Britain's foremost pre-Hammer horror is an episodic film with a framed narrative, directed by Dearden.
An architect is called in to consult regarding the renovation of some rooms in a villa in the English countryside.
Here he meets several gentlemen who are discussing with a Freudian psychologist their unusual experiences between rationality and the paranormal.
First episode is The driver of the hearse by Balis Dearden, a kind of Final Destination ante litteram, all too brief but nonetheless effective.
Follows The Christmas reception by Alberto Cavalcanti, a very classic ghost story starring a sweet girl and a very peculiar child.
In The Enchanted Mirror the marriage of two lovers is in crisis because of a fairy mirror that reflects the life and feelings of another person... Really good direction by Robert Hamer.
Very weak as a plot and far too ironic is A history of golf by Charles Crichton, who in fact would later go on to successful comedies, inspired by a story by Wells.
Fifth and final episode is The ventriloquist's dummy by Alberto Cavalcanti particularly disturbing and dark, a genuine vintage gem, progenitor of a very fascinating strand.
The frame story ends with a quarter-hour of absolute genius and terror
A film as elegant as it is refined, tenebrous but also ironic, cleverly constructed to leave, at the end of viewing, a certain sense of unease in the viewer.
Undoubtedly a must-see film and one that inspired much of what came after it.
Review by Zick
