David Pierdomenico
The Little Stranger has all the makings of a great horror film: a large creepy mansion with a dark past, British children (who are incredibly creepy for some reason), and a supernatural element that the protagonist vehemently denies. Couple this with critically acclaimed director Lenny Abrahamson (who gave us Room), and the film had enormous potential. But many horror fans will most likely despise the film if they see it. Simply because it’s not a horror film at all.
Downton Abbey Blended With The Haunting
The films opens in the late 1940’s, with our protagonist, Dr. Faraday (Domhnall Gleeson) going on a house call to Hundreds Hall, a mansion where his mother once worked when he was a boy. He is filled by a wave of nostalgia as he walks the now decrepit and decayed halls of a deteriorating relic. The Ayres family seem to be in a dark and depressing place. Mrs. Ayres (Charlotte Rampling) is more obsessed with her deceased child than her two living adult ones. Her son Roderick (Will Poulter) is horribly disfigured from burns he received during WWII, and her daughter Caroline (Ruth Wilson) wants desperately to leave but feels trapped in the house out of family obligation.
As Dr. Faraday examines the maid who claims to be ill, she confesses to him that there’s something most irregular about this house. Faraday simply believes that the family’s spirits need lifting. He takes an interest in them, in particular Caroline, and begins to visit rather frequently. Soon enough he’s become completely enamored with Caroline and wants to marry her. But there’s something else going on in the house. Some sort of psychological poison that bombards the Ayres family with negativity. Faraday, being a man of science, refuses to accept any supernatural explanation.
The Effects of False Advertising
And from all this, there are the makings of a great psychological horror drama. However, The Little Stranger has very few scenes of actual horror or suspense. Despite what the trailers show, these scenes only account for a tiny portion of the runtime. Instead, it’s a period drama with one or two horror scenes thrown in there. By no means is a bad film. It’s beautifully shot, well-acted, and has characters that are three dimensional. But it’s not the product that the advertising campaign suggested it was. And that’s the larger problem, not just with this, but with the industry altogether.
Lenny Abrahamson and his cast/crew set out to make the best film they could, and that they did. However once it got to the marketing department, Focus Features knew that they wanted to get as many people to see this film as possible. They knew that if they advertised it as straightforward horror, rather than a period drama, more people would come to theaters and see it. After all, that’s they’re bottom line. And with theater attendance being as low as it is these days, desperate studios will try anything, particularly with low budget, under the radar films like this. But it does risk a backlash. The Little Stranger is a great film, but’s not the film that the trailers promised. And for that reason it will receive a great deal of undeserved frustration and maybe even hatred. Obviously a film’s marketing needs to successfully attract an audience, but lying or misleading people certainly isn’t the way to create fans.
Very Very British
The films strongest aspect is its overwhelming sense of atmosphere. It’s bleak with muted colors and feels like all the warmth and joy has been removed, which is usually a staple of historical British dramas. It was still a time where class system and knowing one’s place were the most important things in the world. Because of this, there’s a great deal that the characters wish they could say or do, but they hold back and the inner conflict is clear upon their faces. It does a great job at capturing the turmoil that went along with this social system. Everyone is incredibly polite, but there’s always subtext just beneath the surface. Domhnall Gleeson in particular is brilliant and maintaining his prim and proper composure, all the while wanting to scream out.
Overall, The Little Stranger is a terrific film that just suffered from false marketing. Essentially, all the “horror” scenes were already included in the trailer. So it’s understandable that some horror fans will be incredibly disappointed with it. However, it’s important to remember that it’s not the fault of the director, cast, crew, or the film itself. It’s entirely the fault of the studio and the marketing for not being up front with what kind of film this is.
