Murder at Blackthorne Manor (2023) User Reviews

Agatha Christie Style Film

[lavatch · 7/10 · 16 April 2023]

The game's afoot!!!

A grand old Victorian manor dating back to the antebellum years is a labyrinth of hidden staircases and secret passages. In its heyday, the house was used as a posh speakeasy during Prohibition. Even earlier, it was a stop along the Underground Railroad in the period leading up to the Civil War.

Now, the house is creatively used as a bed-and-breakfast establishment built around a theme. The guests pay for the privilege of participating in a parlor game to guess which one of them is a murderer. In the tradition of Agatha Christie, the genius behind the game is the dynamic Hayley, who conceives a new scenario for each new group in residence and leads the guests in the chilling experience.

The filmmakers creatively devised the structure of metadrama in which a real murder is committed. With the death of the kind owner of the manor, Hayley must keep the guests safe while maintaining the sense that the game was still in progress.

While the lighting was overly dark throughout the film, there were some good twists and excellent pacing. The imaginative concept of the film worked effectively in drawing the film audience into the game played by the guests. Agatha would be proud!

Not bad except -

[veejayp · 6/10 · 29 February 2024]

That it's shot in darkness and extremely difficult to see what's happening!

Yes, lights go out when the power is cut but viewers still need some residual light to follow our heroine as she explores the cellars and grounds of Murder Manor.

The premise is fun: a murder mystery weekend turns into a real murder mystery when one of the residents is found dead in suspicious circumstances. The mansion house hotel looks authentic, the costumes glamorous (what I could make out in the gloom!) and the cast are engaging.

Christie Leverette is the heroine who carries the movie and does it well.

The two young male leads were of similar height and build; their haircuts were similar and both wore white shirts. Not sure whether this was an intentional plot twist or not. In a couple of scenes set in daylight, I got them mixed up so once the lights went out there was no chance 😊

I'd like to have seen more of the supporting cast whose comic potential as guests were underused.

Passed a cold wet afternoon quite pleasantly.

A not too bad mystery

[LetsReviewThat26 · 6/10 · 14 March 2024]

I will say that from all of these types of movies, this is one of the better ones. We still have the same note great acting and a somewhat predictable outcome but at the same time not. But this film does do things right for a made for TV movie that I'm happy to see. Hayley likes to create murder mysteries at the historical blackthorn manor, but when the owner really does end up dead it leaves Hayley and the other guests to solve who did it in time before more bodies show up. I think the lead actress was actually ok. I wish the guests got given more lines as they kind of just are there and don't give much to he plot but ultimately this is not too bad and mystery films like this are pretty good.

The Only Mystery Is Why This Movie Was Made

[nelch · 3/10 · 1 March 2024]

I love a good murder mystery. This does not fall into that category. The acting is terrible. The storyline is shockingly bad. Script needed a full rewrite. The premise was good but so badly put together.

The mention of "secret passages" by the main players made me wonder why everybody got locked into their rooms but did not work out how any of them could have got out. The lead actress can not say "escape", instead we had to listen to her say "eCscape" more than a few times. Absolutely no chemistry between the cast. The gates of the Manor are locked from the inside so no eCscape. But the plan is to wait until the day staff and the police get there the following morning. Bear in mind that the landlines were down and all cellphones had been destroyed, so why would the police arrive, and how would the day staff get in ? Another character appears and obviously gets accused of being the murderer. So how did he get in ? Our lead, Hayley, at one point accuses a female guest of being the murderer. The rant she goes on, just comes out of nowhere, so totally unbelievable for such a goody goody character. At the murder mystery game, a renowned psychic was introduced to help with some clues. This is supposed to be an amazing weekend of immersive fun. The psychic is played by a dummy. Surely such an upmarket event would have cast a real person as the psychic who also became the first murder victim. 80 minutes of rubbish from start to finish.