Interesting comedy-horror. Made in 2019, it's shot entirely in b&w, and pays homage to the 'old dark house' movies of the 30s, 40s and 50s.
Five 1930s 'society' friends get together at a run-down mansion. Their host reveals he's arranged a seance - complete with oddball medium (think slightly inebriated, Irish version of Madame Arcarti from Blithe Spirit). The seance starts off as they do (disbelievers making snarky comments, believers telling them to shut up), until the medium actually makes contact. And we step firmly into Evil Dead territory. Demonic possession, ridiculously OTT injuries and gore, tiny people, the works, as the five friends fight for their lives...
This was apparently made on a budget of just £20,000(!). For that money you'd expect a cast of unknowns, even amateurs; but whilst there are no superstars, the cast are all professionals, with familiar faces from UK TV (even if you might not be able to put a name to them). The whole thing looks to have been shot on location. The effects are almost entirely practical. There are lovely period touches, including obviously dodgy 1940s-style back-projection for car interior scenes, and the evocative lettering used for the titles and credits.
It starts off well with a train journey conversation clearly inspired by that between Daniel Radcliffe and Ciaran Hinds in Hammer's The Woman in Black. We see the arrival of the guests, with some entertaining character interplay setting the scene and character dynamics. Unfortunately, it doesn't keep it up, and after about 25 mins turns to pretty generic, low budget footage of a bunch of people running around an old house, pretending to be scared. It's a shame. It's a great idea, and the cast is good (standout for me is Margaret Clunie, although in fairness she does have the best material; there's also a welcome appearance early on from Robert 'Red Dwarf ' Llewellyn). The wonderfully atmospheric music deserves a mention, too. But overall, whilst the beginning of the film had me, for the rest I was mildly entertained.
I hate to criticise given the budget and their obvious enthusiasm, but it's a frustrating watch when you think what it could have been. If the rest of the film had lived up to the beginning, it would have scored an 8. As it is, 5.5/10.
Five 1930s 'society' friends get together at a run-down mansion. Their host reveals he's arranged a seance - complete with oddball medium (think slightly inebriated, Irish version of Madame Arcarti from Blithe Spirit). The seance starts off as they do (disbelievers making snarky comments, believers telling them to shut up), until the medium actually makes contact. And we step firmly into Evil Dead territory. Demonic possession, ridiculously OTT injuries and gore, tiny people, the works, as the five friends fight for their lives...
This was apparently made on a budget of just £20,000(!). For that money you'd expect a cast of unknowns, even amateurs; but whilst there are no superstars, the cast are all professionals, with familiar faces from UK TV (even if you might not be able to put a name to them). The whole thing looks to have been shot on location. The effects are almost entirely practical. There are lovely period touches, including obviously dodgy 1940s-style back-projection for car interior scenes, and the evocative lettering used for the titles and credits.
It starts off well with a train journey conversation clearly inspired by that between Daniel Radcliffe and Ciaran Hinds in Hammer's The Woman in Black. We see the arrival of the guests, with some entertaining character interplay setting the scene and character dynamics. Unfortunately, it doesn't keep it up, and after about 25 mins turns to pretty generic, low budget footage of a bunch of people running around an old house, pretending to be scared. It's a shame. It's a great idea, and the cast is good (standout for me is Margaret Clunie, although in fairness she does have the best material; there's also a welcome appearance early on from Robert 'Red Dwarf ' Llewellyn). The wonderfully atmospheric music deserves a mention, too. But overall, whilst the beginning of the film had me, for the rest I was mildly entertained.
I hate to criticise given the budget and their obvious enthusiasm, but it's a frustrating watch when you think what it could have been. If the rest of the film had lived up to the beginning, it would have scored an 8. As it is, 5.5/10.