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The Presence of Snowgood
UK 2023
produced by Neill McKenzie, Deborah McKenzie (executive), Jane Walker (executive) for Skooch Media, Nordarktis, Stp Pro, Bricks and Stitches
directed by Leigh Tarrant
starring Tom Malt, Holly Roberts, Ian Kear, Sarah Maur Ward, Amanda Dann, Holly Sturman, Charlotte Butterworth, Ian Skelton, Bill Johnson, Caroline Munro, Adrian Smith, Tony Bailey, Neill McKenzie, Cassia Crimin, Sarah Woodcock, Ewan McKenzie, Richard Tennant, Russ Kirton, Jane Walker, Elicia Osborne, James Baskett, Jason MacGregor, Pete Nicholas
written by Neill McKenzie, music by Jeff Crampton, Gordon Giltrap
review by Mike Haberfelner
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Young Elizabeth (Elicia Osborne) and Robert Hagar (James
Baskett) were tasked with burying one of the three crowns of England at a
secret place at the shoreline of Sussex, to protect the country from
invasions of all kind - but that was centuries ago, and maybe a legend
anyhow. However, the Hagars have always taken the task of guarding the
secret of the hiding place very seriously - but by the 1980s, the last of
the Hagars, William (Ian Kear) had died more than a decade ago, and
nowadays, the locals only keep up the traditions of guarding the crown to
attract tourists ... and of course the occasional treasure hunter, like
Dr. Blackman (Bill Johnson), who has disappeared though trying to locate
the crown. And after the police has come up with no clues regarding
Blackman's whereabouts, his wife Dolores (Caroline Munro) hires private
detective John Knightley (Tom Malt) to track him down. But when
questioning the locals, Knightley is quick to notice that they're quick to
hush up when the crown or Hagar are as much as mentioned. But he also
feels he's followed by someone who might be the ghost of William Hagar,
and every now and again he runs across a friendly young girl, Alice (Holly
Roberts), who advises him to leave - and who might actually be the ghost
of William's deceased sister. Eventually, Knightley finds an ally in local
barwoman Lyn (Sarah Maur Ward), who lets him into many of the town's
secrets, which includes a secret society sworn to protect the crown who
will go out of their way to do just that, including murder. And eventually
they're even rewarded for their efforts with William handing over the
crown to them. Too bad that they haven't been totally honest about the
actual "protection" of the crown then and would rather sell it
to the highest bidder since it's worth a fortune or three. And suddenly,
Knightley, who has so far been a minor nuisance at best, has gotten into
their way and needs to be dealt with ...
An in the best meaning of the word old-fashioned blend of folk
horror and murder mystery that's deliberately slowburn but all the more
effective for it as it manages to masterfully build tensiona and
atmosphere, place its jump scares very well, and really keep surprise
twists and turns coming throughout its running time. And a competent cast
of course helps to bring everything across just beautifully, as do
properly eerie locations and the film's certain predilection with the
macabre, making this one very worthwhile genre ride. By the
way, while this film is in story a sequel to the director's A
Curious Tale from two years prior, it works perfectly well on its
own merits as well.
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