Rent The Ghosts of Borley Rectory (2021)

Good cast! - The Ghosts of Borley Rectory review by NP

This is another, and probably most accomplished, film from the prolific Steven M. Smith, who directs and co-writes. Made in the midst of the Covid pandemic, the production isn’t troubled by any effects of the restrictions in place during that time. For that, the team are to be commended.

It’s also good to see Colin Baker, Julian Sands, Michael Ellison and (an almost unrecognisable) Toyah Wilcox here. The acting across the board is mostly good, if not great, with the exception of Louisa Warren as Helen. It gives me no pleasure to say that, especially as she has produced and directed an admirable number of low-budget films that I’ve enjoyed a lot. For such a pivotal role, she lets the side down somewhat, looking uncomfortable in front of the camera.

Although the story has merit, the real killer here is the pacing – there isn’t any. Events build up, occur, and return to the status quo before repeating, without ever really getting anywhere. The music doesn’t help, remaining determinedly bland and placid throughout. Technically, the production is fine and unbothered by issues that often affect independent projects; but I find myself marvelling at how some of the bigger name actors are all seated around a table, whilst possibly being spliced together from separate recordings, rather than being drawn in by the ghostly happenings – which, when they occur, are nicely effective.

Smith and Warren’s run of productions shows no sign of slowing down, looking at their IMDB pages and I follow their run of horror projects with interest. While the results can be uneven, at least they are producing regular genre content. My score for this is 6 out of 10.