I'm an admirer of M. R. James's ghost stories of the late 19th Century and also of the regular BBC adaptations of them, usually released at around Christmas time.
Sure enough, this dramatisation of "The Mezzotint" went out late on Christmas Eve and was written and directed by usual suspect Mark Gatiss. As ever, Gatiss stays true to the period in this hoary old tale of history, haunting and horror, stopping only to make the now customary, indeed seemingly obligatory concessions to diversity in casting and dialogue, which weren't in James's original text, all that stuff about allowing women into the club...
Anyway, Rory Kinnear is the university don who collects antiques and receives through the post a dusty old mezzotint print which at first barely catches his attention. However, when he and his academic chums notice the picture changing into something altogether darker, curiosities are roused. A little background research surprisingly uncovers some questionable family history of his own and later, this time shockingly, a possible personal connection to the sinister work in his possession.
It all leads to a conclusion which brings the dynastic story full circle, with Gatiss borrowing a trick or two from "The Ring" for his dramatic climax to certainly draw me closer to the edge of my seat without quite shaking me out of it.
Nicely filmed and played, although I might question the decision to physically depict the horror right at the death, no pun intended, this was a welcome breath of cold air for a dark Christmas night.
Gatiss obviously has an affinity for this particular era and has done another highly competent job in bringing this particular James chiller to life, or should that be death...
Sure enough, this dramatisation of "The Mezzotint" went out late on Christmas Eve and was written and directed by usual suspect Mark Gatiss. As ever, Gatiss stays true to the period in this hoary old tale of history, haunting and horror, stopping only to make the now customary, indeed seemingly obligatory concessions to diversity in casting and dialogue, which weren't in James's original text, all that stuff about allowing women into the club...
Anyway, Rory Kinnear is the university don who collects antiques and receives through the post a dusty old mezzotint print which at first barely catches his attention. However, when he and his academic chums notice the picture changing into something altogether darker, curiosities are roused. A little background research surprisingly uncovers some questionable family history of his own and later, this time shockingly, a possible personal connection to the sinister work in his possession.
It all leads to a conclusion which brings the dynastic story full circle, with Gatiss borrowing a trick or two from "The Ring" for his dramatic climax to certainly draw me closer to the edge of my seat without quite shaking me out of it.
Nicely filmed and played, although I might question the decision to physically depict the horror right at the death, no pun intended, this was a welcome breath of cold air for a dark Christmas night.
Gatiss obviously has an affinity for this particular era and has done another highly competent job in bringing this particular James chiller to life, or should that be death...