"The Ash Tree" is a British television short film from 1975, so this one is already over 40 years old. It features actor Edward Petherbridge in the lead here playing a man who inherits a fortune that comes with a downside though. The director is Lawrence Gordon Clark and this 32-minute movie is one of several films that he directed based on the stories by M.R. James. These are all fairly dark drama movies that are as much horror as mystery and also may include an ounce of supernatural aspects. Anyway, having seen some of these I must say that the approach just isn't appealing to me for the most part. It's all so sterile and slowly moving forward without ever making an impact or becoming memorable in terms of the story. I have not read the base material, so cannot say if it is due to the films or really the original stories that these brief movies won't appeal to me. Nonetheless, I thought Petherbridge was okay in here, but also only one of the better aspects because the rest is really weak and not because he was any kind of great. I do believe, however, that if you like one of these 1970s James movies, then you may very well end up liking all of them as the tone and atmosphere is really similar. Or dislike them all if you dislike one of them. Like in my case. From a more critical perspective you could state that they feel really interchangeable. I give this one here a thumbs-down. Not recommended.
Review of The Ash Tree
The Ash Tree
(1975 TV Movie)
As forgettable as the other Clark/James films
31 May 2017
Warning: Spoilers