• PDI Press

    PDI Press

    BETTY WHITE VS THE STUPID WORLD: The Movie

    PDI Press
    January 17, 2022 2

    Betty White Vs the Stupid World (Chapter Seven)

    PDI Press
    January 16, 2022 1

    Betty White Vs the Stupid World (Chapter Six)

    PDI Press
    January 15, 2022 3

    Featured

    BETTY WHITE VS THE STUPID WORLD: The Movie

    John E. Meredith
    PDI Press
    January 17, 2022 2
    • PDI Press Catalog
    • PDI Press Writers
      • Fiction
  • Columns A-D
    • A Fistful of Dollar Comics
    • ABCs of Horror
    • All Binge… No Purge
    • Anything Joes
    • Beautiful Creatures
    • Big Eyes Smart Mouth
    • Big Sleeps and Long Goodbyes
    • Cahiers du Horror
    • Dispatches From the Field
    • Drive-In Saturday
    • Dungeons & D-Listers
  • Columns F-P
    • The Final Girl
    • First Looks… Second Thoughts
    • The Flesh is Weak
    • Innocence and Experience
    • Lost in Translation
    • Marvel at the Movies
    • Muppets 101
    • Page to Screen
    • Popcorn Cinema
    • The Psycho Drive-In Podcast
    • Psycho Essentials: The ’80s!
  • Columns S-Z
    • Schlock & Awe
    • Shakespeare on Film
    • Shot for Shot
    • Sick Flix
    • Unnatural Selections
    • Versus
    • Video Word Made Flesh
    • We Got Lists
    • Women in Horror
    • The Xeno File
    • Zombies 101
  • Reviews

    Reviews

    Superman (2025)

    Movies
    July 10, 2025 38

    Final Destination: Bloodlines (2025)

    Movies
    June 26, 2025 8

    Predator: Killer of Killers (2025)

    Movies
    June 8, 2025 13

    Featured

    Superman (2025)

    Nate Zoebl
    Movies
    July 10, 2025 38
    • Books
    • Comics
    • DVD/Blu-ray
    • Movies
    • TV
    • Series
  • Interviews

    Interviews

    Interview with Indie Horror Master, Chris Bickel

    Interviews
    July 13, 2018 397

    David Black: Carnies, Carnage, and the Creative Chaos of Darkness Visible

    Interviews
    March 7, 2017 223

    Jaiden Kaine joins the Marvel Universe as new Luke Cage baddie, Zip

    Interviews
    September 29, 2016 8

    SDCC 2016 Interviews: The Cast and Creators of Batman: The Killing Joke

    Interviews
    July 28, 2016 61

    SDCC 2016 Interviews: The Cast and Creators of Syfy’s Van Helsing

    Interviews
    July 27, 2016 3

    Wondercon Interview: The Cast of Damien

    Interviews
    April 16, 2016 3

    Featured

    Interview with Indie Horror Master, Chris Bickel

    The Final Girl
    Interviews
    July 13, 2018 397
  • News

    News

    Regular Show: The Complete Series DVD is here!

    News
    February 9, 2025 20

    “PATER NOSTER AND THE MISSION OF LIGHT” UNLEASHES TERRIFYING UNDERGROUND HORROR – A PSYCHEDELIC CULT MOVIE EXPERIENCE COMING SOON!

    News
    November 15, 2023 74

    Breaking Down The Upcoming DC Studios Slate

    Shot for Shot
    February 1, 2023

    Featured

    Regular Show: The Complete Series DVD is here!

    Paul Brian McCoy
    News
    February 9, 2025 20
    • Trailers
  • Psychos
  • Shop
Breaking
  • Superman (2025)
  • Final Destination: Bloodlines (2025)
  • Predator: Killer of Killers (2025)
  • From the World of John Wick: Ballerina (2025)
  • RSS
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • Tumblr
  • Who We Be
  • Contact
    Home
    Reviews

    The Man in the High Castle 1.01 “Pilot”

    Paul Brian McCoy
    ReviewsTV
    January 18, 2015

    This is the second pilot I’ve watched this weekend that totally surprised me by not being train wrecks right out of the gate. First, 12 Monkeys was actually kind of good (look out for a review of this later in the week), and then the adaptation of Philip K. Dick’s classic novel The Man in the High Castle was one of the best pilots I’ve watched in years. Which makes some sense given how long it’s been gestating.

    Back in 2010, the BBC announced a four-part TV adaptation with Ridley Scott on-board as executive producer, but that eventually fell by the wayside. Scott then took the project to Syfy, who also announced that it would be producing as a four-part adaptation, however that was not to be. So when, in October 2014, Amazon.com reported that filming had actually begun (with Scott still involved as producer) on the pilot episode, set to air via Amazon streaming — no word on whether or not it’s being bumped up from its original four-part structure — there had been enough eyes on it to work out just how to make it work on-screen.

    And work, it does.

    The Man in the High Castle takes place in a world where the Axis Powers won WWII, but the alternative history actually begins a bit further back than that. In this world, President Roosevelt was assassinated in 1934, which led to a series of weak leaders who undermined American military capabilities, and resulted in the destruction of the entire American Navy fleet in an attack on Pearl Harbor. By that point, though, the Nazis had already conquered the USSR and by 1947, the Allies had lost the war entirely.

    In the aftermath, the continental United States was split up between the puppet Japanese Pacific States of America on the west coast and the Nazi puppet U.S. on the east coast (in the style of Vichy France). The book then follows the everyday lives of a number of characters living on the east coast and in the “neutral” buffer zone of the Rocky Mountain states, the Great Plains, and Soutwest.

    MIHC-03

    Plus a number of characters (as well as Dick, himself, while writing) consult(ed) the I-Ching for guidance for difficult decisions and to ultimately help reveal the true nature of reality — that their world is a false reality and the Allies really did win the war; a belief put forth in a banned “alternative history” novel called The Grasshopper Lies Heavy by the titular man in the high castle, Hawthorn Abendsen. The Man in the High Castle is filled with a fluid narrative that subtly shifts perspectives as different characters weave in and out of the story, providing us with interpretations of the world from a number of different viewpoints, each with its own prejudices, anxieties, and personalities. It’s a narrative approach that, on its surface, makes the novel seem like it would be difficult to adapt.

    But writers Frank Spotnitz and Howard Brenton have figured it out. And director David Semel, with the invaluable help of cinematographer James Hawkinson, art director Linda A. King, and production designer Drew Boughton have accomplished an impressive piece of world-building that feels authentic and lived-in from opening shot to close.

    The_Man_in_the_High_Castle_Pilot_5903.NEF

    The pilot shifts the main focus from Frank Frink (Rupert Evans) to his estranged girlfriend Juliana Crain (Alexa Davalos), who stumbles into possession of a set of newsreel footage that shows the U.S. winning WWII, tagged as The Grasshopper Lies Heavy. Juliana shares almost equal story time with young radical truck driver with a grudge, Joe Blake (Luke Kleintank), who is responsible for driving a truck cross-country for the Underground on a mission so secret, he doesn’t even know what he’s hauling. We are also introduced to a frighteningly skeletal Rufus Sewell as an evil Nazi commander on one coast, and Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa and Carsten Norgaard as Nobusuke Tagomi and Victore Baynes / Rudolph Wegener who are dealing with their own secret mission-of-sorts on the east coast.

    All-in-all, each of the various plots are laid out smoothly and without any noticeable rush or short-changing of characters or themes. There’s a lot going on here, but everything and everybody gets enough time to establish their characters, personalities, motivations, and then get shifted around the board into extremely interesting and enticing new positions from which to launch the rest of the series. The changes made from the novel’s original characters and situations aren’t so extreme that the story is unrecognizable, and actually work extremely well in this format. The end result may not be as sublimely textured and complex in its themes as the novel, but as far as television shows go, I’d watch this one religiously for as long as they want to run it.

    MIHC-01

    The Man in the High Castle is just one of thirteen new pilots available to stream and watch for free at Amazon.com. Here’s the direct link. Be sure to check it out and take the survey to help ensure that it gets a full season order. This is the sort of science fiction that we need on TV. It’s smart, high-quality entertainment that actually has a little something to say about the nature of life and reality. I cannot recommend it any higher.

    APPIP ERROR: amazonproducts[
    AccessDeniedAwsUsers|The Access Key Id AKIAIIK4RQAHE2XK6RNA is not enabled for accessing this version of Product Advertising API. Please migrate your credentials as referred here https://webservices.amazon.com/paapi5/documentation/migrating-your-product-advertising-api-account-from-your-aws-account.html.
    ]
    (Visited 157 times, 1 visits today)

    Related

    Alexa DavalosCarsten NorgaardCary-Hiroyuki TagawaDavid SemelDrew BoughtonFrank SpotnitzHoward BrentonJames HawkinsonLinda A. KingLuke KleintankPhilip K. DickRidley ScottRufus SewellRupert EvansThe Man in the High Castle

    FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
    Previous Radio Free Albemuth (2010)
    Next Top Five Fantasy Villains
    monsterid
    Paul Brian McCoy
    Co-Founder / Editor-in-Chief / Dreamweaver
    Paul Brian McCoy is the Editor-in-Chief of Psycho Drive-In. His first novel, The Unraveling: Damaged Inc. Book One is available at Amazon US & UK, along with his collection of short stories, Coffee, Sex, & Creation (US & UK). He recently contributed the 1989 chapter to The American Comic Book Chronicles: The 1980s (US & UK). He also kicked off Comics Bulletin Books with Mondo Marvel Volumes One (US & UK) and Two (US & UK) and PDI Press with Marvel at the Movies: 1977-1998 (US & UK), Marvel at the Movies: Marvel Studios (US & UK), and Spoiler Warning: Hannibal Season 1 - An Unauthorized Critical Guide (US & UK). Paul is also unnaturally preoccupied with zombie films and sci-fi television. He can be found babbling on Twitter at @PBMcCoy.

    Related Posts

    Lost in Translation 407: A Knight’s Tale (2001)

    Scott Delahunt
    Lost in Translation
    March 11, 2022 15

    Blade Runner 2049 Blu-ray Review

    Paul Brian McCoy
    DVD/Blu-ray
    January 15, 2018 3

    Daily Top Ten

    • i-spit-on-your-grave-09The Final Girl: I Spit on Your Grave (2010) by The Final Girl
    • romeo-juliet-06Everybody Dies: Romeo and Juliet adapted as Warm Bodies by Rick Shingler
    • guinea-pig-devils-experiment-headerSick Flix: Guinea Pig – Devil’s Experiment (1985) by Corin Totin
    • Ethan Turning Away from SocietyThe Searchers: A Quaint and Polite Film about… by Thom V. Young
    • HHSR-harlotHaunted House on Sorority Row (2014) by Paul Brian McCoy
    • possessor-headerPossessor: Uncut (2020) by Paul Brian McCoy
    • better call saul 2.5 jimmy erinBetter Call Saul 2.05 “Rebecca” by Jamil Scalese
    • who-is-gahan-wilson-01Cahiers du Horror 13: Who is Gahan Wilson? by Fred L. Taulbee Jr.
    • terminator-zero-05Lost in Translation 474: Terminator Zero (2024) by Scott Delahunt
    • Sopranos-04The Sopranos: The Complete Series Blu-ray Review by Josh Green
    400x400 GI Joe Funko Banner

    Weekly Top Ten

    • i-spit-on-your-grave-09The Final Girl: I Spit on Your Grave (2010) by The Final Girl
    • superman-headerSuperman (2025) by Nate Zoebl
    • babylon-5-blu-ray-04Babylon 5 Complete Series Blu-ray Review by Paul Brian McCoy
    • 80s-headerLost in Translation: The History of Adaptations, 1980-89 by Scott Delahunt
    • AT606-visionAdventure Time 6.06 “Breezy” by Dave Hearn
    • star-wars-headerLost in Translation: The History of Adaptations, 1970-79 by Scott Delahunt
    • a-knights-tale-06Lost in Translation 407: A Knight’s Tale (2001) by Scott Delahunt
    • men-in-blackLost in Translation: The History of Adaptations, 1990-99 by Scott Delahunt
    • mary-shelleys-frankenstein-headerEZMM 2024 Day 4: Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1994) by Paul Brian McCoy
    • LastLovecraft-cthulhuThe Last Lovecraft: Relic of Cthulhu (2009) by Alex Wolfe

    psychodrivein

    We came here to chew bubblegum and write intelligent reviews and commentary on cult TV and movies! And we're all out of bubblegum!

    Today at https://psychodrivein.com Lost in Transl Today at https://psychodrivein.com

Lost in Translation 483: One More Trailer

The Fantastic Four: First Steps is a period piece set in the 60s, around the time the comic was first published.
—
Read more of Scott’s article at the link in our profile!

#LostInTranslation #FantasticFour #FantasticFourFirstSteps #MarvelStudios #MCU
    Today at https://psychodrivein.com Superman (2025 Today at https://psychodrivein.com

Superman (2025)

Superman is proof that the DC film universe might actually have the perfect person in charge of charting their cross-franchise courses.
—
Read more of Nate’s review at the link in our profile!

#Superman #JamesGunn #DavidCorenswet #RachelBrosnahan #NicholasHoult #DC #DCU
    Today at https://psychodrivein.com Lost in Transl Today at https://psychodrivein.com

Lost in Translation 482: Examining Recent Trailers

Two new trailers dropped that are of interest to Lost in Translation: Spaceballs 2 and The Naked Gun!
—
Read more of Scott’s article at the link in our profile!

#LostInTranslation #Spaceballs2 #TheNakedGun #Trailers
    Today at https://psychodrivein.com Final Destinat Today at https://psychodrivein.com

Final Destination: Bloodlines (2025)

FINAL DESTINATION: BLOODLINES is a return to form for a franchise that never should have been on the brink of death.
—
Read more of Nate’s review at the link in our profile!

#FinalDestination #FinalDestinationBloodlines #AdamBStein #ZachLipovsky #KaitlynSantaJuana #TonyTodd
    Today at https://psychodrivein.com Anything Joes: Today at https://psychodrivein.com

Anything Joes: S02E29 - File Card Focus: Big Boa
 
Greg and Jaren return to take a hard look at Cobra’s one-man trainer: Big Boa! 
—
Watch the @AnythingJoesPod gang at the link in our profile!

#AnythingJoes #GIJoe #Cobra #BigBoa #FileCardFocus
    Today at https://psychodrivein.com The Psycho Dri Today at https://psychodrivein.com

The Psycho Drive-In Podcast: 28 Years Later

Paul and John are back with a new PSYCHO DRIVE-IN PODCAST with a brand-new review of 28 YEARS LATER plus a look back at the franchise, its themes, its innovations, and its impact on the genre!
—
Listen to the guys at the link in our profile!

#ThePsychoDriveInPodcast #28YearsLater #28WeeksLater #28DaysLater #DannyBoyle #AlexGarland #AlfieWilliams
 #AaronTaylorJohnson #JodieComer #RalphFiennes
    Today at https://psychodrivein.com Anything Joes: Today at https://psychodrivein.com

Anything Joes: Backstock Blacksite - Night Specter (2008)

In Backstock Blacksite, we open the classified crates and dig deep into Greg’s personal G.I. Joe overflow closet, where extras, variants, and forgotten figures wait to be unearthed.
—
@anythingjoespod #AnythingJoes #GIJoe #GIJoeClassified #NightSpecter #BackstockBlacksite
    Today at https://psychodrivein.com Predator: Kill Today at https://psychodrivein.com

Predator: Killer of Killers (2025)

With Predator: Killer of Killers, Predator fans are feasting, baby!!
—
Read more of Paul’s review at the link in our profile!

#Predator #PredatorKillerOfKillers #KillerOfKillers #DanTrachtenberg #LindsayLaVanchy #DamienCHaas #LouisOzawa #RickGonzalez #MichaelBiehn #JoshuaWassung #MichoRobertRutare
    Today at https://psychodrivein.com From the World Today at https://psychodrivein.com

From the World of John Wick: Ballerina (2025)

I can’t wait to see more Ballerina films. Seriously. I want one right now.

—

Read more of Paul’s review at the link in our profile 

#Ballerina #JohnWick #FromTheWorldOfJohnWickBallerina #AnaDeArmis #KeanuReeves #IanMcShane #AngelicaHuston #GabrielByrne #DavidCataneda #LenWiseman #ShayHatten #ChadStahelski #NormanReedus #LanceReddick
    Follow on Instagram

    Look Who's Talking

    Shawn EH
    Shawn EH - 5/4/2025
    Thunderbolts* (2025)
    Yep, very well done; avoiding the big flashy battle that these heroes (can any of you fly?)...
    Ideonova
    Ideonova - 12/26/2024
    Page to Screen: F. Paul Wilson’s The Keep
    Not living up to the source material? What source material? The book is a predictable, at times...
    Fred L. Taulbee Jr.
    Fred L. Taulbee Jr. - 8/17/2024
    Cahiers du Horror 03: Frank Henenlotter and The Brain that Wouldn’t Die
    I need to see that again. Maybe make it a double feature with All of Me. Steve Martin is someone you...
    RSSTwitterFacebookinstagramtumblr

    Archives

    Large_rectangle_336X280
    • PDI Press
      • PDI Press Catalog
      • PDI Press Writers
        • Fiction
    • Columns A-D
      • A Fistful of Dollar Comics
      • ABCs of Horror
      • All Binge… No Purge
      • Anything Joes
      • Beautiful Creatures
      • Big Eyes Smart Mouth
      • Big Sleeps and Long Goodbyes
      • Cahiers du Horror
      • Dispatches From the Field
      • Drive-In Saturday
      • Dungeons & D-Listers
    • Columns F-P
      • The Final Girl
      • First Looks… Second Thoughts
      • The Flesh is Weak
      • Innocence and Experience
      • Lost in Translation
      • Marvel at the Movies
      • Muppets 101
      • Page to Screen
      • Popcorn Cinema
      • The Psycho Drive-In Podcast
      • Psycho Essentials: The ’80s!
    • Columns S-Z
      • Schlock & Awe
      • Shakespeare on Film
      • Shot for Shot
      • Sick Flix
      • Unnatural Selections
      • Versus
      • Video Word Made Flesh
      • We Got Lists
      • Women in Horror
      • The Xeno File
      • Zombies 101
    • Reviews
      • Books
      • Comics
      • DVD/Blu-ray
      • Movies
      • TV
      • Series
    • Interviews
    • News
      • Trailers
    • Psychos
    • Shop
    • PDI Press
      • PDI Press Catalog
      • PDI Press Writers
        • Fiction
    • Columns A-D
      • A Fistful of Dollar Comics
      • ABCs of Horror
      • All Binge… No Purge
      • Anything Joes
      • Beautiful Creatures
      • Big Eyes Smart Mouth
      • Big Sleeps and Long Goodbyes
      • Cahiers du Horror
      • Dispatches From the Field
      • Drive-In Saturday
      • Dungeons & D-Listers
    • Columns F-P
      • The Final Girl
      • First Looks… Second Thoughts
      • The Flesh is Weak
      • Innocence and Experience
      • Lost in Translation
      • Marvel at the Movies
      • Muppets 101
      • Page to Screen
      • Popcorn Cinema
      • The Psycho Drive-In Podcast
      • Psycho Essentials: The ’80s!
    • Columns S-Z
      • Schlock & Awe
      • Shakespeare on Film
      • Shot for Shot
      • Sick Flix
      • Unnatural Selections
      • Versus
      • Video Word Made Flesh
      • We Got Lists
      • Women in Horror
      • The Xeno File
      • Zombies 101
    • Reviews
      • Books
      • Comics
      • DVD/Blu-ray
      • Movies
      • TV
      • Series
    • Interviews
    • News
      • Trailers
    • Psychos
    • Shop
    Type to search or hit ESC to close
    See all results
    Username
    Password
    Remember Me
    Lost password?
    Create an account
    Username
    Email
    Cancel
    Enter username or email
    Cancel