Essex Spacebin, H.P. Lovecraft does Southend

Just beyond what we can see, perhaps in another dimension, someone or something beckons. Yes, H.P. Lovecraft had a field day with that assumption. Of course, his protagonists were brainiac scientists or academics, but in the real world, perhaps those with the 'third eye' are schmucks like you and me. David Hollinshead and Phil Thompson may earn the label of blue-collar H.P. Lovecrafts' as they have given us 2016's "Essex Spacebin." Before putting on this film, know that there are no throw away scenes or lines, everything is significant. Like a Guy Ritchie film, this is one you'll want to watch again.

Lorraine (Lorraine Maltby) may have a special calling. Sure, she is no Euro-babe, or sultry astronomer, but she believes she has an inside track on a 'stargate' ...or portal to another dimension, shall we say. The very-non-sexy marketing exec for Starburgerz will embark on a costly journey to this stargate, or to an insane asylum. Yep, her mom Caryl (Caryl Griffith) gave her a key. This key belonged to Lorraine's dad, a scientist who might have worked for the CIA and who might have invented Agent Orange. Hardly one to sit about and watch the world...or galaxies go by, our plump (understatement) heroine is proactive. With the guidance of galactic guru, the pot-head Hogan (Hogan Cooper), she plods forward to seek the elusive portal in Southend, after all, the sands of Southend's shoreline built the great Egyptian pyramids (just go with that).

No spoilers here, so I'll cut the plot description short. It is easy to see Lorraine as as tragic protagonist and to feel sorry for her. After all, she and the rest of her kinfolk have always lost life's lottery. As working class blokes, the social structure in the U.K. offers them no hope to escape a rough grind of day-to-day survival. Perhaps this hopelessness has driven her to insanity in her Quixotic quest for the impossible. But wait!  Might she be on to something? Might there be a stargate in Essex, just waiting to take some chosen ones to another, more advanced dimension? Is Lorraine a lunatic or 'The Chosen One"?

Again, just like a Ritchie film you'll be introduced to a lot of significant characters. Whether it be director Philip Thompson as Lorraine's hubby, or the sultry Emily Wyatt as a sadistic insane asylum nurse, they are all integral to this wild story. This film may initially seem a sci-fi comedy, but we really feel for Lorraine's plight, not the quest for a stargate, but the quest for relevance and meaning. The ending? Ha! You'll see, but it is a wild one. Do yourself a favor, and undertake a search for a portal to another dimension, not with H.P Lovecraft, but with a couple regular guys, and watch  David Hollinshead's  and Phil Thompson's "Essex Specebin."
Essex Spacebin is on Amazon video (free for members) and feel free to explore their website by clicking on this link Essex Spacebin
This film is also available on DVD and BluRay in the U.S. and U.K., and the world, and can be ordered on the above website.