The Turn of the Screw– 1999 – Based on the horror story by Henry James, this film follows a governess who looks after two children at a remote estate and becomes convinced the home is haunted. The 1999 adaptation features Colin Firth and Pam Ferris. BritBox. More horror movies to see: House on Haunted Hill(1959), The Innocents(1961), The Haunting(1963), Burnt Offerings(1976), The Amityville Horror(1979),The Shining(1980),Poltergeist(1982), Haunted(1995). As dark winter nights begin to close in on us, it's only natural to want to curl up inside with a warm drink and a spooky movie – especially if you live in the US where Halloween is heavily celebrated. If you prefer your scares to be British, we've got just the list for you. The sound effects are inadequate, the special effects are those you see in U.S. TV serials maybe ten or fifteen years ago. The effects do not scare you as most horror films do, nor do they provide atmosphere to the film.

A View from a Hill– 2005 – As a continuation of the tradition of telling ghost stories at Christmas, BBC One created the series A Ghost Story for Christmas. During the 1970s, they would produce one ghostly movie for Christmas – a tradition they’ve revived sporadically since 2005. In this one, an archaeologist has a chilling experience after borrowing a pair of binoculars belonging to an outcast historian. Tubi. A Warning to the Curious The Little Stranger– 2018 – Set in 1948 England, this movie focuses on a country doctor as he's drawn into the mystery of what's haunting the inhabitants of a decaying country estate. Luther fans are sure to notice Ruth Wilson as Caroline Ayres. Available for streaming rental. When it comes to ghost stories focused on haunted houses my personal favourites are The Haunting and The Legend of Hell House, the psychological scares make them genuinely creepy and most importantly effective. The Haunting of Radcliffe House (also known as Altar) which has recently been released on DVD makes an attempt to scare its audience in classic ways, is it be effective? Creepy noises and strange sounds abound. Ghosts make their appearance early and often and in various forms. In an interesting way the form of the spirit seemed to be a function of the spirits intent, a refreshing take amongst the tried and true ghost forms that are used.It's always a warning sign when a film bypasses cinema release to go straight on TV, so when THE HAUNTING OF RADCLIFFE HOUSE (original title: ALTAR) appeared on UK TV on Boxing Day I knew something was up. And, unsurprisingly, it turns out to be very bad indeed: a complete rip-off of a film made by people with no understanding of how the ghost story genre works. Later in their stay, the doctor's wife, the haughty Mrs. Montague, and her companion Arthur Parker, the headmaster of a boys' school, arrive to spend a weekend at Hill House and help investigate it. They, too, are interested in the supernatural, including séances and spirit writing. Unlike the other four characters, they do not experience anything supernatural, although some of Mrs. Montague's alleged spirit writings seem to communicate with Eleanor.

We did our best to steer clear of anything too gruesome, opting instead to focus on the more eerie and atmospheric productions – but we've also thrown in a couple that are family friendly and a few that veer towards the grittier side of things. 26 Spooky British Movies You Can Stream Amulet All four of the inhabitants begin to experience strange events while in the house, including unseen noises and ghosts roaming the halls at night, strange writing on the walls, and other unexplained events. Eleanor tends to experience phenomena to which the others are oblivious. At the same time, Eleanor may be losing touch with reality, and it is implied that at least some of what Eleanor witnesses may be products of her imagination. Another implied possibility is that Eleanor possesses a subconscious telekinetic ability that is itself the cause of many of the disturbances experienced by her and the others, which might indicate there is no ghost in the house at all. This possibility is suggested especially by references early in the novel to Eleanor's childhood memories about episodes of a poltergeist-like entity that seemed to target her home. Stephen King, in his book Danse Macabre (1981), a non-fiction review of the horror genre, lists The Haunting of Hill House as one of the finest horror novels of the late 20th century and provides a lengthy review. [11] In his review column for The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Damon Knight selected the novel as one of the 10 best genre books of 1959, declaring it "in a class by itself." [12] Undoubtedly, the film borrows heavily from other ghost and spirit films, most notably The Shining, but it was almost like playing bingo, identifying tropes from other films as it progressed, such as The Exorcist, Don't Look Now, etc. The TV movie feel and austere feel of the grand old house give a 1970s drama feel to the film. Some may associated this with quality drama, some with cheap production values.

See also

Within the first 10 minutes of The Haunting of Radcliffe House (a.k.a. Altar, which is a much less foreboding title) it would take somebody who had lived in a cave all of their life not to notice the three obvious plot points lifted from other (better) horror movies, and if you’ve never seen Hellraiser, The Shining or The Amityville Horror then a) what are you doing with your life and b) you’d be better off watching those than you would this film. That is because The Haunting of Radcliffe House does not have an original thought or idea contained within its paper-thin script or uninspiring direction, and considering the talent involved and how saturated the supernatural horror film market is at the moment it’s not unreasonable to have expected a little more. Eggener, Keith (October 29, 2013). "When Buildings Kill". Places Journal (2013). doi: 10.22269/131029 . Retrieved October 16, 2018. The House That Dripped Blood – 1971 – This creepy classic anthology film includes stars Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, and Ingrid Pitt. It sees a Scotland Yard Inspector investigating a haunted mansion while trying to find a missing film star. As the history of the house unfolds, we get four stories of terror and mystery involving previous tenants. Tubi, Pluto, or streaming rental. The Canterville Ghost Witchfinder General– 1968 – Vincent Price stars in this classic historical horror film set during the English Civil War. It follows a young soldier determined to stop a vicious witch hunter who terrorised his lover and her uncle. Hilary Dwyer ( The Prisoner) and Rupert Davies ( Maigret) also appear. Sadly, Dwyer passed away in 2020 due to complications of COVID-19. AMC+ or Shudder. Crooked House

Whilst there’s nothing actually terrible about it, there’s nothing that special or original about it either.” The production and acting are quality (how old is Modine - doesn't look good from certain angles), so the director's screenplay has to take the blame. Ghost stories are all about dark secrets, but this one skipped that part of the process.When we started filming, the other thing about that house was it was exactly the period I’d written. 1850s. Since then I’ve discovered that in itself is quite an unusual thing to have.” The Haunting of Radcliffe House may follow some stereotypical story elements for a haunted house movie, but one thing it does right is that it does not rely on special effects to try and get jump scares. What it does instead is focus on the changes in behaviour and hints that all may not be as it seems in the house. Whether it is something strange in a picture, a visit from an inquisitive but mysterious man or revelations of the house’s history the film is able to create an atmosphere of creepiness, and this is even before we see any ghosts. There's a vial of some liquid, a bizarre red potion, blood here and there, a mysteriously ringing telephone, and some google research. The jump scares are not effective (no fridge door!), and at no point do you fear for the female characters. It's a mess. Selected items are only available for delivery via the Royal Mail 48® service and other items are available for delivery using this service for a charge.