Buffalo Dreams Fantastic Film Festival Coverage
The Haunting of the Lady-Jane review.
The final day of the Buffalo Dreams Fantastic Film Festival opened with a screening of The Haunting of the Lady-Jane. A patient but purposeful trip down an English canal.
New movie reviews will not contain spoilers.
The Haunting of the Lady-Jane
Directed by Kemal Yildirim
Written by Mike Hallett and Kemal Yildirim
Starring Natasha Linton, Sean Botha, Bryony Harvey, Helene Udy, Andrew Fettes, Thomas Lee Rutter and Rosalind Stockwell
The Haunting of the Lady-Jane
Ghost stories tend to be patient. If you pop an apparition out every few minutes…there’s no way to make it effective (see every version of Disney’s Haunted Mansion). Atmosphere is key. The Haunting of the Lady-Jane is dripping in atmosphere. As the titular boat slowly moves down an English canal…nothing feels right. Things are even worse at night. Strange folks lurk in the shadows from port to port…the most dangerous of all, perhaps, already on board.
The Haunting of the Lady-Jane is about more than one type of ghost. First, there is the local legend of a woman in a white dress who haunts the canals. Second, and more importantly, are the ghosts of the past that haunt the characters abord the boat. The character reveals are doled out slowly. They progress much like the trip…several starts and stops with a growing sense of danger ahead. This feels like a doomed voyage from the moment it hits the water.
Lily (Natasha Linton) has had a falling out with her family following the death of her father. She’s settled into a quiet life as a writer. She recruits influencer Zara (Bryony Harvey) for her next story. The duo decides to take a boat ride from Lady-Jane captain Willard (Sean Botha) to get better acquainted. Stories of local legend RÀN (Helene Udy), a ghost who steals the souls of sinners along the canal, intrigue Zara and begin to transfix Willard. Lily finds herself surrounded by growing danger of both the spectral and real variety.
Let’s begin is an unexpected place. The Haunting of the Lady-Jane does give us another take on the influencer character. It does so, however, with an honest to God good use of the vocation. Unlike virtually every other incarnation of the influencer character in horror…here we see the discussion of the phoniness of online persona used to enrich a story. Zara’s reasons for her life choices make her character more interesting instead of reducing it to one dimension. Zara is the only one of the three main characters whose backstory isn’t explored through interwoven flashbacks. Her reveals are more sudden…and in some ways more emotionally effective.
Lily’s story is a tragic one. The Haunting of the Lady-Jane begins at her father’s funeral…so a tragic backstory shouldn’t be a surprise. Her mother and sister blamer Lily for her father’s death. We don’t learn why until late in the story…but we receive incremental information (as well as her sister’s attempt to make peace) throughout Lily’s literal journey.
Willard is the wild card. He seems nice enough…perhaps a little off…but everyone encountered on the waterway is at least a little odd. Zara is quick to not trust him. Lily is intrigued by someone who seems to be carrying their own sad story…the writer in her drawing her ever closer. Like Lily, Willard’s tale will be told in brief flashes of the past layered into the story proper. As Lily’s story gets sadder…Willard’s becomes more dangerous. He is a deeply religious man who is quick to jump on what he considers character flaws.
Religion is just one of the themes that The Haunting of Lady-Jane deals with as the characters traverse the canal. Forgiveness looms large over all three characters. Everyone is holding secrets that they cannot forgive themselves (and/or someone else won’t forgive them) for. Sins to draw RÀN forth. Sex is a large topic of discussion as well. Between the free-spirited Zara and conservative zealot Willard…judgments don’t come solely from the supposed spirit haunting the canal.
The two greatest strengths of The Haunting of the Lady-Jane are in the look of the film and the performance of the cast. The story can move a little slowly at times…but the cast does a great job building tension between each other. The visuals are always interesting as well. Combined they do create the atmosphere needed for the pace of the journey (and reveals) to work.
Eventually, the Lady-Jane gets where it’s going. The climax of the film is excellent. With everything now revealed, the film switches gears to a more manic tone. Earned payoffs come in rapid succession. The result is a memorable destination that makes the journey all the more worth it.
Scare Value
The Haunting of the Lady-Jane takes its time getting to its destination. It combines a slow build with timely character backstory reveals. It’s always interesting to look at and eventually gets you exactly where it was going. Strong atmosphere and solid performances keep the slower moments afloat…and eerie feeling permeating the entire ride.
