A Haunting at the Rectory (2015) User Reviews

Misleading...

[vip-danii · 4/10 · 30 July 2015]

I thought this movie was supposed to be about a haunted place, but it is, in fact, about infidelity. The story focuses on the Reverend's wife and the handyman's affair almost exclusively; so much that the supposed "paranormal" events look totally out of place.

This movie did not get anything right. It didn't look or feel like 1930 at all (I've seen documentaries about the 30s). The actors seemed wrong for their respective roles. The events were unrealistic and the characters' response to them illogical. The movie didn't seem to know where it wants to go or what it wants to do with itself.

The paranormal events were so few, so exaggerated, discorded and random that it'd make you think that, perhaps, they were edited into this movie from another movie by mistake.

The description: "A Reverend and his wife discover their new home has a deadly secret."

O.K., what "deadly secret"? Unless I missed something, this "secret" was never revealed...

I really don't understand the paranormal connection at all. This movies is about a cheating wife, not about paranormal activity. I didn't get what the ghost drivel, that was randomly shoved into a movie of entirely different genre, had to do with anything or what connection it was supposed to have to the story.

Basically, the whole thing is poorly pieced together and a bit messy. Perhaps it would appeal to "drama"- or even "crime"-lovers, but to label it as "mystery" is highly misleading to say the least.

An hour and a half wasted.............

[nomieliz · 2/10 · 20 June 2015]

Well, it started off badly...............then got worse! The acting is worse than any amateur dramatic production I've ever seen and that's just for starters.

Borley Rectory is/was one of the most haunted places in the UK, the stories surrounding it are extremely interesting. This film didn't touch on anything remotely interesting at all.

It seems like this film was made in a hurry and on a budget, it also seems as though the person who made it didn't research Borley Rectory at all. Hopefully there's another film about this place that's much better.

A Flaunting of the History

[tathataboy · 2/10 · 28 October 2015]

This movie says it's based on the Foyster's experience at the Borley Rectory. It could also be said that "Soylent Green" is based on Ray Kroc's experience flipping burgers. That's about as far as "A Haunting at the Rectory" gets to telling the story about a haunting at the Borley Rectory. Having spoken to Marianne Foyster's son Vince, and having read Harry Price's book about the Rectory, and the Foysters, you come to realize "A Haunting at the Rectory" is a generic story glued on to the Rectory's history, and at least two real people involved in it.

Had they at least provided something scary, I could give this movie a higher rating. But their theft of what really is a scary story, and turning it into a dull, melodramatic ride through a pastor's wife's discontent, a sleazy handyman's ruse, and a kind pastor's growing jealousy, oh- and some wandering "ghosts" thrown in because, you know, "Rectory" and all that, makes me realize they stole the Rectory's reputation just to sell the movie. This script could have happened anywhere, but I guess calling it "A Haunting at the 3rd Street Episcopal Church and Community Center," though just as applicable, would have been hard to fit on the DVD box spine.

Too bad. I was hoping to experience the Borley Rectory's haunting. Instead, I got a barely recognizable one.

Movie is nothing like story on cover

[patriciasue-986-860927 · 22 June 2015]

The story goes:

"In 1930, Reverend Lionel Foyster and his wife Marianne move into the Borley Rectory when Reverend Foyster is named rector of the parish. The couple's peaceful existence is soon shattered by a series of unexplained occurrences which quickly escalate into a heart stopping nightmare."

I think they must have put the wrong description on the cover. Actual film is:

Reverend hires handyman. Reverend's wife has sex with handyman. Reverend finds out. Handyman and wife plot to kill reverend. Reverend kills handyman and wife instead. The End.

Unexplained occurrences? Handyman gets beaten up in bed. Scarecrow found in bed. Bones found in cupboard. Woman walks about in graveyard in white frock. Some person in a black hood and white mask appears a couple of times. If there was anything else I must have missed it when I dozed off.

Summary: One big yawn and a waste of time and money. Dreadful.

slow

[ahawes-89704 · 1/10 · 18 May 2017]

This movie is slow. It begins after the move into the home. Nothing to imply a super scary haunting. Actually the only thing scary about this movie was the acting. If you're looking for a white knuckle haunt movie keep driving. In fact unless you're looking for a lifetime movie decaffeinated keep going. Boring, slow, predictable. Young sexually frustrated housewife has an affair with live in handy man while bible wielding preacher husband is absent during the day. Hooray...........yawn.

Incredibly bad!

[mwightman-60377 · 2/10 · 29 February 2016]

Watched this and was extremely disappointed. It's not actually a horror film, a more accurate description would be a drama without any drama. Nothing actually happens, characters just mope around rooms and moan about their lives. The acting is abysmal and could not even be classed as amateur dramatics standard.The actor that plays Frank Peerless is ironically named as I've never seen someone act so badly. I've no idea where he got the idea to talk in a mock cockney/toff accent- but its laughable. The vicar is about as wooden as they come and the whole thing is unbelievable and would be laughable if it wasn't so tedious.

If this is the standard of British filmaking there is no hope.

Paranormal rectory

[TheLittleSongbird · 1/10 · 23 September 2018]

Was drawn into seeing 'A Haunting at the Rectory', with a cool poster/cover, an attention-grabbing tagline, a somewhat intriguing if very derivative premise and as someone with a general appreciation for the genre it fits under. That it was low-budget, which from frequent personal experience is rarely a good sign due to that there are so many poor ones out there (though there are decent to good ones as well), made me though apprehensive.

It is sadly however yet another film seen recently, hence some reiteration because the exact same strengths and flaws present in those films are here, that to me was incredibly disappointing considering its potential which it doesn't do anywhere near enough with. 'A Haunting at the Rectory' is really quite abominable, with so many huge flaws and doesn't do anything with any potential it had. There is nothing good here in 'A Haunting at the Rectory', just amateur hour all round.

Going on to the negatives, the story does feel over-stretched and some of it comes over as vague and under-explained in the last third where the film especially became duller, more predictable, more senseless and less unsettled and never gaining momentum. All the characters are too sketchy and with cardboard thin and colourless personalities and with nowhere near enough to make one want to endear to them. Their annoying and illogical decision making and behaviours frustrates.

The sound quality is obvious and utilised cheaply (being too loud in the build ups and people's reactions), the effects are shoddy and all of the acting is lacking severely on the whole, that's actually an understatement as the worst of it is horrendous. Didn't get any chemistry from the leads and Lee Bane shows neither enthusiasm or subtlety. There is no sense of horror or engagement with the awful predicament they're in, and no connecting with the character, it just reeks of indifference which makes the viewer not care less too.

Dialogue can be stilted and rambling while the pace and film drags on forever, apparent from the very start, never recovering that interest is lost fast. The ending has no build-up and just ends ridiculously. Found too many of the supposedly shocking moments not surprising or scary and the atmosphere dreary, due to the excessive obviousness, a lot of dumb and vague moments (if there was any explanation for what the deadly secret promised by the tagline was it was missed by me, as has been said already) and the lack of tension and suspense. Thrills are none, thanks to stodginess and excessive over-familiarity, and found myself never invested in the drama, which tended to be indifferently acted, interminably paced and statically directed.

A lot of 'A Haunting at the Rectory' has really dull and going nowhere plot elements and often nonsensical and confusing character motivations, while too many of the things to make you shocked are far from creative or unsettling. The paranormal elements were very misplaced and unnecessary, when there they were there, which is far too infrequently, very randomly organised and overdone that it was bordering on comical.

Nothing freaky or interesting, no development and too derivative, while everything is unimaginative and are more odd than scary, completely failing to show any sense of dread. There is nothing interesting or illuminating with what the film was trying to do and the drama is overwrought with no momentum and a lot of weirdness. The direction is barely there and disorganised and the music is ill-fitting. 'A Haunting at the Rectory' is very amateurish visually, too drearily lit and shows no care in the way it's shot. Calling the editing sloppy is insulting to the word sloppy, just no cohesion or flow at all.

Altogether, irredeemably terrible. 1/10 Bethany Cox

What an absolute joke

[lopezpatricia-06139 · 1/10 · 8 May 2022]

I feel embarrassed in particular for the lead actress. She is the worst out of the 3 so called actors. Real amateur dramatics caught on film. Is this why we pay so much for streaming services for them to insult us with this crap.

rubbish

[johnnorris-09360 · 1/10 · 20 August 2017]

Got this in a pound shop. 99p over priced. No relation to the true Borley Rectory story at all. No supernatural goings on worth reporting. OK, the actors weren't bad, but I felt embarrassed for them . Hope Suzie gets better exposure though, she's good . So slow, and not 1930's at all.

No, no, no. Back to film school fro you producer/director

[mjsreg · 3/10 · 5 September 2017]

First of all, this is nowhere near a 'horror', it's not even a reasonable ghost story. Neither is it a reasonable thriller or suspense movie, nor a drama worth any weight at all.

Just because a film is low budget doesn't mean the fundamentals of film making should be abandoned.

If a film is being presented as a certain time period make sure it looks the part. In other words, camouflage modern fitments for starters, even if it means using a bit of painted cardboard!! Modern light switches slap bank in the middle of the frame.

Next is don't shoot your own equipment! In several scenes attention to framing is non-existent. For example a massive light rig in the garden during a night scene.

Shaky shake works SOMETIMES. Hand-held effects can bring drama to a scene when used appropriately. In this movie it is used far too much when the emphasis should be on the characters and becomes annoying and distracting (someone MUST have watched this before finalising the shoot).

Learn to direct. So many many times in this movie the actors appeared to be left hanging wondering what to do next. Long pauses that made actors look like they had lost the plot became another annoyance.

As with directing - learn to edit! Many of the annoyances because of the lack of direction could have been addressed in editing. Conversations between characters were often slow and laboured - totally artificial.

Make sure your story reflects what you claim. The marketing for this film is as a horror. As in my opening comment, it isn't - nowhere near.

Having said that, if the technical problems with the film had been addressed and the actors given direction and the opportunity to rehearse more this could have been an interesting movie to watch.

The production team had the equipment, but the lack of attention to detail has yet again let down what could have been a decent film.

Useless

[kyris-thomas · 1/10 · 9 November 2015]

Awful, completely awful, completely and utterly waste of £4, the story doesn't make any sense what so ever. Was looking forward to watching but now,completely useless, Just wasted a complete 88mins of my life I can't get back now, if I could rewind time I honestly would.No point at all of watching this. No supernatural forces. No haunting. No nothing really.The best thing thing to do is avoided this film. Nothing's happened until it was over. Not sure if it was just me that didn't like this film, I would say it's more of a romantic-crime all it really was about, accuracy I don't really know what it was about to be honest. I really don't understand the paranormal connection at all. This movies is about a cheating wife, not about paranormal activity. I didn't get what the ghost drivel, that was randomly shoved into a movie of entirely different genre, had to do with anything or what connection it was supposed to have to the story.

Take it for what it is

[harryandthehendersons · 9/10 · 30 August 2015]

Clearly lots disgruntled by the cover not reflecting the direction the story takes in the film. I was happy to take the film for what it is and not get hung up on how it was promoted. Lots of films have promotion which doesn't fit the content of the film. When I considered the film on its own merits I found it to be a very enjoyable tale of betrayal. More like a thriller than a horror to be honest but the horror parts of the story nicely tie back into the main story between the three lead characters. I felt it was well written and quite clever in its execution. Considering the low budget they captured a period feel very well too. A solid steamy thriller that deserves to find an audience.

Not what I expected

[dmerrill-537-56275 · 6/10 · 25 July 2015]

Even though I hadn't read the description of this movie before seeing it, it still was not anything like I expected it to be. It was more about the relationships between, the pastor, his wife and the new handyman than about the haunting at Borley Rectory. They do enter into the story, but they aren't the main focus for the first half of the movie. It's actually a pretty good character study of the three people. The other spoiler heavy review outlining the plot only touches the surface of what's offered here. This film moves much more slowly than what we're used to in the United States, particularly for a horror film. It reminds me more of the type of movie that might have been made in the 60's or 70's in the United States. The "special effects" are at about that level too. In my opinion it would have been better had they left out the last scene because the substandard special effects were almost comical and didn't fit the rest of the film. It also added nothing to the story. It seemed like it was there mainly to give the prop guy something fun to do. Aside from that, I thought this was pretty good.

Where is the horror?

[kendra_foxtrot · 1/10 · 11 January 2016]

Ridiculously disappointed with this film. The cover art, title and plot description must have been from a different movie altogether. This movie is about a love triangle among a bald reverend, his buxom wife and a not so good looking handyman. These characters were plopped down at Borley Rectory and the creators smacked the horror genre label on it. You can tell when a part is supposed to be scary whenever a character other than one of these three appears. The problem is there is nothing scary about a pretty nun conversing with the reverend on a bright and sunny afternoon even if it happens in a graveyard and she's supposed to be a ghost. I am not really sure what was happening at times, especially when it turned into Dark Night of the Scarecrow for a second (again brightly lit, middle of the day, not scary). I thought this was going to be a slow burn with all the jumps at the end...instead this slow burn slowed down into a poof of smoke that didn't even manage to cover the overwhelming stench that this movie is. Do not waste your time on this one.

Terrible

[jandriod2012 · 1/10 · 16 June 2015]

This film is a shocker, and not in the way it intended. It takes a while for anything paranormal to happen, and even when it does, it is neither scary nor original. The 'ghostly' apparitions look more like people who have mistakenly turned up to the wrong house for a fancy dress party, and the 'special effects' (or 'effect'- I only saw one) are amateurish. On occasion good performances can lift a poor film, but unfortunately, in this case, the acting is terrible. This is not helped by a very poor script which isn't even authentic to the time period. Usually I try to persevere with films, but I had to give up on this after an hour, as I could not bear it any longer. Please don't waste you time and money on this

Quite haunting indeed

[kosmasp · 3/10 · 8 May 2022]

But actually for the wrong reasons. This is quite subpar and I think it knows so itself. But since we have different tastes and all, some might find something appealing in this, that others do not even see. Even the acting that I would not consider ... good myself or the script this is based on ... you might find them freeing and interesting.

And that is the good thing when we talk about movies: we have something to talk about. In this case talking about a movie with a few characters is not really something that will change anyones mind about how they feel about it. It could have been a movie shot during the pandemic. Considering that it only contains a few people. The horror does not work as well as the makers thought it would. The tension between the characters will finally have a conclusion - but while it may think it is clever ... well you'll be the judge (jury and executioner - no pun intended)

A Haunting at the Rectory: Not what you'd go in expecting

[Platypuschow · 3/10 · 12 February 2019]

Okay so going into A Haunting at the Rectory otherwise known as American Poltergeist 5 - The Borely Haunting I expected a low budget ghost flick and for it to be absolutely terrible but I was sorely mistaken.

I mean okay it's pretty terrible so I wasn't wrong about that but this simply isn't a ghost flick and quite frankly the supernatural element is needlessly tacked on and shouldn't even exist.

Therefore this shouldn't be considered a horror at all, more of a drama as that is essentially what A Haunting at the Rectory is.

It tells the story of a Reverend and his wife who take on a new handyman. But the handyman is not what he seems, and the wife begins to see ghostly apparitions.

Again the supernatural element is minimal and simply shouldn't have been added. I assume it was simply to raise interest in the film deeming it only likely to succeed in the horror market.

Instead of a horror we have a reasonably paced but not very interesting British drama that ends on a passable twist but you'll likely be bored long before it arrives there.

Want a horror? Avoid. Want a dull drama, this is one for you.

The Good:

Cast are above par

Twist is passable

The Bad:

Just not very interesting

Very deceptive marketing

What can I say but Abysmal writing and wooden acting....

[colmjoleary-65927 · 1/10 · 23 January 2022]

This movie is truly terrible!

An affront to all the movies that have gone before. The acting is abysmal and the script, I assume there was one? When the opening scenes begin the guy who comes to the house looking for a job as a handyman starts off with an Americanism " It sure is a wonderful place you have here reverend!" "Sure" is a word in that context that would never be heard in middle classes houses of England such as Borley rectory was supposed to be for at least another 40 years. It's also delivered in a bad RP accent reminiscent of amateur dramatics that cannot quite be pinned down as it apparently wanders between there and a cockney accent?

Also, for a house of dimensions there is an awful shortage of staff. At least there should have been a maid of all work to answer the door rather than the lady of the house answering it to the handyman surely? This script and movie has so many social and grammatical errors in the first few scenes that it's unrecoverable. The reverend, has all the character development of a door. In that he's wooden and untalented and really should behind the counter in a hardware store. There he could possible shine! He takes no references, has clearly never hired staff in his life, and just gives the job out like jumble at a church fair.

The applicant has his hat resting on the stool in the drawing room of all places. His hat should have been removed at the door and really should have been taken and placed to one side by the maid who answered the door. But of course the maid didn't answer the door because they didn't cast one. Servants in those days knew their place and would have been interviewed either in the study or the hall. It is such an amalgamation of bad writing, social faux-pas, bad acting, dodgy set dressing and woeful miscasting that one doesn't know what to say really. At 2.44 I had decided that there were too many mistakes to enjoyable to watch by the time I got to five minutes I had to switch it off.

Any more than that and I cannot tell you as life is too short to sit through this particular brand of tripe. I had to give it one star but really, it doesn't deserve it........

A Disappointing Missed Opportunity

[darksunsword-813-929500 · 2/10 · 17 October 2018]

Borley Rectory is supposed to be one of the most Haunted places in Britain but it does not reflect in this movie .

'Haunting At The Rectory' is a Period Drama about a Vicar, his unsatisfied wife and a handy man who upon becoming her lover finds himself caught in the middle .

It is a period Drama that results in Murder and nothing more than that . It promises one thing and gives something entirely different .

Fodder for Fast Forward!

[deuxfemmes666 · 1/10 · 27 February 2018]

It's just what I did. This movie is a total waste of your time on earth. It is so slow that you can literally FF for quite a few seconds in a one on one dramatic vocal exchange before the dialogue starts again....Don't bother...it's awful!

But the haunting will put you right to sleep...

[paul_haakonsen · 2/10 · 17 June 2018]

It was initially the DVD cover that lured me in, because the front looked rather interesting. I read the synopsis and it sounded like this could have been an entertaining horror movie.

Let me just be bluntly honest and say that I lasted a staggering 25 minutes before giving up. And believe you me, those 25 minutes were indeed a struggle to get through.

The storyline in "A Haunting at the Rectory" was incredibly boring. And the fact that it was so slow paced didn't exactly help anything either.

It is also weighed down by incredible shallow characters. But not only were the characters themselves part of the downward spiral, because the characters were portrayed by some questionable acting.

I have absolutely no intention of returning to finish watching "A Haunting at the Rectory", because the storyline didn't appeal to me in the least, nor were I interested in the characters. And honestly, just too little was happening in the movie to make it even moderately interesting.

Stunning

[Downcat · 10/10 · 9 May 2023]

This movie is the movie of all time. Maybe you've heard from other Users that it's misleading or not thrilling but I'm here to help you disregard those falsehoods. From the moment Marianne tried to show her gurdle to Lionel but he was ignoring her I felt this strange sense of emotion radiating from the beige garment. Perhaps life truly is meaningless without the gurdle. Maybe the gurdle is all we have in this cruel and merciless world. I don't know if I can continue without that precious piece around me, comforting me and assuring me that Lionel won't try to lick my forehead. Please watch this movie. It will open your eyes to a whole cast of emotions and a viewing experience that make stuff like "Frozen 2" and "The Throngler" seem like a child's production. Open your eyes to the gurdle and let yourself be taken into its embrace. My wife never used to treat me as well as Marianne treats her gurdle. She also burned down my house.

Spoilers follow ...

[parry_na · 7/10 · 3 November 2017]

This is from the stable of Andrew Jones, who specialises in low-budget horror films, many of them starring Lee Bane.

Here, Bane plays well-spoken rake Frank who moves into Borley Rectory as a penniless handyman. Before long, he takes advantage of wet Reverend Lionel (Tom Bonnington) and his good nature, as well as his wife, the woefully unappreciated Marianne (Suzie Frances Garton).

The first thing that strikes me is that this story has little to do with the write-up on accompanying promotional material. Apart from the names of the characters and places, the 'encounters with the dark forces of the supernatural' in this 'based on true events' tale blurb seems spliced from another film entirely.

That notwithstanding, this is a typical Jones' product: an approximation of the time period in which it is set (the 1930s), sound design that fluctuates occasionally making some of the dialogue difficult to hear and committed acting from the very small cast. The production is intimate, focusing on the relationships of the three rather on spectacular shock effects. The problem is, when they do occasionally happen, the effects are blighted by the lack of budget.

But this is about atmosphere more than anything else, and as such draws you in. The plot is methodical and thinly stretched, but interesting enough to make this venture worthwhile.

Possibly the worst film ever made.

[paulleigh-11863 · 1/10 · 22 January 2023]

Barley manor, where this film is set was apparently the most haunted house in Britain. So you'd think that there would be a plethora of ideas to make a film about the paranormal. But it seems that whoever made this film are clueless. This is possibly the worst film ever made. In every way. Terrible, ham acting, awful script and an absolutely pathetic storyline. That isn't about a haunting but about the vicars, sexually frustrated wife's affair with the handyman. I would estimate the total budget for this film to be about £12.75. The actors can't have been paid as they are obviously amature. The script must have been written by a 12 year old and the director must have been on work experience. Dire. Truly dire. I.

more love story than horror

[LetsReviewThat26 · 3/10 · 11 May 2022]

I felt the paranormal elements to this film were only there to fill in the real purpose of the plot. That is the love affaire between frank and mary. All three man characters were actually ok with the acting just bad scripts really. Bane as always tries to do his upmost best but at the end of the day it was a drama with some comedic elements without being a horror. But ok for what it was.