' by Garth Marenghi (2004)
"If you're looking at the wires, you're ignoring the story"
Watched by Matthew Donlan at the Ritz Cinemas
Garth Marenghi is a visionary. The top-brass at Channel 4 in the UK failed to see that, but Zach Ruane and a few hundred others saw the truth on screen at a special screening of Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace at the Ritz Cinemas in Randwick.
Marenghi is a dream-weaver and a shaman who has dabbled in the supernatural for decades. A published author to several hundred works (he has written more books than he’s read), at some point in the 1980s he ventured into television. But what emerged from his warped mind was too radical to be shown until an artistic drought in the 2000s saw six episodes broadcast along with interviews from the creative team.
Darkplace (the original television show) is a low-budget supernatural medical drama set in the Darkplace Hospital in Romford, London, where the gates to hell have opened, releasing terrifying beasts that haunt the halls. The series stars Garth Marenghi (who also wrote and directed all episodes) as Dr Rick Dagless M.D., the swoony Todd Rivers as Dr Lucien Sanchez, first-time actor and ‘truth-teller’ Dean Learner as Thorton Reed and the tragic Madeleine Wool as Dr Liz Asher.
Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace is a special presentation in which six episodes of the original series were restored for broadcast in 2004 along with introductions and interviews with Marenghi, Rivers and Learner*. These snippets provide a lovely entry point to the original series and contain fascinating insights to the production of the series.
The original series is an incredible time capsule into the British politics of the 1980s and the greatest televisual event since Quantum Leap. Marenghi and Learner were lightyears ahead in their radical world view so it speaks volumes that episodes about overcoming Scottish racism or the telekinetic powers of hungry women were censored. By comparing NHS staff to literal apes or the AIDS crisis to a green mist that turns you into broccoli, Marenghi created politically powerful and thoughtful images that sowed the seeds for Thatcher’s downfall.
While at times on the nose, (Marenghi famously derides authors who use subtext as ‘cowards’) the forcefulness of the supernatural metaphors work in service for a deeper pathos. Episode 3 in particular, Skipper the Eyechild, is a moving portrait of a father’s grief as Dagless secretly adopts a giant living eyeball to replace the gap left by the death of his half-grasshopper son. The desperation in our protagonist as he attempts to cling to the past is devastating to witness and certainly brought a tear to my eye.
On a technical level, the series fires on all cylinders. Marenghi’s direction (his first time behind the camera) introduces a new style where the camera reacts to action, instead of pre-empting. It feels improvisational with lingering shots, extensive use of slow-motion and continuity errors all creating a haunted atmosphere. The score by Stig Baasvik (based on melodies whistled by Marenghi) works in cue with the editing to emphasise romance and heighten tension. It represents all creatives working at the top of their game to produce a masterpiece.
In one episode, Learner laments that a series like Darkplace could not be made today (i.e. in 2004). What is most sad is that this is more true today than it was 20 years ago. With its radical worldview and all out shock and gore, a series like Darkplace would still exist only at the fringes. That is why it is so vital that screenings like this one continue.
*Madeliene Wool could not participate in the restoration due to her tragic and unsolved disappearance.
Editor’s Recommendation
NAIDOC Week begins this week and to mark the day, the Art Gallery of NSW will be hosting several screenings on Sunday. Sessions include conversations with First Nations directors and screenings of rarely seen and groundbreaking films. Attendance is free but bookings are recommended. Find out more HERE.
Screenings: Thursday 3 JULY - Wednesday 9 JULY
Astro’s Arcade Bar
Rapid Fire (1992, Dwight H. Little)
Tuesday
Cinema Astragale
Pandora And The Flying Dutchman (1951, Albert Lewin)
Thursday
Waverley Library Bad Movie Club
REDACTED DUE TO COPYRIGHT (1997)
Friday
Spanish Film Festival | 19 June - 9 July
Las Tres Sisters (2025, Mar Novo)
Mexican Night
Friday
Nine Queens (2000, Fabian Bielinsky)
Closing Night
Wednesday
Roseville Cinema
Tina (Mother) (2024, Miki Magasiva)
Daily
Hayden Orpheum | selected highlights
Desperately Seeking Susan (1985, Susan Seidelman)
40th Anniversary - 4K
Friday
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975, Milos Forman)
50th Anniversary
Sunday
Golden Age Cinema | selected highlights
Ellis Park (2024, Justin Kurzel)
Friday & Monday
Rome, Open City (1946, Roberto Rossellini)
80th Anniversary
Saturday
Ritz Cinemas, Randwick | selected highlights
Friendship (2024, Andrew DeYoung)
Preview Event Hosted by the Fantastic Film Festival
Thursday
Ancestry Road (2025, Glenn Triggs)
One Screening Only
Sunday
Robert Altman Retrospective (link)
California Split (1974, Robert Altman)
Thursday
Cult Classics (link)
Desperately Seeking Susan (1985, Susan Seidelman)
Saturday & Monday
Celluloid Film (link)
Fear And Loathing in Las Vegas (1998, Terry Gilliam)
Friday
Classic Matinees (link)
Vertigo (1958, Alfred Hitchcock)
Saturday & Monday
Make It Musical (link)
Mary Poppins (1964, Robert Stevenson)
Sunday & Wednesday
Meet Cute (link)
But I’m A Cheerleader (2000, Jamie Babbit)
Tuesday
Dendy Newtown | selected highlights
The Wolves Always Come At Night (2024, Gabrielle Brady)
Daily
Bring Her Back (2025, Danny & Michael Philippou)
Daily
Ellis Park (2024, Justin Kurzel)
Daily
Celluloid Dreams (link)
Django Unchained (2012, Quentin Tarantino)
Thursday
Night Shift (link)
The Duellists (1977, Ridley Scott)
Daily
Palace Cinemas | selected highlights
Bring Her Back (2025, Danny & Michael Philippou)
Daily
Cult Vault (link)
The Phantom of the Opera (1925, Rupert Julian)
Monday
Matinee Memories (link)
Laura (1944, Otto Preminger)
Saturday
Art Gallery of NSW
Black Film Worker - A Celebration of First Nations Cinema
Sunday
The 400 Blows (1959, Francois Truffaut)
Film series: Nouvelle Vague - A Short History of the French New Wave
Wednesday