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directed by Mahalia Belo
UK 2018
After her mother Janice (Joanna Scanlan, NOTES ON A SCANDAL) inexplicably commits suicide right before her eyes, cellist Matilda Gray (Lydia Wilson, RIPPER STREET) finds among her mother's belongings clippings related to the 1994 disappearance of a young Welsh girl Carys Howell, as well as surveillance photographs of the girl's mother Rose (Claire Rushbrook, UNDER THE SKIN) on the grounds of a country house. Traveling to the Welsh village of Penllynith with her piano accompanist Hal (Joel Fry, GAMES OF THRONES) to investigate, they arrive just in time for the funeral of local squire Ewan Dean (Nick Hobbs), they finds themselves unwelcome, especially to Rose who has had to deal with phonies offering tips and even confessing to her daughter's murder over the years, as well as Rose's new husband Aron (Richard Harrington, HINTERLAND) who wants to shield their shared son from the attention. Dean's Australian heir Nick (James Frecheville, ANIMAL KINGDOM) invites them to stay in the manor where Matilda realizes that the nightmares of her childhood actually happened and comes to believe that not only was Carys kept in the house after her disappearance but that she too was present as a child (since she cannot remebmer anything before the age of five). While local police sergeant Graves (Clare Calbraith, ANNA) is skeptical about Matilda's suspicions, her retired mentor Kendrick (Brendan Coyle, DOWNTON ABBEY) is haunted by his inability to close the case of the girl's disappearance and carries on his own investigation. As Matilda's nightmare visions become more vivid, she starts to believe that there is more to the case than an abduction, and that it may all be linked to Dean's ancestor, an alchemist advisor to Queen Elizabeth I who believed he could communicate with angels. Other suspicious characters include predatory antiques dealer, Sylvia Walsh (Tara Fitzgerald, SIRENS), Dean estate caretaker Ed (Dyfan Dwyfor) who knows that there is something walking the woods, Nick's mute aunt Meredith (Jane Thorne) who controls the estate trust, barmaid Trudy (Sian Reese-Williams, EMMERDALE) who was the last to see Carys alive, and Sean Howell (Sam Hazeldine, MECHANIC: RESURRECTION), Carys' father who vanished after being cleared of suspicion in his daughter's disappearance but who now lives in fear of "The Thin Ones." Not so much Hammer-esque as another stab at British folk horror along the lines of THE WICKER MAN and the more recent resurgence like WAKE WOOD and A FIELD IN ENGLAND; however, this dreary and drawn-out attempt throws in every cliche it can and builds up to a rushed and disappointing finish after six hours of eerie voices, billowing curtains, flashes of nightmare images, and our heroine stumbling around looking progressively paler and sicker with seemingly little comprehension of why people do not warm to her. It seems like it was originally at least part of a post-Nordic/Scandi noir British mysteries like THE MISSING or BROADCHURCH crammed together with an underdeveloped folk horror idea. |
Theatrical Release: 2 February 2018 - 9 March 2018 (BBC TV)
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DVD Review: Acorn Media - Region 2 - PAL
Big thanks to Eric Cotenas for the Review!
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Distribution |
Acorn Media Region 2 - PAL |
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Runtime | 5:50:42 (4% PAL speedup) | |
Video |
1.78:1 Original Aspect Ratio
16X9 enhanced |
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NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes. |
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Audio | English Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo | |
Subtitles | English HoH, none | |
Features |
Release Information: Studio: Acorn Media Aspect Ratio:
Edition Details: Chapters 38 |
Comments |
As expected from Acorn's other DVDs of recent BBC productions, the image on these two dual-layer DVDs is a tad soft as a combined result of the look of BBC's high definition dramas and the compression of the DVDs. The Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo track boasts clear dialogue amidst the usual horror film washes of music, ambient sound, low growling, and eerie voices (all of which are clarified by the optional English HoH subtitles). Some incidental Welsh dialogue is translated with burnt-in subtitles. Extras consist of a cast and crew featurette and a stills gallery. |
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Acorn Media Region 2 - PAL |
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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r |