A View From A Hill

I think those two elements: Ghosts and Archeologists or treasure hunters are the common elements of this anthology folk horror series. If you are a die hard fan of this kind of material, it's OK, but if not, it may become boring after a while. Unless you decide to watch those chain made episodes only from time to time, let's say once a week. But that doesn't remove anything to their efficiency. Each of those tales are more or less scary, chilly, not advised to watch alone in the darkness. And the British touch, thee trademark of this series, always enjoyable to appreciate. This episode is quite good, though not that exceptional. Among ten or twelve of this kind, you'll rapidly forget it.

This latter-day entry in the British TV horror series is actually not too bad, though its style is essentially flatter than previous vintage ghost stories. It is yet another M.R. James adaptation which sees a young man staying at an inn who happens upon an old pair of binoculars among the bric-a-brac in a closet; the landlord, knowledgeable of a curse attached to them, attempts to dissuade him from keeping the 'relic' but, as always in such tales, the hero has to find out for himself – and to his ultimate dismay – just what possessing the binoculars entails. In fact, watching through them allows an old cathedral (which has been torn down over the years, possibly in view of its evil influence) to 'materialize'; at first, he is intrigued by this curious occurrence…but it all turns serious very soon when a shadowy figure he notices within the 'scene' begins to move about and is apparently out to get him!

This was clearly made for the fans, with 'nods' towards Lawrence Gordon Clark. It would be churlish to complain about the production being too respectful. It does fit nicely into the old series and the formulaic aspect can to some extent be laid at the door of James himself. Having said that, If the BBC were to make more I hope they don't fall into the trap they did before by moving away from MR James to contemporary stories that fail to resonate. There are plenty of his works still left to adapt.

Some have complained of the modern editing of this new edition to the series, but I liked the way it made me jump. It is beautifully shot and kudos to Pip Torrens as the supercilious Squire Richards, who in looks and words reminded me of Hugh Laurie's great turn in 'Sense and Sensibilty' as Mr Palmer.

This adaptation of M.R. James's short story 'A View From A Hill' was first shown on British television in 2005, on the little watched digital channel BBC 4. I saw that it was being repeated again on BBC 4, and decided to give it a go, remembering the BBC's successful 1970's adaptations of other M.R. James stories including 'Whistle And I'll Come To You My Lad' and 'The Signalman'. Though not in the same class as these masterpieces, 'A View From A Hill' is nonetheless an enjoyable and at times suspenseful drama.

A historian arrives in a small rural village to look over the collection of a recently deceased collector of antique artifacts. Whilst out in the countryside, he sees an abbey that has been in ruins for hundreds of years. But what does this have in connection with an old pair of binoculars and a gruesome legend about the ominously named Gallows Hill? And what do the brusque country squire and his servant know about the situation? Whilst not scary in any way, I enjoyed this little production, and had the running time been longer than 40 minutes it could have become a truly great adaptation. As it is, it all feels a little rushed and a bit more exposition to set the mood would have been welcome.

I give it 7 out of 10.

Historian Dr Fanshawe comes to the country home of Squire Richards in order to review the artefacts he is selling off. On his way his luggage falls off his bike and his binoculars break. He borrows those belong to the late father of Richards as the two go for a walk. From the hilltop he believes he can see an abbey but with the naked eye there is nothing. The next day he heads to the spot and finds nothing but ruins, however is there more to the glasses than just magnification? As with other years BBC4 sees in the Christmas period with a season of films that serve as modern versions of the family sitting round the fire telling ghost stories. I have seen one or two of these in the past and decided this year to make more of an effort to see them – after all, one never knows if BBC4 will continue to be protected from tabloids keen to rip it down. The first film of the season I saw was A View From a Hill and it bodes well for the rest of the films if they can be this good.

The plot is simple and the film is short but it is a very good idea that uses the common device of having a character stumbling into a mystery that may or may not have claimed the life of the last person who was involved with it. The tone of the film is spot on as it delivers this story with a total lack of answers and never any more than the slightest glimpse of anything that may be a danger. My favourite example of this is a moment where Fanshawe believes he has seen something and flashes back to it; the pause function told me nothing was there but regardless it is still creepy as an effect. While the style is quite old-fashioned, director Watson uses modern camera movements sparingly and wisely – thus we do get "Evil Dead" rushing shots and jump cuts but they are far from overdone and work better for it.

Letheren leads the cast well with an innocent "everyman" who guides the audience into the story well as the "eyes". Torrens is quite fun but his performance did come over like the producers wanted to get Hugh Laurie but couldn't afford him post-House. Burke is obvious perhaps but perfectly functional while Linnell is a menacing presence and needs to be no more than that. Delivery from Watson is very effective as he controls what the viewer sees (even letting us see the abbey itself through the excitable glances of Fanshawe) and it is this tone and atmosphere that makes the piece work as well as it does.

Overall then a short but effective ghost story that is reassuringly free of cheap shots and gore, delivering a nice sense of creepiness instead.