- Directed by: Steven M. Smith
- Written by: Christopher Jolley, Steven M. Smith
- Stars: Julian Glover, Patsy Kensit, Jess Inchbald
- Run Time: 1 Hour, 28 Minutes
- Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wscz5jwdNYs
Spoiler-Free Judgment Zone
This is actually a prequel and the third Borley Rectory movie, “based on terrifying true events.” Borley Rectory was a real house, damaged by fire in the late 1930s and demolished in the 1940s, that was said to be the most haunted house in England. This has a slow build, starting with normalcy and getting creepier as it goes along. But it’s heavy on talk and low on action, with some scares but no casualties except for those who died long ago and are ghosts. So overall, it’s not too bad, but it’s tame.
Spoilery Synopsis
We open on Borley Rectory in 1888. The guests want to hear a ghost story about the place, and old Harry Ball has stories. He tells the story of a nun named Marie who was against God, and the priest beat her severely. Suddenly, a white-faced woman jumps out into the room and scares all the guests half to death– it’s a prank. Harry laughs and says there are no ghosts, and ghosts aren’t real.
That night, Harry has a nightmare, as does one of the young guests. The old man gives his son Henry a box.
Twelve years later, Henry runs the rectory, and all his sisters come for a visit. Mabel, Caroline, Freda, and Kitty are all there now. Their mother, Constance, says the girls are far too spoiled and argues with Henry about marrying off Kitty soon.
Kitty finds a priest-hole and inside is that box from earlier. They take it to Henry, who doesn’t look happy to see it. There are secrets inside, letters from Reverend Shaw.
Mr. Somerset comes for a visit; Constance doesn’t like him. The girls are out walking and see a strange woman in a nun’s habit on the grounds. The woman is just like the one old Harry described in his story many years ago. Kitty tells Constance about the strange woman, and Constance thinks maybe Henry knows more than he’s saying. As they argue, they feel a strange presence in the house. Naturally, they split up to investigate, and this time, Constance sees the nun, Marie, who warns her to hide from the evil priest.
Constance goes into shock, but the doctor says she’ll be fine tomorrow. The doctor knows all about the place being haunted and says the ghost has been awakened since the family has been talking about Harry’s recently-found writings. She explains how old Harry was just the latest in a long line of paranormal protectors of the whole village.
Constance talks to the ghost of her own dead mother, or maybe it’s just a dream. They talk about the nun and the priest, and also about saving the family from evil.
Henry talks to the four girls about the situation. That night, Somerset, Henry, and Kitty stay up all night to see what happens. They all watch the priest and nun repeat their story.
Kitty writes to Reverend Shaw, her father’s confidant about all things supernatural. Kitty and Henry then talk about the priest, who probably enjoyed killing the nun, who was pregnant with his child. As they talk, something bad happens to Caroline and Mabel.
The next day, Constance, Mabel, and Caroline leave to stay in town, leaving Henry, Kitty, Freda and Somerset to deal with the ghosts. Reverend Shaw comes, as invited, and the ghostly priest attacks him. Not long after, the young people explain to him what’s been going on. He’s a bit of a psychic, and he “feels” things in the house.
That night, we get a full-on flashback to the nun and priest’s story. She gave birth to a baby, and the priest took it away. Later, Shaw explains that the old priest, Waldergrave, used to regularly rape the nuns and probably already got Caroline. When Marie got pregnant, he killed her, but he was then burned alive.
There’s more argument and discussion when Shaw suggests one of them allow the ghost to possess them. Kitty and Shaw have a discussion while preparing things, and Shaw confesses there aren’t records that he spoke of – he is psychic and knows the history by hearing and feeling the ghosts.
This, of course, leads to a seance. Shaw calls on the ghosts to come to them, and soon, Kitty starts screaming as Marie, the nun. Shaw becomes the priest and they all pray the priest away. Marie shows up, happy now, and they all know that her child survived.
The cycle of the nun and priest is over, but the rectory is old, and there are many other supernatural problems within. Those, however, are stories for another time. Kitty realizes that she’s one of Marie’s descendants.
Brian’s Commentary
It’s an interesting location, and it’s definitely a creepy place. The actors all do old-timey accents, and I didn’t find the dialogue very convincing. It seems that everyone knows the place is haunted, and yet all they do is sit around and discuss it.
Still, as the story progresses and we learn more about what’s going on, it does pick up a bit. Everything is what you’d expect in a 19th century ghost story, but it’s all terribly drawn out and slow.
If you’re really interested in ghost stories, this isn’t bad, but it’s awfully tame and I have to admit, a little dull.
Kevin’s Commentary
Reading about the real house and the history is actually pretty interesting – and it sounds like the supernatural elements should be looked at with a skeptical eye. Taking it as a fiction movie on its own, it’s creepy with a bit of a mystery. Brian mentioned the dialogue – it’s British and period and upper crust – which does make it sound pretty stilted. And there is a lot of dialogue talking about things.
There are scares, but no one is physically injured throughout the movie. It’s kind of tame and talky overall. It’s not bad, but it didn’t connect much with me.