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Patrick Brammall: Glitch “really hooks you in quickly”

ABC's new drama is high-concept with heartache, says its star.... just don't call them zombies.

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“When I read the first script, you know from the get-go what you’re in for. You see people coming out of graves. I thought ‘Here we go!’ It really hooks you in quickly,” says Patrick Brammall.

“Six people come out of graves, perfectly healthy, and they don’t know why they’re there. I’m the local cop and I recognise one of them and it causes me a certain dilemma. So it’s a really strong concept but we just play it for complete human truth, in the middle of it.

“The meeting point between those two points is what will make it a really good watch.”

ABC’s Glitch is certainly unlike anything else Brammall has undertaken. Frequently seen in comedic roles such as The Moodys and The Elegant Gentleman’s Guide to Knife Fighting, he now plays Yoorana cop Sgt. James Hayes whose world is upturned after a bizarre incident in the local cemetery.

One of the six just happens to be his deceased wife.

“When she come back he has to deal with the fact she’s been dead for two years,” he continues.

“It makes you ask ‘What would I do in that situation if my wife came back from the dead?’ That’s what’s so interesting to watch and why it is so truthful and the cast is so good.

“I looked around and thought ‘Everyone is so different yet so right for the part.’ It’s a really good mix of people.”

In the role of his undead wife is Emma Booth. The cast also includes Rodger Corser, Emily Barclay, Genevieve O’Reilly, Andrew McFarlane, Daniela Farinacci, Sean Keenan, and Ned Dennehy.

But The Walking Dead this is not, with the tone aiming for emotion.

“It’s not zombies,” he insists.

“It’s a well-placed, high concept genre.

“Come for the corpses, stay for the heartache…. which is a terrible pitch line! It does deliver on the action and the mood and atmosphere. But the human dilemmas kick in pretty quickly.”

Does that mean it’s an Aussie counterpart to The Returned? Resurrection? Not quite.

“We don’t have stabbings and things going on, but it is reminiscent in terms of the way it looks. It does remind me a bit of The Returned.

“It seems to be a genre unto itself, because it’s different from the zombie thing.”

The paranormal drama is also being given a unique playout by ABC, with all six episodes to be available on iview as soon as the first episode finishes its ABC broadcast.

Created by Tony Ayres and Louise Fox, Brammall says Glitch is enticing storytelling.

“They’ve been really clever about the mix of genre and drama, but it’s the same stuff that appeals in any good drama: human interaction in a huge conceit.

“It’s a paranormal-action-mystery-thriller. That’s a ridiculous genre. But let’s go with that!”

Glitch airs 8:30pm Thursday ABC.

3 Responses

  1. Just turned it off after 15 minutes. So clichéd, so disappointing. If you’re going to do clichés, then at least dress it up a little so that it doesn’t look like one. I have seen better and more imaginative student films.

  2. Now it is Australia’s turn to emulate the French’s The Returned and the US’s Resurrection. TV shows about returning from the dead years after their demise is a flavour of the year I suspect. Australia has always been one for originality in term of original story lines – now it seems it is losing that. Why watch Australia now when you can see it first in Europe or the US?

  3. This concept of people returning from the dead and being pretty much the same as when they were alive does appear to have developed as a sub-genre of the zombies as well as the more traditional hauntings. It will be interesting to see where it goes.

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