Stargate Atlantis: Whispers (season 5, episode 7)

TV episode review
US airdate 5 September 2008 (Sci Fi Channel)

Another exploration team are joined by Sheppard and Beckett (who is coincidently on a visit to the Pegasus galaxy base) when they discover one of Michael’s labs…

This episode opens with a convincing horror sequence in a fog-ridden forest, with victims being stalked and taken by a gas mask-wearing ‘monster’. It continues in a similar – and extremely effective – vein once the Atlantean crew get involved.

It has the narrative construction, as well as all the POV and steadicam visuals, of a typical horror film. An abandoned village in the mist is shot to resemble a graveyard, the chimeric creatures that Michael has created look and act like zombies, and the team that Sheppard and Beckett join is all female (including a guest spot from Deep Space Nine and The Dead Zone’s Nicole de Boer) as befits the genre.

For horror fans, this is a veritable compendium of references to everything from The Descent to Silent Hill, as well as The Mist. The lighting is worthy of a special mention, but this is also a very refreshing episode with only Sheppard from the usual cast of characters to remind us this is Atlantis. It just goes to show that a change now and again can be extremely beneficial. Amazing work. Brigid Cherry