The House Across the Street

Who doesn't like a nosy neighbour tale, they've been a mainstay of film and TV for a century. This new one from C5 won't disappoint fans of the genre who don't mind a bit of Harlan Coben on a winter's evening - its got more twists and turns than an alpine walking trail.

I liked it, it was well made and constructed, atmospheric, sometimes creepy and kept me guessing all the way. Shirley Henderson as protagonist Claudia has made a career playing fragile and ambiguous characters and was perfectly cast here.

Better than most C5 dramas. Minor quibbles, the score was a bit paint by numbers and some of the dialogue a bit expositional. But overall it's a sliced white loaf of melodrama with no pretensions of being an artisan rye, it does what it says on the tin. If that's what you're after sit back and enjoy the ride.

I watched this series hoping it would be great and was very disappointed as I felt really uncomfortable watching the lead actor in her role. Most of the time Shirley Henderson was in my view, just a weird and really creepy unbelievable character with her bizarre mannerisms and behaviour. The series was all too much for me and deeply disturbing. It also pained me to listen to her child like voice and watch her do random things like stroke a piece of victims hair over her face and smell her own clothes because of someone she sat next to...huh? Why? Nothing was explained as to why she did this? Really odd.... She was a school nurse and even that didn't make sense as she just seemed disoriented all the time.

The actor portrays a fragile, meek person who sets out to solve a child murder. Fundamentally there was an error in this as she asks questions you wouldn't in normal life get answers to unless you were an official like the Police e.g. Going to a school and asking sensitive and personal questions about a former teacher, when anyone knows data protection would restrict this.... Doh!

This series could have been so much better - it was just uneasy and unenjoyable watching for me....4 hours of my life I won't get back.... I would not recommend this series to anyone.

I think I have watched a different mini-series to the rest of these reviewers. This was great and my wife and I couldn't stop watching until the very end. Ok the main protagonist was creepy and just a little bit weird, but she made for a very entertaining piece of drama. Also, if you have a brain all will become clear in watching, and I urge you to give it a go and you will be rewarded. Really good performances throughout we highly recommend this series. Just one more thing, is that, when people suggest in movies or TV that certain events couldn't or wouldn't happen, then most of what we watch would be over in half an hour, and what would be the good in that especially in fiction. Go on take a chance you won't be disappointed.

I agree as others here regarding the main actress Shirley Henderson's whispering low pitch voice. It's too much to endure for an entire episode and spoilt the series for me. She's OK in small doses, for instance she was good in Happy Valley series 2 as a supporting actor, but I don't think she's strong enough as an actress (as well as that annoying whispering voice) to carry a series as the main character. I didn't understand her motives in this and in particular the scene at the travel agency when she said something so intensely cruel to the grieving mother...why??....was she being deliberately malicious or just incredibly stupid? Her character was unlikeable, creepy, weird and bordered on psychotic - she would have made a good villain. As for her obsession with the the dad - rescuing him from ditch and then slugging a drink from his bottle - did she have a crush on him or what? She had issues with personal space, shoving her face in others and pawing over them, I cheered when her son remarked on her bad breath. I think this could have been a good series with a different, stronger and less annoying lead...such a waste, I love British series. I quite liked the music but all in all wasted on a limp lead. Bad casting.

This show's biggest flaw was being on my5. Which is why it's got barely any reviews. Great performances. Shirley Henderson's performance was creepy as HELL and I could barely watch at times, but this is a testament to her performance and not a criticism. I didn't find it particularly slow. It's a bloody 4 episode miniseries, it barely has time to be slow. A solid thriller let down by being released on a small platform. This would have been smashed on netflix. It's not outstanding but it was thoroughly entertaining, and there was never a point I thought ill of anyone's acting, even the kids. Give it a watch and make up your own mind.