Borley Rectory

This is a documentary of the Borley Rectory. Its advertised as a film so that people will watch it. Just know that going in.

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.

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.

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.

Since the 19th century there has been paranormal activity happening at an Essex rectory stemming back to the apparent ghost of a woman going back to the 17th century. In time the rectory becomes known as the most haunted house in Britain attracting paranormal investigators.

A fascinating and nicely made docudrama that uses animation, some stark black and white cinematography to tell its story with some panache.