A View from a Hill (2005)
On holiday, a young man borrows a pair of binoculars when his own are broken. But they seem somehow bewitched, showing things that could only be seen with dead men's eyes... visions from the past. And using them could lead to a sinister rendezvous on Gallow's Hill.
Watch Trailer
Cast
Reviews
the audience applauded
Just perfect...
Fantastic!
Excellent but underrated film
Having seen the 1970's TV adaptations of M R James (goodish then; less so now) I was interested to see a couple of the more recent ones. Alas, they managed not only to be as staid as the worst moments of the 1970s ones but so relentlessly unimaginative they do James's ghost stories a real disservice. In 'A View from A Hill', one of James's most chilling stories, the central character explores a haunted hill, site of ancient hangings. In this TV film the director attempts to evoke its morbid atmosphere with serial killer-style subjective camera shots (cf. Black Christmas and a hundred other slashers) and quick-cut half-seen movement - the latter ok for one shot but quickly irritating, rather than frightening. What should have been a creepy sequence is entirely too crude, too literal, and simply doesn't work. I won't belabour the point further - but nothing in the film rises above this level. For those who want to experience a cinema version of M R James's truly creepy slow-burn atmospherics, which no-one has really managed so far, I'd recommend the Italian 'Across the River'. True, it can't supply James's distinctive Englishness, but its central character - a naturalist in search of night-time creatures, using fixed cameras - is a pretty good equivalent to James's peripatetic antiquaries in search of ancient texts. And like in James, the mysterious creatures which haunt abandoned village turn out to be immensely vengeful and vicious.[Note: these remarks exclude Night of the Demon, which although based on a James story, does not reflect the world of his stories - however good it is.]
"A View from a Hill" is a 40-minute live action short film from 2005 and this one is a mix of thriller/horror/drama. It is one of the more recent British movies (Ghost stories for Christmas) based on the work by M.R. James. Director is Luke Watson and the adaptation is by Peter Harness. I cannot say I know any of these or any of the cast members here, but this is probably not the biggest problem. This would be the script. In my opinion the acting would have made for a better film as well and I liked how only very few characters are in the center of it all here. Bit the actual horror elements in the second half of the film were not really to my liking and they really went against the solid build-up against of atmosphere. I personally liked the idea of a stranger in what is a strange new world to him almost and also the small snippets like that they expected him later etc. were okay additions. But it's not enough if the details are strong if the center of it all is weak and forgettable. That's why I five this brief movie a thumbs-down and I only recommend it if you like the much older short stories based on M.R. James works, the ones from the 1970s.
An archaeologist visits a decaying country estate to survey its artefacts, but the artefacts lead him into a dark history.Another slice of MR James alienation, where intellectual curiosity attracts the attention of distant, menacing figures and ends in nothing good.The opening sequence is a little irritating with its slow focuses, but the rapid editing later on in the woods creates good tension. Music keeps the mood bubbling. Actors all excellent, and in the end nothing is explained.Overall - not the spookiest, but confident enough not to deliver pat answers.
I must confess to not having read the original M R James story although I have read many of his other supernatural tales. I've also seen most of the previous BBC Christmas Ghost Stories and this one, in my opinion, surpasses most of them, only equalling The Signalman.I can't really fault A View From a Hill - the direction and 'mood' is perfect, as is the acting, lighting and, of course, the story and writing. I thoroughly enjoyed this and can only hope for more of this quality from the same director and production team. I understand that the BBC plan to make some more (not necessarily based on M R James stories) so that's promising.10/10