The Little Stranger (2018)

[Robert Crawford]

Title: The Little Stranger

Tagline: These delusions are contagious

Genre: Mystery, Drama, Horror

Director: Lenny Abrahamson

Cast: Domhnall Gleeson, Ruth Wilson, Will Poulter, Charlotte Rampling, Kate Phillips, Alison Pargeter, Josh Dylan, Lorne MacFadyen, Tim Plester, Darren Kent, Dixie Egerickx, Liv Hill

Release: 2018-08-30

Runtime: 111

Plot: In a dusty post-war summer in rural Warwickshire, a doctor is called to a patient at lonely Hundreds Hall. Home to the Ayres family for over two centuries, the Georgian house is now in decline. But are the Ayreses haunted by something more sinister than a dying way of life?

 

[Robert Crawford]

I'm looking forward to this one. Thanks to Nick Redman posting something on Facebook about it.

 

[Malcolm R]

The book was an incredible bore. Make sure you're well-caffeinated beforehand.

 

[Robert Crawford]

The book was an incredible bore. Make sure you're well-caffeinated beforehand.

So I take it you won't be seeing this film.

 

[Malcolm R]

Not unless I need a nap in a cool dark place, and take a comfy pillow.

 

[Craig S]

I saw this yesterday. It was ... interesting.

It is very deliberately paced, without any typical scares. What there is, however is a pervasive feeling of dread through the whole affair, which is appropriate to the story being told. It's well-made and well-acted, especially by Domhnall Gleeson, who in this film is about as buttoned-up as it is possible to be.

The ending is ... well, let's just say it prompted much discussion among the small audience I saw it with. A film that can get a bunch of strangers talking to each other afterwords is a welcome thing, I think.

In the end I would probably give it a 5 or 6 out of 10, but I can recommend it to people who, like me, enjoy tales of repression & class in early-to-mid 20th Century England (I'm sure it's my English blood). If however, all that sounds boring to you, stay away.

 

[Colin Jacobson]

I think it's a mistake for this to be sold as a "horror film", as there's little about it that really fits.

It's more of an understated relationship story with some occasional "spooky" flourishes.

And I'll admit it: I don't have the slightest damned idea what the ending meant!

Okay, that's not entirely true - I have some ideas - but the whole thing seems befuddling.

It's definitely a slow movie, but not a bad one. I got a little impatient at times but I usually remained interested.

I just ended up with a lot more questions than answers when the credits rolled...

 

[Malcolm R]

I think it's a mistake for this to be sold as a "horror film", as there's little about it that really fits.

It's more of an understated relationship story with some occasional "spooky" flourishes.

And I'll admit it: I don't have the slightest damned idea what the ending meant!

Okay, that's not entirely true - I have some ideas - but the whole thing seems befuddling.

It's definitely a slow movie, but not a bad one. I got a little impatient at times but I usually remained interested.

I just ended up with a lot more questions than answers when the credits rolled...

Sounds exactly like the book.