Rent The Haunting of Borley Rectory (2019)

The Haunting of Borley Rectory - The Haunting of Borley Rectory review by SH

I borrowed a couple of Borley Rectory films from Cinema Paradiso, as I was intrigued by the story. One of them was good, while the other one - this one - is not of the same calibre. I am actually surprised that this title is available to hire. Despite a title which promises "the haunting of Borley Rectory", the story focuses on a haunting in a building some distance from the rectory itself. The ghost is a nun, who has sharp teeth and eyes that glow orange, while her blackened, clawed hands leave traces of blood on those she touches. In technical terms, the film was obviously made on video and the picture is often over-exposed with a peculiar green colour grade. In design terms, the setting is 1944 but the action takes place in a cottage with 1970s woodchip wallpaper and furniture, and a bed that is made using a duvet rather than sheets, blankets and eiderdowns. I really don't want to be unkind because it must have been fun for its cast and crew to make on an evidently tiny budget, with huge funds of enthusiasm trying to compensate for the shortcomings elsewhere - such as the incoherent script, the incomprehensible ending, the captions with spelling mistakes and the cast who, although attractive, cannot really act.

Uneventful haunting - The Haunting of Borley Rectory review by NP

This independent film, one of a number concentrating on Borley as a location for ghostly business, is decently acted, nicely filmed and technically impressive. Sadly, it is also very dull. When the tiniest glimpses or suggestions of a Nun-like spirit are consistently followed by ‘going back to the beginning again’, or waking from a dream (again), for most of the 90-minute runtime, it’s clear no major scares are going to manifest, which is frustrating.

I like slow burners; I like films that convey a certain sense of atmosphere – and this one does, as well as a nice feel for the 1944 setting, although there will be discrepancies if you really want to find them. Those discrepancies would be so much easier to overlook if there was a sense of excitement or pacing to distract. Sadly, there is not. Uneventful. My score is 4 out of 10.