Haunted

Great old ghost story with Kate beckingsale looking so beautiful

This welcome release of two made-for-TV supernatural short films features well written and expertly directed adaptations of short stories by Kingsley Amis and Elizabeth Taylor. 'The Ferryman' (1974), Amis's tale, very reminiscent of his supernatural novel "The Green Man", stars the talented Jeremy Brett as a youngish writer, who has some decidedly unpleasant "literary" adventures as he goes to a country house hotel for a break and finds it very reminiscent of the location of his latest hit novel. This beautifully constructed 50 mt film which revells in the follies of the publishing world so central to Amis's own life, has some excellent atmosphere and very solid performances from the fine supporting cast. 'Poor Girl' (1974), based on the Elizabeth Taylor's story, tells of an Edwardian governess, played by Lynne Miller, who has some equally unpleasant visions in another "old dark house". Even more ambitious than The Ferryman its period detail and location coupled with an extraordinarily daring psycho-sexual plot reminiscent of Henry James's The Turn of The Screw ensure this is certainly not a traditional ghost story but rather a decidedly perverse and memorable tale in its own right. Although both pieces are clearly dated, and with very variable and unrestored picture quality, ( Poor Girl is by far the better print) these atmospheric adaptations, originally released over the Christmas period, are rare little gems and equally appropriate viewing for the dark autumn night's leading up to Halloween! They demonstrate just how imaginative British television once was and what you could achieve on limited budgets, and without CGI, if your script, direction and actors were all first rate!

A period piece, mostly set at an isolated country house down in Sussex in the 1920s. Beautifully produced and photographed and as someone said very much in the style of the wonderful Merchant Ivory films.The cast are all excellent and given who they are - Anthony Andrewes, Sir John Gielgud, Kate Beckinsale, Anna Massey, Aidan Quinn and Alex Lowe - they damned well should be!The story owes a lot to "The Turn of the Screw", "The Awakening", and "The Others". Equally, there is a touch of M R James here where David - the cynical hero who doesn't believe in ghosts - is the only one to be experiencing psychic phenomena, or is it all in his mind? And when he has the opportunity to leave, he doesn't ... So like an M R James ghost story where the protagonist gets himself into a great deal of trouble by being just that too curious.Incidentally, Jeremy Brett is NOT in this film - he died in 1995 the same year this film came out. It seems those reviews which mention him and which appear under this title are being muddled up with another film.Although the film comes from the Netherlands, it plays in several languages including English.

These well-crafted films made by Granada Television were shown on ITV over Christmas 1974, the same Christmas the BBC broadcast their dramatisation "The Treasure of Abbott Thomas" by M.R. James. These films are quite different in style but no less entertaining.Kingsley Amis's "The Ferryman" stars Jeremy Brett as an author whose novel seems to be unfolding in real life in front of his eyes. Atmospherically shot in a country inn, it has a creepy feel and the growing sense of unease as life imitates art.The second story is a period piece, Elizabeth Taylor's "Poor Girl". The Edwardian governess with precocious and just slightly sinister child recalls Henry James's "The Turn of the Screw", with slightly unsettling scenes and a real sense of unease, though many of the terrors here are more earthly. A more subtle ghost story than the first one, but both make use of pyschological drama rather than overt shock elements.Both have a cinematic feel and are well acted and produced. A very welcome release on DVD, these are highly enjoyable tales and whilst not quite having the magic of some of the 70s ghost story films are certainly chilling in all the right places and very interesting. The film is a little battered here and there though picture quality is good, though there are no subtitles nor bonus features on the DVD.

Being a fan of James Herbert I thought I would invest in the film based on his book 'Haunted'. I quickly re-read the book to refresh my memory. The film was well acted and enjoyable. The ending of the film came as a surprise because it was slightly different to that in the book [you shouldn't really compare the two]some characters were also removed and another added. If you are looking to be scared then I don't believe this film will scare you. If you have never read the book then you are in for a big surprise with the plot and for that alone it's worth watching. The story is based around two brothers and a sister [who have an unusual relationship] and their 'nanny' who suffers terribly during the film. A paranormal investigater is brought in to determine whether the statley home is haunted or not [he has had tragedy in his life] - he believes ghosts don't exist - will his views change with the run of events that follow during his stay at the home - I guess you will have to watch the film [and definately read the book]to find out.