“An English Haunting” Film Review
By: Joseph Perry (Twitter)
Fear-fare fans clamoring for the feel of a good old-fashioned ghost movie in the vein of The Changeling (1980) or The Haunting (1963) should find a great deal to enjoy about An English Haunting, the latest offering from prolific British writer/director Charlie Steeds. With an eerie atmosphere and a mysterious air to its story, the film delivers surprises and shocks aplenty.
Set in the 1960s, An English Haunting involves Blake Cunningham (David Lenik of Steeds’ Winterskin [2018]) and his alcoholic mum Margot Clemonte (Tessa Wood of The Last House on Cemetery Lane [2015]) having to move out of desperation into Margot’s father’s home, which happens to be a spooky manor located in the countryside. Her father Aubrey Clemonte (Barrington De La Roche of Steeds’ Winterskin and The House of Violent Dreams [2018]) lies in what Margot hopes will soon be his deathbed, but unknown forces may have other plans for him. When odd occurrences begin taking place, Blake does some detective work in the mansion, which leads him to discover some unsettling facts about Aubrey’s past and sends the film further into the realm of the occult.
Steeds builds tension masterfully, and also delivers an effective jump scare that worked beautifully on yours truly, which is no easy feat. The director is well known for his gory shockers such as The Barge People (2018) and Escape from Cannibal Farm, but here he goes for a more subtle and restrained vibe. There are plenty of gothic goings-on and family drama early on, leading to a suspenseful climax. An English Haunting also boasts beautiful set design, along with beautiful cinematography from Steeds regular Michael Lloyd. The acting is solid, with performances that fit the tone of a gothic ghost tale wonderfully. Blake resorts to some head-scratching behavior in the third act that goes against his character’s demeanor before that, but otherwise the characters’ dialogue is well written and the cast members turn in nice work.
Steeds is a terrific auteur of independent U.K. scare fare cinema, and An English Haunting is my favorite of his films so far. With three more features currently in post-production — A Werewolf in England, Vampire Virus, and Death Ranch — he is a talent to keep an eye on, and a hard-working one, at that.
An English Haunting is available on Amazon Prime Video.
Joseph Perry is one of the hosts of When It Was Cool’s exclusive Uphill Both Ways podcast (whenitwascool.com/up-hill-both-ways-podcast/) and Gruesome Magazine’s Decades of Horror: The Classic Era podcast (decadesofhorror.com/category/classicera/). He also writes for the film websites Diabolique Magazine (diaboliquemagazine.com), Gruesome Magazine (gruesomemagazine.com), The Scariest Things (scariesthings.com), Ghastly Grinning (ghastlygrinning.com), and Horror Fuel (horrorfuel.com), and film magazines Phantom of the Movies’ VideoScope (videoscopemag.com) and Drive-In Asylum (etsy.com/shop/GroovyDoom).
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