Picking up the threads of 1974, part 2 of the red riding trilogy takes place 6 years later and dances its events around the search for the Yorkshire Ripper.

Make no mistake, while Peter Sutcliffe and his foulness are included as part of the episode, 1980 in reality has bog all to do with him except work on clues as to why the killing of a prostitute named Clare Strachan has been included as a ripper killing when he thinks it isn't, and also to investigate the inept and corrupt officers who are handling the case under the guise of assisting with the investigations.

Handling all of this is Assistant Chief Constable Peter Hunter (a magnificent as always Paddy Considine)…

Man, this is a dark series of films.

Hunter: «So, if someone broke into your house, killed the dog and raped the wife, who would you be calling? Not the West Yorkshire Police then?»

Rev. Laws: «No, they would already be in there, wouldn't they?»

Peter Hunter (Considine) is hired from outside to lead the investigation team trying to close in on the «Yorkshire Ripper». He puts together his own team of two, but quickly gets into more trouble than he bargained for.

There is something odd about this series that I can't quite put my finger on. It is very realistic and very gritty, but at the same time has a surreal ring to it. It is hard to…

You don't like the police much, do you?
-Peter Hunter

How do you follow up the excellent Red Riding 1974? By casting Paddy Considine as the lead in the second part. That's how.

This is the film that deals directly (or indirectly) with the Yorkshire Ripper. It's link to the first film seems trivial, but is actually pivotal when you dwell on it for more then two seconds. It's one of those films that has a lot going on underneath the surface and I imagine only gets better with repeat viewing.

The film being extremely dense might turn off some viewers as it has a tendency to let you connect the dots on your own. In an age where Hollywood…

After the nonstop dark intensity of 1974, 1980 plays things a lot more reserved and close to the chest. Like it's predecessor, this one opens up by throwing us right in the middle of a serial murder case, led this time by Paddy Considine's Peter Hunter, and then slowly delves more into the world of corruption within the Yorkshire police force. Whereas the first film took us into this terrifying world through the eyes of a journalist, here we are right in the middle of the police, studying the corrupt within the force along with those outside of it.

Director James Marsh gives the film a sharp, stated tone that does a great job of putting us in the shoes…

Picking up the threads of 1974, part 2 of the red riding trilogy takes place 6 years later and dances its events around the search for the Yorkshire Ripper.

Make no mistake, while Peter Sutcliffe and his foulness are included as part of the episode, 1980 in reality has bog all to do with him except work on clues as to why the killing of a prostitute named Clare Strachan has been included as a ripper killing when he thinks it isn't, and also to investigate the inept and corrupt officers who are handling the case under the guise of assisting with the investigations.

Handling all of this is Assistant Chief Constable Peter Hunter (a magnificent as always Paddy Considine)…

Man, this is a dark series of films.

Hunter: «So, if someone broke into your house, killed the dog and raped the wife, who would you be calling? Not the West Yorkshire Police then?»

Rev. Laws: «No, they would already be in there, wouldn't they?»

Peter Hunter (Considine) is hired from outside to lead the investigation team trying to close in on the «Yorkshire Ripper». He puts together his own team of two, but quickly gets into more trouble than he bargained for.

There is something odd about this series that I can't quite put my finger on. It is very realistic and very gritty, but at the same time has a surreal ring to it. It is hard to…

"The British Police are the best in the world
I don't believe one of these stories I've heard
'Bout them raiding our pubs for no reason at all
Lining the customers up by the wall
Picking out people and knocking them down
Resisting arrest as they're kicked on the ground
Searching their houses and calling them queer
I don't believe that sort of thing happens here"

- "Glad To Be Gay", The Tom Robinson Band, 1978

Even though these films have been constructed as just that, films, they employ a strength normally associated with television. A number of the supporting characters from 1974 step further into the dim light thrown by the story- move from the deep shadows. Two coppers…