Borley Rectory

Ashley Thorpe's Borley Rectory: The Most Haunted House In England is a real labour of love, a dramatised documentary which mixes animation and live action footage to create a creepy ambience and a unique look. It is narrated in textbook fashion by non other than Julian Sands, and features an impressive score by Mick Grierson and Steven Severin (the former bass player in Siouxsie and the Banshees). The cast features Jonathan Rigby playing psychic investigator Harry Price, and Reece Shearsmith from The League of Gentleman, as Daily Mirror journalist V.C. Wall. They all had to perform in front of green screens in order for the film to achieve its mesmerising visual style, and the entire production took Thorpe six years to fully realise. "It feels like it should be in a double feature with Dead of Night (1945)," he has said of his film, which as slow paced as it is, is something he can be extremely proud of.

This looks amazing but the dialogue is somewhat lacking. There are periods of silence and inactivity that would test most attention spans.

Narrated adequately by Julian Sands and performed well by the actors; yet there is no passion, no sense of excitement or fervour for the story that is told.

6/10 stars - for presentation and production value.

If you love ghost stories, if you love the aesthetic of old, faded photographs of seances, of planchettes and ghost writing, Victoriana, decaying grandeur and hauntology, I recommend this exceptional little labour of love. Every frame is a work of art, every flicker of dust mote or misty tendril might be a phantom or face at the window.

This is a strange production - by all accounts, a labour of love from director/writer Ashley Thorpe. Truly, the atmosphere and sensitivities of a 1920/1930 horror film are recreated here, albeit with layers of modern (mainly computer generated) techniques. As such, nothing is ever quite real, no location is completely convincing - which results in a very odd (and unique) overall 'look'.

To go deeper than that, the project has attracted some names among its cast - Jonathan Rigby, Reece Shearsmith and Julian Sands - who all enter into the spirit of the production with gusto.

The documentary style sadly robs the story of many of its dramatic possibilities. Allegedly, the most haunted house in England should be host to some terrifying moments or recollections, but there's nothing that really makes it through the veneer of ubiquitous CGI enhancements. What we end up with ultimately is a curio - good to look at and effective for a while, but not much to sustain it for its 73 minutes. My score is 5 out of 10.

Thorpe's unique style and delivery do more than just re tell the highlights of the rectorys story. I was transported back to afternoons as a child in the 70's reading and re reading the pan book of ghosts and trying and failing to skip past the chapter on Borley and it grim catalogue of the paranormal. Sands narration and the directors determination to tell all facets of the story only served to produce a classic well rounded piece that will satisfy both the scared and the sceptic. Great performances from all the cast especially as the format relies on face acting more than delivery of lines.

now at the age of 43 I find myself once again pulling my feet under the covers, just in case.