The Haunted World of Claire Wilmenson S01E02 - Nightmares, Bad Dreams, and Dr. Jill (2013)

Review

During this episode we learn Claire can't have human contact due to her illness, apparently Myocardium Integument has been diagnosed as a communicable disease. Hey no comment I'm not a medical expert. Anyways Doctor Jill is still regularly visiting and we learn when she does she wears a hazmat suit; the good Doctor also wants Claire to keep a diary of her temperature on a fairly regular basis for whatever reason. Claire is not happy with her Doctor, missing the homecoming dance - apparently of some importance to U.S teen females, but is dedicated to getting the world record lap time in Mario Cart. So at least her sick time isn't entirely being wasted. Yeah that was the webisode y'all let's break it down and dance it around.

Another episode that simply features Claire talking direct to a single camera, which is kind of going to be a thing since she is apparently highly contagious with some sort of heart condition. Got to say the approach, while fulfilling a few requirements, is getting somewhat taxing and is definitely outstaying its welcome even after two episodes. The downside is Claire comes across as a typical whiney yank teen, there's zero emotive response to what amounts to a weblog at this stage, hence zero concern about the character's current condition and what might lay in wait around the next corner, assuming we get to see around a corner sometime soon. Still at a runtime of just over 5 minutes we can all afford to gnaw at the bone a little in the hopes of some decent marrow in the next episode or so.

Okay having shaved the bad off we are left with some glimmers of hope for the webisode series. Firstly the Producers, or whoever is filling in the role, are certainly keeping the mockumentary angle to the fore, there's zero polish here and at this early stage a lot of people are being fooled. Which means congrats to the Claire Wilmenson folks and a big face palm toward people who are gullible enough to think this is actually real, didn't they already get disappointed by The Blair Witch Marketing Project? So two thumbs up on this, if people are believing then the show is doing one thing exactly right.

While viewers can be respected for switching off, Claire comes across as ever so needy, there is important information being passed across, albeit spoon feed at this stage. We learn Claire is highly contagious as the main point, well okay if you're a chick then also she is going to miss the homecoming dance, whatever the hell that is? So yes the plot is being filled out and we are learning more and more details. There is one major flaw in this, where exactly are Claire's parents, is she living solo or something? We have next to no idea of what Claire's home situation is beyond her having a boyfriend and clearly being in high school. Without those details Claire simply comes across as even more self-obsessed, not a pleasant trait in teenage girls folks it can only lead to a plethora of selfies on Facebook!

Here I'm not making mention of the nightmares Claire has been having, they may or may not have an impact later in the season but could simply be filler at this stage.

As we discovered last week the editing of the episodes is going to be pretty rough, we're talking notable cuts during scenes, though thankfully there's no shaky cam, and thankfully the sound is both audioable and without sudden volume changes. The folk making Haunted World could teach a lot of found footage Directors a few things about getting it right, cameras do have stabilisers for example.

There was a distinct lack of horror this episode, besides missing the whole home coming thing, though there is hope that Claire's medical condition might be a precursor to a zombie outbreak. Idle thinking there folks, please don't quote me on this as I would be surprised if we do get any flesh decaying action in this series. Now I know the scary bits are coming, so just hold onto your linen and we'll no doubt get there. Oh and no T&A going down, go catch an episode of Game of Thrones or something.

Was Claire actually sick during the filming of the episode, sounded like she had a good dose of the flu to me, which adds to the vibe.

A few people are asking about the DVD's apparent non-arrival at Casa del Sminds. Sorry to report folks but the disc ain't here yet so can't comment on the contents, whether it's worth an investment, or just what you get. Bummer really, but the episode is linked below for your edification.

Not the best webisode I've had the privilege to check out but then again it certainly isn't the worse; there are some real howl at the moon efforts available online. We get some more details on the illness that has struck Claire down, get some bitching about her predicament, and the strange idea of a local GP having a hazmat outfit. Nothing much else to report gang, will be back next time for the third episode that at least promises something going bump in the night.