AMC's THE KILLING

Caught the pilot last night. Surprisingly pretty to look at, considering the gray, desaturated color palette, which evokes an effect more ethereal than murky. Tons of gorgeous widescreen compositions.

Script and performances are quite understated, leaving the horror of the murder to stand on its own. When the trunk is finally opened, we get a lingering look at the body submerged, and hear the gentle sluice of the water draining away.

Matt Zoller Seitz has more. Suffice it to say, I'm onboard for now.

Oltretomba N. 269: La Morte Provvisoria (Temporary Death), Published in February 1984

London, 1925. This lovely young lady is quite surprised when the antique shop she's visiting suddenly turns into a rocky cave. Her name is never mentioned, but let's dub her April Fool.



The shopkeeper proceeds to strip the flesh from her bones with the help of his demons.



Miraculously she survives the ordeal, it doesn't even hurt. The shop turns back to normal, and the keeper explains that her death is only temporary at the moment, but will become painfully permanent within a week, unless she finds a virgin and rips her flesh off.



The strange thing is, other people don't seem to notice that she's now a living skeleton. It makes her suspect that she has only been drugged and should go home to sleep off this horrible hallucination.



But when she tries to eat at home, food keeps falling through her jaw, revealing the ugly truth.



Seven nights later she goes desperately for a walk in the park, and notices a guy trying to take his girlfriend's virtue.



The girl escapes crying, but after April has offered the guy some sexual favours...



...he comes clean and tells the address of the runaway virgin.



Oh, the humanity!



April is pretty happy, though, she got her life and flesh back.



Naturally there's a twist: the shopkeeper was actually Satan himself, and the whole thing was an infernal trap. If she had resisted the temptation to murder, she would've truly returned to normal, but since that is not the case..



...death is back for good. Oh April, you poor Fool!