Midwinter of the Spirit

There are three starts to the show. First, we see Canon Dobbs reciting Latin at the hospital bedside of Denzil Joy. There is desperation and fear written on Dobbs' face – and blood starts flowing from his nose as he holds his cross up to the man in the bed.Next, in the dead of night, Paul Sayers runs through a forest, fleeing for his life. To no avail, as he's surrounded by his black-garbed pursuers. Then all we hear is his scream.Lastly, a group of Anglican clergy stand in the small room of a house. Reverend Huw Owen is their tutor in the skills needed for a Deliverance Ministry, otherwise known as exorcism. Huw tells them, "Deliverance Ministry requires a wide skill set, part social work, part counselling, lots of listening."That's because you have to rule out every other possible cause before settling on a spiritual one – that of possession. "The bottom line is this. Your job is to protect people from the intrusion into their lives of entities which half the professed Christians in this country don't believe in."One of Huw's students is Vicar Merrily Watkins. She's only been in this community for three months. She's an escapee. Escaping the big city for the country. Escaping the pain of a husband who cheated on her. A single mother to a 15 year-old daughter and the magnified griefs between them.She is horrified when the police take her out to the blasphemous scene of Sayers' death. They want to know, is this a cult death? Merrily's interactions with the police can be interesting, as they are coming at the evidence from totally different perspectives. The cops know there are no demons. Merrily knows there are demons. How the twain shall meet?"Midwinter of the Spirit" originally aired in October 2015. It consists of three episodes totaling 145 minutes viewing. The DVD is presented in 16:9 widescreen and stereo sound. English SDH subtitles are available.The DVD has only one bonus extra, a 2 minute Photo Gallery. It's too bad they didn't arrange a little interview with Phil Rickman, author of the book (of the same name) on which the series is based.Trivia: If I'm remembering correctly, the story's location is not even mentioned in the TV series. In the book, it takes place in Hereford, Herefordshire. And the series was actually filmed in Herefordshire, including the awe-inspiring 936 year-old Hereford Cathedral. It's the home of the Mappa Mundi and the Chained Library, of which even I have heard.This exorcism genre is not usually my cup of tea, and I'm glad I watched the series doing the day, as parts did creep me out. Demons and such have been done so many times that it may be difficult to seem totally original, so there is melodrama. Because it is a TV show, there is less blood and gore than the usual horror movie. But it makes up for it with suspense and creepiness. There are some good characterizations, especially Huw Owen. And Merrily is very much not the stalwart hero. She is fragile and distracted which makes her three-dimensional even as she's sometimes annoying.Happy Reader