What a surprise! I thought this was a children's movie, right up until the first 'f bomb' that is. During the first few minutes I had no idea what I was watching; children's, horror, fantasy, folk horror, family drama or one of half a dozen other movie genres briefly flickered across my mind. What I did know was that it was very English and pretty good.
Matters quickly settle and we see, 10-year-old schoolgirl, Eternity Winter, played by a larger-than-life Scarlett Rayner, searching for treasure in the forest which surrounds her home, The Gatehouse. She needs the treasure to help her cash strapped and grieving Dad with his finances. The spirit of Eternity's dead mother pops up now and again with timely advice for her. Eternity eventually does find treasure but the forest spirit wants it back.
It's a plot which could be dropped into any woodland setting, but writer and director Martin Gooch applies layer upon layer of Englishness and we quickly find ourselves unable to view The Gatehouse as anything but British. Eternity's father played by Simeon Willis literally walks through 1000s of years of English history, Eternity's school and school uniform are clearly borrowed from Roland Searle's St Trinian's stories and illustrations, there is a scene straight from Boorman's classic movie Excalibur, the humour is of that quirky, peculiar British type, perhaps think Terry Pratchett and, on and on it goes. Oh, and it's all wonderful.
Rayner and Willis bounce off each other as daughter and dad, with humour and pathos. In fact, the film could have been an intense exploration of family grief. But it's not.
The spirit of the forest is perhaps the weakest aspect of the film and may be evidence of a tight budget. It is just a little shonky but is usually seen back lit so its shonkiness is hidden.
The horror tropes are rapid fire but not to the point of numbing the viewer. Conjuring evil, jump scares, alone in a dark house, alone in a dark forest, alone on a dark road, dismemberment, ancient evil, creepy children, hauntings (of sorts), sinister secondary characters, evil under the bed, nightmares bleeding into real life and so on. In fact, a willing drama teacher could develop an interesting unit on horror tropes in general as encountered in The Gatehouse. Jack, the father, even picks up some hack work completing another author's novel after the original author dies mysteriously. The novel, a fantasy / horror work, is referred to as 'legend of the black flowers'!
The pacing is solid and the musical score effective. The cinematography is well above average. It is a beautifully shot film.
I don't want to oversell The Gatehouse. It does have problems. There is the subpar spirit of the forest costume. The film can feel picaresque'ish', a little episodic. There is probably a little too much in the 97 minute running time. Some more brutal editing might have helped this.
In the interest of full disclosure, I must declare that The Gatehouse does tick a few boxes for me personally. It's English, it's a horror movie and it's quirky. If the opportunity presents, give it a try. (I watched it on Prime.) There is a lot in The Gatehouse which is both entertaining and worth watching.
