The Enfield Haunting (2015)

THE ENFIELD HAUNTING is a three-part miniseries dramatisation of the famous real-life poltergeist case from 1977, in which psychic investigators Maurice Grosse and Guy Lyon Playfair researched the plight of two sisters who were being haunted by a ghost in their own bedroom.It was a hugely influential storyline and one which still sends shivers up my spine; to date, the BBC mockumentary GHOSTWATCH has been the best adaptation of the material despite making up its own storyline. Sadly, this version of events is heavily fictionalised, and too obsessed with having the main characters emotionally involved with the storyline.It seems you can't just have characters investigating a ghost anymore. There have to be back stories, emotionally wrought moments, and family scenes for the investigators (Juliet Stevenson is a good actress but her character is entirely redundant here). I don't think any of it actually happened in the real case, but if that's what viewers want, right? Well, not this one. Although Playfair himself was involved in the script, I blame Joshua St. Johnston, whose track record is hardly appropriate for horror-themed fare.Although the 1970s setting is an effective one, too much of this show feels like an EXORCIST clone at times. The possession scenes are often repetitive, and the visions of the old man are cheesy rather than scary. Sadly the filmmakers today feel that more is better when it comes to ghost stuff, so you get ridiculous films like INSIDIOUS filling cinemas and inspiring others to approach material in the same way. A subtle approach instead would have worked wonders. What you're left with is a pair of excellent performances from the completely reliable Timothy Spall and Matthew Macfadyen, and not a whole lot else.

Hearing about the up coming movie The Conjuring 2, I was interested in learning about The Enfield Haunting. I am highly interested in learning about paranormal stories, watching movies and shows about it.This show was truly disappointing.I read up on the real story before watching the T.V series which only consisted of 3 episodes. The acting, the dialogue and the story was all rubbish. Understanding the plot and what was going on between the characters was nearly impossible. It was extremely sloppy and unorganized.I can withstand watching a lot of things, but this was unbearable. Don't waste your time watch 3, 45 minute episodes of this garbage.

Between 1977 and 1979, a council house in Enfield, England, was supposedly the home to a poltergeist, a ghost that can move objects, and even cause bodily harm to the living. The focus of the activity was towards Janet Hodgson, giving some credit to the belief that poltergeists hone in on pre-pubescent teenagers......Based on the book 'This House Is Haunted', The Enfield Haunting is a TV miniseries that first aired on Sky Living back in May 2015. And obviously because it's a Sky production, like Jurassic Park, they have spared no expense on the production values and garnered a wonderfully impressive cast with Spall, Stevenson, and Macfayden.With mini series, they follow the same pattern with narrative, and here there is no change. The first episode focuses on character build up and leaving you with an immense cliffhanger, so you have to go back for more.The second gets right into the 'action' as we learn more about the history of the story, and we find out others problems who are not directly involved with the protagonist, who in this case is young Janet, even though the majority of the narrative is focused on Spall and his characters loss.The third episode usually tries to wrap everything up, but not before throwing in a swing all for good measure, and this is the problem with the third episode, at the beginning, she is supposedly exorcised, but things just become so absurd with character revelations, you can't help but balk at the episodes progression of the adaptation, and then you begin to realise that Spalls lost puppy look that hasn't changed throughout the whole series, is really starting to grate.But the attention to detail is wonderful, from posters on the wall, to simple decor like coffee cups, this has a typical late seventies household down to a tee.Up to a certain point, the programme is spooky, very sinister, and characters visions are very visceral and leftfield, and then we hear the poltergeist speak, and it's unintentionally hilarious to hear a ghost moan about losing ten pound on a football match.But the cast are great, and despite the final episodes shortcomings, it's quite the gripping watch.

The Enfield Poltergeist was, to many of us growing up in 1970s Britain, a terrifying story. Between 1977 and 1979, a council house in Enfield, England, was supposedly the home to a poltergeist, the definition of which is noisy ghost. The main focus of the poltergeist activity was towards young Janet Hodgson, giving some credence to the experts belief that poltergeists hone in on pre-pubescent teenagers. The events at the house caused a media storm, enticing specialists, believers and sceptics to visit and fuel a fire that still simmers away today.Interestingly the title of this British production has it right, in that calling it a haunting at least doesn't lie to the viewers. As with Tobe Hooper's 1982 film, Poltergeist, the presence of a poltergeist spirit is pretty much a side-bar to another story, where Hooper's film went off to another dimension, Kristoffer Nyholm & Joshua St Johnston's film here dials into grief and absent parents, then choosing to grab demonic possession and mediums for its big shocks.Many liberties have been taken with the facts, with added outside interests brought in to flesh a story out. Though the core essence of the story, the suspicions of truth etc, remain. The Enfield Haunting is a grand and unsettling production, undeniably scary for those that buy into the possibility of a haunting of this type being real. The performances are led by quality thespians, Timothy Spall and Juliet Stevenson, both of whom play grief and distress with a shattering conviction, and young Eleanor Worthington Cox as Janet is a bundle of exciting promise. Period detail is first class, though the house used here is some way away from the actual house of the events, while the opening credits are superb, even if they only tantalise as regards the alleged events in the girls' bedroom and disappointingly don't form part of this story.If this pic has longevity of interest in its own land, or even being capable of garnering interest away from the shores of the UK? Is tricky to say at this point. Because ultimately it plays out with familiar horror conventions, like it's cashing in on the recent cravings for Conjuring and Insidious kinks. Ironically, the team behind The Conjuring have reconvened to make a sequel - about The Enfield Poltergeist. Now I wonder if that one will actually be about a poltergeist... 8/10