Genre: Horror | Thriller | Drama
Original Broadcast Network: BBC America
Discs: 1
Run time: Approximately 176 minutes (3 episodes)
Release date: October 8, 2013
Synopsis:
Based on the novel by best-selling author James Herbert, this bone-chilling thriller begins a year after the disappearance of 5-year-old Cam Caleigh. Cam’s parents, Gabe (Tom Ellis, The Fades) and Eve (Suranne Jones, Doctor Who), seek a new start for their family by moving to Crickley Hall – a seemingly perfect countryside house. But when Eve begins to hear Cam’s cries and a frenzied cane-wielding specter goes after their terrified daughters, the Caleighs realize that the house comes with a lot more than they bargained for… The story shifts between the present day and 1943, when the house was an orphanage for children who had been evacuated from London during the war and run by the frightening Augustus Cribben (Douglas Henshall, Primeval). As past and present come together, the Caleighs desperately race to unravel the mystery of the house and its connection to their missing son before the evil that stalks Crickley Hall claims their other children. Also starring Maisie Williams (Game of Thrones), BBC AMERICA’s classic haunted house thriller is full of scares, yet underpinned by the heartbreaking story of a family that needs to heal, and ghosts who need to be laid to rest.
I don’t know why I missed this when it aired on BBC America. I may have harbored some concern that it would be similar to a you-know-who Original Movie. What was I thinking? This is BBC America. Sure they’ve been known to air some pretty cheesy shows and movies, but this isn’t one of those. It is a BBC Manchester production. Sure enough, the scenery is gorgeous, the production values are lovely, and I don’t catch a whiff of cheese anywhere. Well okay, maybe just a bit of a heavy touch with the music, but otherwise, not a bit.
It’s a quiet little three-part miniseries mystery, and definitely creepy. The horror is of the ghost variety; there are no blood and guts scenes. It’s set in a big old house in a village, and shifts back and forth between wartime (WWII) and present day.
The cast definitely warrants some mention; it is chock full of familiar faces. Yes, it stars Suranne Jones, and if you’re wondering why she seems familiar and you find yourself attracted, she played Idris in the Neil Gaiman-penned Doctor Who episode “The Doctor’s Wife”. She’s the TARDIS! And she’s absolutely terrific in the part.
Her husband is played by Tom Ellis, the first Robin Hood in Once Upon a Time. Their elder daughter is played by Maisie Williams, whom you likely know as the one and only Arya Stark in Game of Thrones. A late arrival to the story is played by Donald Sumpter, also from Game of Thrones – he’s Maester Luwin, and he was a horrible scary person in the UK Being Human.
The mysterious neighbor in this production is played by none other than David Warner, who has been in likely dozens of things you’ve seen, but most notably as Evil in Time Bandits, the main bad guy Dillinger in Tron, and diplomat St. John Talbot in Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, plus loads of voicework in games and animated series.
The WWII schoolmaster is played by Douglas Henshall, the original head of the team in the original Primeval, back when it was at its best. The actor who plays David Warner‘s role as a young man is Iain DeCaestecker, whom too few of us knew as the lead in The Fades, but seemingly everyone will recognize as Fitz in Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. By the way, Tom Ellis, referenced above, was also in the excellent The Fades; he was Mark. And finally, the female lead in the WWII-era portion is played by Olivia Cooke, Emma in Bates Motel. Clearly, there is plenty for us to love with this cast.
The storyline offers some nice twists, none of which of course will be revealed here. There is nothing lighthearted about the production (although I always love the Welcome to Your New BBC America DVD bit at the beginning of every BBC America DVD, it’s a hoot), and although it isn’t gag-inspiring and we don’t for the most part get any shocking visuals, one of the main themes makes it likely inappropriate for young children.
It also doesn’t warrant a lot of analysis; just sit back and watch, and don’t try too hard to figure it out. Otherwise you’ll likely see those twists coming from a mile away. It’s cozy but mostly because it’s a village and an old house and it’s beautiful and British, not because it’s Miss Marple knitting. Bad things happen here, and that part isn’t cozy in the least. The village is charming, the house is charming, the people are charming, the accents are charming, but the story is not. There is an unrelenting creepiness and sadness, but it isn’t so heavy that the production feels weighed down. It moves along nicely and you’ll want to click right on to the next episode as soon as you finish the first and the second.
This is a great little three-part ghost-house mystery that is perfect to watch on a cloudy weekend on the couch. Maybe with tea and biscuits. But maybe not alone at night. Those creaks you hear may not be what you think.
I give The Secret of Crickley Hall Four Out of Five Stars.
