Jumping on the hype of the newly released, apparently much anticipated, Downton Abbey movie doesn’t seem like the kind of marketing you’d expect from a horror movie. But that’s exactly what Wild Eye Releasing is going for, with their ‘The Conjuring meets Downton Abbey’ haunted-house flick, The Baylock Residence.
Set in war-torn England, 1944, we follow Patricia Woodhouse (Kelly Goudie) as she is summoned to her sister Susanna Baylock’s (Karen Henson) house after her sudden passing and the mysterious disappearance of her brother-in-law, Victor Baylock (Kieron Brook). Together, Patricia and Susanna’s maid/home help, Annabel Blair (Sarah Wynne Kordas), soon discover there’s more to the house and much more to Mr. Baylock than they first anticipated.
As it turns out, it was Victor Baylock that caused the rift between the sisters, but that’s the least of the damage he’s done over – TINY SPOILER ALERT – almost 200 years, as part of a Satanic cult.
This movie certainly doesn’t follow the rule of ‘Chekhov’s Gun’ (the concept that every element of a story should contribute to the whole, as Anton Chekhov said: “if in the first act you have hung a pistol on the wall, then in the following one it should be fired.” In case you didn’t know). We meet single-use characters a few times, who seem like they’re going to contribute something to the story, but alas, nothing. The bombshell that Susanna had multiple sclerosis has no effect on the story, while Patricia’s migraines and the gossiping neighbor feel like they’re forced ham-fistedly into the plot.
Speaking of the plot, it’s all just a little too cliche. Coincidences stand out like sore thumbs, again feeling forced into the story. Things feel muddied, like it’s trying to squeeze too many paranormal-horror elements into it. The result is almost like a very low budget Haunting of Hill House, with not much explanation of what’s actually going on. The special effects again make this seem like a very low budget movie, as they’re all pretty basic physical effects and add very little to the horror element.
Pretty much the entire movie happens in the house – which, from the title and the byline, you might be fooled into thinking is a luxurious mansion in its own grounds, not a detached house on a street somewhere in northern England. The majority of dialogue is shared between Patricia and Annabel, yet we don’t learn much about either of them, which makes it difficult to care about what’s happening to them.
It’s not a completely lost cause. The idea is there, it just feels like it needs tweaking and perhaps a bigger budget to make this a worthy addition to the ever-popular haunted house sub-genre.
If you’re looking for The Conjuring meets Downton Abbey, you might want to keep searching, as unfortunately, The Baylock Residence doesn’t tick either box.
The Baylock Residence is out now on DVD and Digital.
Related Article: ‘The Haunting of Hill House’: 11 Spine-Chilling Moments
[…] Read the review at Horror Geek Life here. […]
What an underwhelming movie. I figured it was going to be a lightweight by its title and it exceeded all expectation by being even more feeble than anticipated. Horror movie, I think not.