Corpse Day

"Another man telling us what to do."

Writer: James Goss

Format: Audio

Released: May 2017

Series: Torchwood Monthly 15

Featuring: Owen, Andy

Synopsis

Glynn Lewis is just putting up a spice rack when there's a knock at the door. A knock that will bring a brutal end to his perfect family. 

PC Andy is very excited. It's Corpse Day – the day when the local constabulary gets help on dead cases from Torchwood. This year, he's volunteered to act as liaison, and he knows he's going to have a brilliant time.

For Dr Owen Harper, today's just like any other. There'll be bloodshed, screaming and murder. At the end of it all, he doesn't care. After all, life's just for the living, and he's long dead.

Verdict

Corpse Day was a gruesomely good Torchwood audio to continue the Monthly Adventures from Big Finish! It was great to finally get Owen in the range and boy they didn't waste anytime in utilising his darker nature. Placing the story during the time in Series 2 where he was officially dead was good and I suspected that would be the case from the episode's name, but the corpse day within the story didn't actually relate to Owen's condition. Having him paired up with Andy as the police force are aided by Torchwood to clean up some of the dead body mysteries was great, and the history being told from Owen of how Queen Victoria offered up the Institute to help the forces was good. He wasn't best pleased. The mystery of sixteen girls going missing was intriguing and I thought it was powerful to refer to them as daughters. The moment where Owen was eating vicariously through Andy because he couldn't eat himself was hilarious and a rare moment of fun in what was to become a particularly horrific audio. And that's not in terms of its quality. Their investigation to the warehouse was good and I liked how it was linking them to missing people as it was the scene of a rave where there were one too many doors, so the culprit could simply walk in and take the girls without sighting. This turned out to be Glynn Lewis who was a particular awful person and the way Andy realised that he had the girls trapped because he was buying dog food without a dog was a stark realisation. Their visit soon turned into a developing series of gruesome events within the soundproof cellar full of three missing women and a Weevil. Sonny was almost like a pet but I loved how it was following its kind in almost worshiping Owen in his deadness. The missing women of Angela, Jan and Marta were intriguing given how different they all were despite being in the same predicament. They were terrified of Glynn who they called 'daddy' which was horrifying. This had a feeling akin to Countrycide which made it an uncomfortable listen. It was just so demeaning and the plan to punish Owen and Andy to make daddy proud was further discomfort. Playing with the concept of if you don't fit in you get eating was excellent with there being only room for one daddy. Finding out that Jan was pregnant was even more disturbing and Owen deducing that she was close to birth despite not being a shower brought some imminent danger. Learning of Glynn's wife finding an abandoned baby Weevil was quite something and the constant references to the Lord and how it was a replacement, seemingly indicating from the Committee, was great. Sonny having killed Diana and not knowing its own strength made for further danger in the cellar and the insinuation that grief caused Glynn to abduct the women didn't make it any better. Especially when we learned that it was the Weevil that had mated with the captured women. That's why Jan didn't look so pregnant, because this wasn't wholly a human baby. If Sonny didn't like the end result then you got eaten. So no pressure! Glynn's threat with the hammer was also ruthless and going so far to brake Andy's hand as a warning to Owen about the baby delivery was fantastic horror. The birth was full of gore and right in your face for an audio and Andy's commentary made it slightly more sane! He thought the result was grotesque and shouldn't live given it was the product of abuse. That's quite an ethical debate! Owen realising that Sonny had actually tried to protect the missing women as they were bruised but Glynn was scratched was fantastic and I liked how he ravaged daddy by the end once his baby boy was all safe and breathing. The daughters irking him on was very good and a fitting end. Overall, a story full of gore and horror! 

Rating: 8/10