Whistle and I'll Come to You (2010)

There haven't been many feature films recently that spooked me as much as this adaptation let alone a short film (in fact the length may have contributed to it's effectiveness). Contrary to many reviews already posted I have no knowledge of the source material or original TV version that came before so I approached this version with a virgin mind to the story and it chilled me to the core. The two stand out aspects were the photography which was magnificent in widescreen with slow lingering pans, pulled focus and open sections of the frame that tantalisingly invited 'things' to occupy them in addition to a stellar central performance from John Hurt. As the central (and one of only four) characters featured, he inhabited characteristics that heightened the slow building tensions that crept up throughout. The relationship with his wife added a tender sheen to proceedings amongst the dread. There were a number of tiny details that were used to great effect including human facial images hidden away in mundane objects such as rocks and clouds that are difficult to miss but all add to an implication of the supernatural on a sub-conscious level. The methods used in the piece reminded me of Robert Wise's classic, 'The Haunting' and I couldn't take my eyes from the screen. the climax knocked me off my chair in a similar fashion to 'Ringu' the J Horror Classic. The production is a triumph.

This is a modern version of the classic MR James ghost story 'Whistle and I'll Come To You'. To his credit Neil Cross has tried to find a modern way into the story and has turned it into a tale about a man whose wife is lost to Alzheimer's. Unfortunately what emerges has little resonance (the Alzheimer's stuff is patently phony--sorry Neil all sufferers from the illness do not act like corpses)and also zero connection to the original. All that survives is a lonely hotel by the seaside, a lonely man and...well not much else. Not even the whistle remains. The writer might just as well have stopped trading on the classic name and author and done an original story . Except of course if he had it would never have been made. Nobody is saying we need a slavish copy. Jonathan Miller's earlier classic version was recognisably the same story but it was still changed to brilliant effect. Cross just grafts a mediocre ending on and leaves it at that. The result is quite atmospherically directed but all else goes for nothing. What exactly was the point?

The BBC had a tradition of making some exceptionally spooky TV movie ghost stories based on the writings of M. R. James back in the 1970s – and WHISTLE AND I'LL COME TO YOU is their latest attempt to recall those much-loved classics. Unfortunately, while this 55 minute production is beautifully shot and full of a sense of gradually creeping menace, the whole thing is ruined by a needless updating of the storyline so that it becomes almost unrecognisable. Gone is the old whistle of the story, replaced by an old ring, and gone is the nameless horror lurking in the protagonist's bed sheets in favour of a more "updated" psychological torment. Therefore the title is now redundant and the story bears little resemblance to James's original.John Hurt is fine in the leading role, playing a refreshingly ordinary man for a change, and Sophie Thompson is also good value as the hotel receptionist. The winner, though, is director Andy De Emmony, who creates a supremely atmospheric look and feel to the production, with good old fashion scares straight out of THE HAUNTING, a suitably bleak backdrop and a wonderfully spine-tingling climax – fingers under the door – before THAT silly twist. Sadly, Neil Cross's look-at-me-I'm-better-than-James screenplay is a real letdown; if only they'd let somebody with a genuine affection for the genre, like Mark Gatiss, have a stab at it instead!

'Whistle And I'll Come To You'; except that there's no whistle. When a drama is so constructed as to render its own title obsolete, questions should have been asked somewhere...This spooky short story was brought to the screen many years ago, starring excellent Michael Hordern (here we have John Hurt). I remember seeing it and finding it quite a little chiller. Basically; an academic taking a late-season holiday by the sea, discovers an ancient wind-instrument washed out of the cliffs. He blows a few notes and sure enough; something comes. The DVD is available at Amazon, but the price is a discouraging £50+ ; so I was looking forward to its update, especially as some of the more recent techniques in special-effects might be employed - dare I suggest a little CGI?Yes, well; of course, I can suggest it. What I got was the most dismal, unimaginative and boring piece of drama I can recollect ever seeing. Instead he finds a finger-ring amongst the dunes and takes it back to his guesthouse room. It contains a Latin inscription which translates roughly into 'who is this that is coming'. To which the reply is: 'The bloke with John Hurt's easiest paycheque'.He begins to see a white-clad figure on the beach and runs away. Why? It's about as scary as a seagull. He hears a scratching sound at night and complains to the staff that the place has rats. Though he has absolutely no proof. Apart from being slanderous it's surely the quickest and most certain way of getting you meals served with an extra garnish. Then his bedside light doesn't work properly and he moans about that as well. He should try his luck at Fawlty Towers. Finally someone starts banging on his door. So perishin' what?The drama is packed-out to bursting with all of those time-worn and trite little 'incidental' takes: Dipping his chip in the ketchup; the maid changing the sheets; momentary close-ups of incidental objects as if they have some significance, when they haven't. And all the time Hurt just stares about with an expression of blank and uncomprehending senility. In an attempt to create 'atmosphere' the whole indoor production is shot in such unremitting gloom that there were times when I couldn't actually discern what was going on. That wasn't scary; it was irritating.I had to force myself to see this twaddle through. After having re-watched the stupendous 'Indian Hill Railway' series, I am left with a conclusion that the BBC have completely lost the plot as regards popular drama, though they continue to excel at documentaries.The makers of this had obviously not read the original James story, and had assumed is was like Tolkien's 'Lord Of The Rings', with a bit of the recently re-published 'Hark The Herald' by Magnus Mills. I do not give one star very often, but have no hesitation here.PS: if you want to see a door being banged-on by a phantom, watch the in-every-way-superior 'Haunting' from 1963. Now THAT is phantom door-banging!