Lost Hearts

Another ghoulish Yuletide yarn from the atmospheric pen of the great M. R. James: after a slow start depicting the settling in of a young boy into the mansion of his slightly dotty elderly cousin, the pace picks up considerably towards the midpoint of this 35 minute TV program with the chilling reappearance of the young children (fleetingly seen waving to the boy at the start) who have now morphed into ondulating Nosferatu-like wraiths complete with talons for fingernails! As it turns out, this boy and girl had previously also been guests at the cousin's manor but were sacrificed to the old man's obsessive quest for immortality via his belief that extracting three young hearts of living children will do the trick; needless to say, our young protagonist is the last link in the chain but the greedy old man did not count on the protection/retribution of his previous victims who (understandably off-screen) perform their own live heart removal on him and throw the beating organ into the flaming fireplace!

This stunning horror film by famous short story writer M.R.James is only 40 minutes long but is probably the best horror film I've ever seen. It terrified me as a kid and stood up well when repeated recently, although it came across as a more playful piece this time around. Fast film stock gives a horribly verite atmosphere to the proceedings and nothing can beat the grotesque sight of the kids with long fingernails marching remorselessly towards the camera to the eerie sound of a Hurdy Gurdy. Respect due to a work of genius.

Young Stephen comes out to the countryside to stay with his cousin, the eccentric old Mr Abney. Alone with Abney and his two staff, Stephen hears of the other children who have stayed at this house before him thanks to the kindness of Abney. When he thinks he sees them he responses to their signals for silence by not mentioning it to any of the adults, however when a boy and a girl come for him and night and reveal themselves to have no hearts. However is it just the dream that the adults assure him it all is?

Shown again recently on BBC4 as part of their season of ghost story films leading up to Christmas, this was easily one of the better of them. The foundation of the film is the wonderfully non-threatening Abney, a kindly uncle for the world even if he is a bit eccentric. However, the viewer will keep asking, if he is so cheerful and kind, why is Stephen seeing these two ghostly figures in trees and windows? The questions are what held my attention but the strength of the film is in using them to create an uncertain air that is quite creepy. On top of this are thrown two white faced children who predate Ringu and the like by many decades. They move so effectively and simply that it is just roundly unnerving. Wisely director Clark doesn't shroud these two characters in horror but instead makes them innocent, smiling and cheerful – making them seem all the more creepy.

They are not great child actors but they work this well. Gipps-Kent is a solid lead and avoids being cute or overly confident but the film is dominated by the eccentric wonderfulness of O'Conor as Abney. His turn keeps things quite upbeat and makes the mystery and the ghosts seem just that bit more creepy. Overall then this is a great little ghost story. Modern viewers may feel a little bit like it has done better elsewhere (it has, in recent Japanese horrors) but it is worth remembering that this film came many decades before and is just as creepy now as it must have been then.

I've only recently begun appreciating the works of M.R James and this BBC TV series is an ideal place to begin.

"Lost Hearts" is a gripping story that focuses on the somewhat eccentric and sinister activities of a boys cousin as the former is an orphan who has been sent to live at his cousin's country estate.

I enjoyed this episode all the way through as each scene bears relevance to the plot.

I watched this as a child whilst baby-sitting my younger sister and it scared the living hell out of me. 40 years later I think I would still hesitate to watch it again.

Reading the previous reviews went some way to reliving the horror that I experienced when I saw it and I can concur that the scene where the two children walk up the staircase dragging their long fingernails against the banister has to be one of the most ghastly I can remember. By modern standards its probably rather a tame affair but the combination of horror and the children's lost innocence is what makes it such compelling viewing.