The Manor

Blumhouse presents a TV movie that is better than most. There were even a deft scare or two. A 70 year-old dementia patient doesn't like her new digs at the nursing home. There's something bumping in the night and the cat knows who's next to die. The whole place is appropriately gloomy and the story is delightfully doomy.

The nursing home horror approach seemed interesting enough and they get to it quickly, but given the 80min runtime that's not too shocking. Despite this, there was very little a tual horror to the movie, except for a few creepy moments and the revelation of the creature at the end. Props to the cosmetic effects and overall design for it, although far from scary. There was a surprise here and there story-wise, but nothing to blow you out of the water. And unfortunately the climax was anticlimactic, ruined by an overlong spile of dialogue and an unexpected ending that felt like a bad joke. Seemingly rushed, too, which made it worse. Acting all around was passable to good, but my main praise goes to Barbara Hershey and her many blatant lines devoid of sugarcoating, which gave her character some personality opposed to most female protagonists in horror movies. I honestly enjoyed the buildup and characters of the first half more than the culmination of the second. A lot of wasted potential.

... Feeble, Unoriginal, Night-scares! An ageing dancer unintentionally entombs herself in a home for the elderly only to discover some residents are not what they present. Everything you've seen before although the performances are notable and the special effects far from wooden.

It's a flawed premise from the get-go. Barbara Hershey as a 70 year old willingly moving into this nursing home with a roommate who can't really even converse with her because she is much more elderly/disabled doesn't make any sense. The main character moves with ease and is sharp intellectually and cracks jokes, and sorry, there's just no way she'd move into this nursing home. I mean, perhaps the nursing home could HIRE her to work for them?

If you get past the silly premise and just go with it, it's a decent horror film. Standard locked-in style story with a supernatural twist. Cool setting of the manor (even though all those stairs would be unrealistic for elderly people).

This is a very good horror film. It's not that scary but it has a beautiful gothic atmosphere with a few scare jumps. The story is a bit stupid but it's also interesting and beautiful. Lead performance is superb. All in all, it's a decent well made horror.