Borley Rectory [Blu-ray] [2019]

What can one say about this film apart from the fact that it’s Ashley Thorpe’s love letter to Borley & all things folklore. Upon the film’s opening, it has the feel of the fan-made H.P. Lovecraft’s The Call Of Cthulhu. Which is no bad thing. As the film plays out, it reminded me of those classic horror films: The Cabinet Of Dr. Caligari, The Golem & Nosferatu. It oozes style & drips with menace. Every shot & frame is lovingly created. And they have that corner of the eye phenomena -the double take. Yes, it’s an animated film (don’t let put you off.), but that actually aids the film & marries up extremely well with the “live action” sequences. The performances are all fantastic and are all believable. Not only do you get the feature, but the disc is rammed with extras. All are brilliant. It also includes Ashley’s short films, which are deliciously creepy. The highlight of the extras for me was “Haunted Generation,” which is another love letter to the series of book by Usborne about the supernatural. I cannot recommend this film & the Blu Ray package enough. Whatever you do, don’t have nightmares...

Well worth the long wait. Having sat through 2 recent "Borley" movies that were terrible beyond belief, here is a piece of art that faithfully tells the Borley story. Its not really a movie, more a dramatised documentary, but still a captivating viewing experience. Borley was always more about the living personalities that occupied it rather than the supernatural. Each character could have supported a movie in their own right, from Harry Price to Marianne Foyster, each a script writers dream. The story is so good, when accurately told, it doesn`t need any padding or sensationalizing. Technically this film is a joy to watch. From the rendering and 3D modelling, to the live action, it is excellent. Only slightly spoiled by the "nun to skull" piece at the end, which I suspect may have been an "in joke" about its DVD predecessors. Perfectly suited to its black and white semi-animated format. All we can do now is hope someone, somewhere, in Hollywoodland will watch this and realise the potential for a big budget Movie blockbuster.

Despite some stunning, often very beautiful, animated visuals, this obvious labour of love fails to engage. It’s repetitive, over-long and lacking in both narrative drive and emotional impact or engagement. For example, some of the animation techniques are over used and several episodes of the tale just don’t work. The planchette sequences for instance are endless and mostly incoherent. Also, with the exception of Rigby and Sheersmith, some of the acting borders on the “am dram”. The voice-over by Julian Sands is somewhat pedestrian too and the token “shock ending” is totally out of place. That said, the effort that went into creating all this was monumental and the artist responsible is clearly very talented but I just wish he had found an experienced director, producer and writer to help pull it all into shape and refine the narrative further. The extras are impressive however and, without question, the blu ray does more justice to the story of Borley Rectory than any other film to date.

I find it hard to categorise this film; not quite either a documentary or fictional film.Don't let that put you off, though. The makers have clearly worked hard to make an account of the occurrences at one of the most famous haunted sites in England.The methods used are wonderful - old fashioned stylising and texture, but also incorporating actual footage and photographs. If you're looking for a definitive guide to the alleged haunting, it won't provide that, but I think anything outside of the written word would struggle with this.What the cast and crew have done, however, is make a fabulous companion piece to the happenings, and the bonus features are also informative and interesting.I don't know how much this would appeal to anyone with a passing interest in the subject matter, as I would say some prior knowledge would be handy, but even if not it's still interesting to watch!

I ordered this on 11 Oct 19 and it was delivered at 1100 on 13 Oct, a day before the official release date of 14 Oct 19; make of that what you will. This film is ‘old fashioned’ in that it is in black and white with texturized and stylised background footage. It’s pretty effective. If you like conventional creepy movies, then this is definitely for you!

I first found out about this film through Facebook and pre ordered as soon as I found out that that a blue ray would be released.This is certainly not a rubbish supernatural film made by Hollywood, this was a truly a labour of love that investigated the haunting of Borley rectory through the ages. Filmed in black and white almost like the early film pictures of the early 20th century this is quite a beautiful but eerie film to watch.Along with reece sheersmith acting and Julian sands narrating this is brilliant film that needs to be watched at night.10/10!