penny-dreadful-e1389986753671If you’re a Showtime subscriber who’s wondering whether to watch the new series Penny Dreadful, or a passionate devotee of Victorian sensation fiction who’s contemplating subscribing to the network in order to see this series, I believe I can help. Here’s a classic moment from the pilot episode, which is in general a compendium of the grossest currently standard horror-movie imagery: the protagonists are exploring a large, dingy, ill-lit room full of stacks of human corpses (enjoying yourself yet?). As they walk through the room, there is a continual sound effect which the screen captions describe as follows: [footsteps squelch through entrails].

My advice: if that’s your idea of a good time: go for it.