Our take
Mark Gatiss's first ghost story for the BBC is a loving homage to the 1970s films, shot in a cavernous library with a fine supporting cast including Sacha Dhawan, Una Stubbs and Eleanor Bron. It is fussy and funny before it is frightening, and the figure in the stacks is a memorable fright. It was followed on the night by Gatiss's documentary about M. R. James.
What happens
Garrett, a young student working at a university library, is asked by a visitor, John Eldred, to find a particular book, the Tractate Middoth. The request draws him into a bitter family feud over a will and its legacy. The book's story leads back to the late Dr Rant, a spiteful man whose wicked streak continues from beyond the grave, and to the relatives his will left at odds: among them Mrs Simpson and her daughter Anne, and Eldred himself. As Garrett searches the shelves and learns more of the dead man's games, he becomes the link between the family members who want the book found and the one who would rather it stayed hidden, with terrifying consequences for the person who goes looking.
Can the kids watch it?
No BBFC rating found for this film. It has one or two strong scares and a nasty end for a villain, so best for older children and up.
Cast and crew
Starring
- Louise Jameson as Mrs Simpson
- Sacha Dhawan as Garrett
- Roy Barraclough as Hodgson
- Una Stubbs as Miss Chambers
- John Castle as John Eldred
- David Ryall as Rant
- Nicholas Burns as George Earle
- Eleanor Bron as Mrs Goundry
Guest stars
- Charlie Clemmow as Anne Simpson
Writer
- Mark Gatiss
Director
- Mark Gatiss