First Take: The Haunting- in the night. In the dark. In the Media Factory.

 SYNOPSIS: Based on the Shirley Jackson novel, 4 strangers are coaxed into the mysterious Hill House for a sleep deprivation experiment. However, all is not as it seems, as the house provides the backdrop for a series of supernatural events which will haunt the rest of these participants’ lives.

So, for the guys who made this film, it’s been a long journey- 4 months of pre-production, a week at Borwick Hall to shoot it, a second unit shoot in Blackpool, and now 2 months of editing. But the UCLan Film Production students got there. With a cup of Earl Grey in hand, last night I got to see the finished film for the first time with the cast and crew in attendance at Longridge’s Palace Cinema. Even if it was inexplicably sponsored by BT Wi-fi at times, the film played to a packed house. But one question remains: did The Haunting deliver the goods? Of course it did. Because they went and knocked it out of the park.

It’s co-directed by Jack O’Connell, Caitlin Rigney and Shayla Kirkham, a trio of directors who focused individually on specific characters during the shoot to create a film that uses every last second of its 1 hour 25 minute running time to tell the story it is attempting to portray in a very new and unique way, avoiding the use of jumpscares in this fresh take on one of the most well known horror novels of all time; yes, it’s rough around the edges, the directors admitted that in the pre-film speeches, but they managed to make the film’s production background fade away by the end of the first half an hour. This combination of directors also wrote the script, taking inspiration from the original 1959 novel, as well as the various film adaptations over the years to make something very Northern and gritty, showcasing how a location like Borwick Hall can stand in for a very supernatural location- and this is where the cinematography, handled by Siobhan Sofield and Laimis Liachovic, excels. As for the score by Carlos Ravey and David Kaleta, its basic nature fits the film perfectly, coming in at the right moments to add to the emotion.

Performance wise, the film is based centrally around the 4 main characters of the piece. Megan Paul takes the lead as Nell, and she is able to make that performance work on many levels- working alongside her is Lucy Marshall as Theo, Lex Simkin as Luke and Martin Neely as Dr. Marrow. While some of these characters share the stories as their print counterparts, others are composite characters, and this core group of actors really did put their heart and soul into their work here, with Paul and Marshall’s performances respectively garnering a fantastic response from the audience on the night. Rounding out the cast is Frank Ryan, Gillian Powell, Julie Root, Kieron Samuels, Tara Mckeown, Thomas Ledsham, and Carley Smith- predominantly Northern talents, who are able to help make this small production feel bigger. Over 150 were in last night for the premiere, and all the feedback was good: now I get to formalise it. They made a good movie.

THE VERDICT

Many adaptations of this source material have come about over the years. Many others will come. But none of them will be made by students for £5,000. The Haunting doesn’t feel like a student film, and having seen this project from start to end, this team of filmmakers really did prove themselves. But as for the review- yes, it is a little rough around the edges, but they did a damn good job.

RATING: 4/5

Stills courtesy of the University of Central Lancashire/Mad Vision Productions