Rating: B
Dir: Jeremy Dyson, Andy Nyman
Star: Andy Nyman, Paul Whitehouse, Alex Lawther, Martin Freeman
It’s interesting how every member of The League of Gentlemen has subsequently diverted into more direct horror. Mark Gatiss did a TV version of Dracula, and a documentary on the genre’s history. His co-creators, Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith, made Inside No. 9. And the fourth Gentleman, non-actor Dyson, teamed up with Nyman for this, based on their successful stage endeavour, which was the first horror play to appear in the West End for thirty years. Having recently been watching Inside No. 9, this strongly feels cut from the same cloth. Three seasons of the series had appeared by the time this film premiered, though the play pre-dates it by several years. There’s also not the same sense of black comedy: this is almost entirely straight horror.
It focuses on psychic debunker Philip Goodman (Nyman), who is tasked by veteran paranormal investigator Charles Cameron to look into three cases. Night watchman Tony Matthews (Whitehouse, another famous comedy actor) works at a haunted former asylum. Young man Simon Rifkind (Lawther) has a strange encounter while driving through the woods. And finally, rich City businessman Mike Priddle (Freeman) and his pregnant wife are haunted by a poltergeist. Well… Not-so finally, as Goodman then returns to Cameron, and things get weird. Very weird. We learn the truth about Goodman’s past, in particular a childhood incident which propelled him into his chosen field. But that’s nothing, compared to the truth about his present.
I was given this by a friend, who reckons it’s arguably the best British horror film ever. My expectations may therefore have been a little high. I guess, “The brain sees what it wants to see.” Oh, it’s solid, make no mistake. However it feels mostly comfortable and safe, content to operate within existing boundaries. Many elements appear inspired by other work, such as the absorption of everyday characters into someone’s unconscious, which is virtually a trope these days. While different in set-up, the individual stories are just a bit too similar, all relying on shadowy Somethings in the darkness and jump scares, to varying degrees. The third does so the least. Except, the aspect there I felt had most potential, the pregnancy of Priddle’s wife, gets largely sidelined in favour of mysterious banging. No: the other kind. Because poltergeist.
That all said, the movie does its job, and is particularly effective down the stretch, when it yanks the carpet out from under the viewer. The set-up for this is done over an extended period and with care, making it all the more disconcerting when the depicted reality gets unplugged. The performances are all above average, and if you have only seen Whitehouse in his Fast Show personas, this may well provide a revelation. Best British horror film ever? No. Best British horror film of the past decade? Let me look into that and get back to you. Best British horror film of 2017? Yeah, I’ll give it that, over Cannibals and Carpet Fitters.