User Reviews

Borley is a small hamlet in northern Essex, close to the border with Suffolk. Borley Rectory was built in 1862 for the Revd. Harry Bull senior, the rector of Borley, and his family; a previous rectory on the same site had been destroyed by fire in 1841. There were reports during Bull's incumbency and that of his son and successor, the Revd. Harry Bull junior, that the house was haunted, but it became nationally famous after Harry Bull junior died in 1927. His successor, the Revd. Guy Smith and his wife, allegedly experienced a series of paranormal events, and in 1929 asked the Society for Psychical Research to investigate. This led to an investigation by the famous psychic researcher Harry Price, who was to be involved with the house for the next ten years, until it in its turn was badly damaged by fire in 1939. It was finally demolished in 1944.

A series of sensational newspaper articles in the Daily Mirror and two books written by Price established Borley Rectory's reputation, in Price's own words, "the most haunted house in England". Legend had it that the house and its grounds were haunted by the ghost of a nun who, after it was discovered that she had been having a sexual relationship with a man, had been bricked up in the walls of the convent which had once stood on the site. (Her lover is variously described as either a monk or a groom). There were also reports of a phantom coach driven by two headless horsemen and of various paranormal phenomena in the house itself, such as mysterious footsteps, unexplained lights appearing, bells ringing and writing on the walls.

This film is a dramatisation of these events. It is billed as a documentary rather than a fictional drama, and is presented by a narrator, but Price and the other principal players are all portrayed by actors. It is certainly not made in what we would think of as the factual, objective "documentary style", but in the style of an old haunted house movie with black-and-white photography, spooky music, disconcerting camera angles and eerie special effects.

So was Borley Rectory really "the most haunted house in England"? I suppose I am not the best person to answer that question, as I have always been something of a sceptic where claims of the paranormal are concerned, but the Society for Psychical Research eventually came to the conclusion that the answer was "no". A formal study by the SPR published in 1956 (after Price's death) found that nothing had happened in the house which could not be explained rationally and that many of the alleged phenomena had been faked either by Price himself or by Marianne Foyster, the wife of the last Rector to live in the building. For most of its length the film rather hedges its bets, but eventually admits in a postscript that Price's claims have been debunked by the SPR's report and that there is no historical foundation for the legend of the ghostly nun. There is no evidence of any nunnery ever having stood on this site, and the legend appears to have been concocted by the children of Harry Bull senior.

Despite my scepticism about the supernatural, I have long been fascinated by ghost stories as examples of folklore, hence my interest in the Borley case and the reason why I watched this film when it was shown in television. Personally I would have preferred a more sober documentary, but the film will certainly serve as an entertaining introduction to the story for anyone wanting to know more about it. 6/10.

It's just deadly dull, the end credits are more interesting than this snooze fest and should have been included, if beige was a documentary this was the beigiest.

Premiere screening at The House of Magic - London - October 2017

Ashley Thorpe's' Borley Rectory; The Most Haunted House in England is not like anything you'll have seen before. It would be wrong to explain in detail how he achieved such an atmospheric and truly creepy film (I know some of the secrets as I was in it for about 30 seconds) I will say though that the actors are real and maybe the odd prop but nothing much else which is all the more astonishing when you get an establishing shot with such scale and poetry like a birds-eye view of the Rectory through the pouring rain; both mesmerising and heart-stopping.

It has taken Ashley a very long time to finally complete the film (6 years?) with well-marketed kick starters, professional support and when it needed it most, some great names becoming attached to the project he has something he can be really proud of. It is a masterpiece. The film started as a short and was to be under 18 minutes, that was exciting enough but then he told us all he was making it 36 minutes! Then he surprised me one night by excitedly rattling off that the film had now become 70 minutes; a 'feature-length' animated documentary epic is what it had become. I think I nearly cried - if it was to be half as good as his previous works, I thought, it could be the creepiest horror film this century and he might just blow the lid off the film world with his utterly unique style.

And my. It really is isn't half as good, it is flipping epic. Not in a sword and sandals way of course but with every piece of design choice, every soundscape and every slice of visual imagery. So beautiful is the film to look at you could pause it anywhere and frame it and hang it. This modern Gothic masterpiece has more ghosts in it you can shake a stick at but I bet you that you can't find them all, but they are there, skulking in the background, peering from the shadows, twisting in the mists and that is just the start of this chilling piece of genius. The film is insidious and it creeps up your spine like frost on a winter bough. The relaxed pace, the silences, the insistence that it not be a jump scare frightfest is why it works best as one of the creepiest films I have ever seen. It has a heart, integrity and with its cerebral narration, it unfurls like you're reading a book. In fact, the film is actually a documentary and often this can be forgotten when a scene lures you in and strokes your soul with its stillness. When the narrator, Julian Sands, cuts in and issues forth facts and dates you feel like you own your breath again and can relax.The tense moments in this film are played out so subtly that you just don't see it coming, you know, like that shadow that stretches across the room, then suddenly catches your eye only to see that it is a candle flickering and dying. Phew, just a candle then...

The acting throughout is excellent from the principle cast, Jonathan Rigby, Reece Shearsmith and Julian Sands to the extras and there wasn't any camp terrified Jon Pertwee gurning going on, everyone in the film took the subject seriously and it pays off. It is directed with a clear vision and simplicity and no scene or line seems superfluous. The film's historical vignettes peppered with fascinating information play out like the chapters of a book in visual form.Talking of books at one point we get to see an exquisitely designed pop-up book animated and even the book on which some of this film is based on by Harry Price crops up.

When I arrived at the House of Magic where the film was being screened, a sumptuous opulent abode with atmosphere seeping from its very walls, I wondered should I watch with a critical eye or should I throw myself at Ashley's mercy and just 'live' in it for 70 minutes. I had no choice, the film sucks you in and you are forced to live its pace and grace. Thank goodness I gave into the magic and I have to say It has stuck with me for two nights. I have been dreaming of ghosts and haunted houses and even getting those tingles on the back of my neck in an empty room. So as an experience it worked, as a ripping film it is a triumph and as a well-informed documentary it is perfect and to top it all off the sound design was extraordinary and the music (composed at lightning speed) was simply phenomenal. I cannot recommend this unique film highly enough. Do your self a favour though either watch it in the cinema in the complete dark (but leave the rustling popcorn outside) or even better watch it on your own, in the dark and see how far you get. Go on I dare you.

Just as an addition the Q&A was weird and fun too compered by a living magician legend Simon Drake. If you ever get a chance to visit the House of Magic you should, you won't regret it.