An English Haunting

First of all I'd like to say that I am not at all a horror movie fan. 99% of them are tedious, trope-ridden, vulgar garbage with zero creativitiy and imagination. Another commonality is that they start out somewhat okay but then totally go off the rails in the second half. Anyway, I was intrigued by the trailer of An English Hauting, the setting mostly. But since trailers have a habit of misleading you to think the movie is awesome, when in fact it's the opposite, I didn't expect much. Perhaps that is why I wasn't completely disappointed. By horror film standards I didn't find it that bad. It's a bit more subtle and refined than the typical in-your-face trash from Hollywood. Nothing you haven't seen before though. It did seem like a bit of a knock-off of "The Living and the Dead (2006)" in some aspects. Which I would recommend you rather watch instead. That was actually some decent horror.

Very harsh reviews on here .Wasn't the best but it was far from the 1s and 2s It kept me watching until the end

Blake (David Lenik) and his alcoholic mother Margot (Tessa Wood) are forced to move into the mysterious Clemonte Hall, a vast isolated manor house, to care for his dying Grandfather, Aubrey (Barrington De La Roche) who resides in the attic room. Soon, ghostly goings-on fill the house with dread, as it becomes apparent Audrey's illness may have a supernatural cause.

An English Haunting was enjoyable and I imagine will be popular amongst a more mainstream audience looking for a classical approach to horror.

The location and cinematography are stunning and whilst the blurb states it is set in the 1960's - the film has a distinctly timeless feel to it. The film is well paced and both the story and each of the characters follow distinctive arcs. As a writer and reviewer, my biggest bugbear is poorly written characters. I am always going to champion a film that has believable characters brought to life by strong performances from the cast. Take Margot, who is resentful of reprising her role as her fathers carer due to their previously tumultuous relationship. It is a believable contrast to Blake whose loyalties are torn in several directions.

As the story unfolds, we are shown glimpses of a grotesque human-like monster on and Aubrey's involvement in its origins. In a subversive take on the feminine Gothic archetype - An English Haunting has us explore relationships between mother and son. Leading to a plot twist that was a genuine surprise. My only criticism was the portrayal of the three kings purely because I felt they did not contribute to the suspense of the film.

Audiences may be divided on An English Haunting. Genre audiences generally enjoy using their imagination - whilst mainstream audiences tend to expect all nuances to be made obvious for easier enjoyment.

A woman who appears to have just walked out of the 1990s has an adult son who is ostensibly normal who dresses like it's 1936, and the grandpa dying of dementia looks like he was in a 1980s hair metal band. The background music is repetitive and reminds me of a video game. I had to Google to find out this was supposed to be the 1960s. Could have fooled me.

This movie is not the worst haunted house film I've ever watched, but it's not really good. It's very uneven drifting between parts that are mysterious or disturbing to things that seem utterly implausible i.e. The nurse wandering on the moors for like a month? HOW? WHY?

I'm only left to conclude that this was a terrible inaccurate work of fan fiction.

I truly don't get the 1 star reviews of this movie. The acting wasn't great but it wasn't that bad. I especially love the one guys review who says he turned off the movie due to some mistake with a cigarette. Delusional.

That being said this movie is pretty cliched. You'll see the ending from a mile away once you figure out what is going on. Regardless, the cinematography was nice, acting was passable. Worth a watch if you are really into horror.