The Manor

... Feeble, Unoriginal, Night-scares! An ageing dancer unintentionally entombs herself in a home for the elderly only to discover some residents are not what they present. Everything you've seen before although the performances are notable and the special effects far from wooden.

Blumhouse presents a TV movie that is better than most. There were even a deft scare or two. A 70 year-old dementia patient doesn't like her new digs at the nursing home. There's something bumping in the night and the cat knows who's next to die. The whole place is appropriately gloomy and the story is delightfully doomy.

I cannot get over the ridiculous fact that a perfectly healthy, vibrant woman, only 70 years old, WANTS to go into a nursing home. That is absurd. Those are horrible places where people go to lose their freedom and die. Who would WANT to do that? It does not fit her character. That alone pissed me off enough to lower my rating.

I wasn't sure what I was in for here, as I sat down to watch the 2021 Amazon Original horror movie "The Manor", but it being a horror movie that I hadn't already seen was actually sufficient enough to make me sit down and watch it. And I have to admit that the movie's cover/poster was definitely helping to convince me to watch it as well.

And as it turned out then writer and director Axelle Carolyn actually managed to churn out a pretty wholesome story here with "The Manor". The writing is pretty good and the pacing of the movie was equally good. I enjoyed the slow build-up of suspense and not really knowing what was going on until well into the movie. So thumbs up to Axelle Carolyn for that.

Visually then "The Manor" is pretty good. This is not a horror movie that relies heavily on special effects or ghoulish creatures, but there is a great atmosphere permeating the movie. And the environment of the house is really spot on, which adds a level of believability to the movie.

Aside from an interesting storyline, then "The Manor" does have some great acting performances, and especially Barbara Hershey (playing Judith) carried the movie phenomenally well with her performance. And the movie also have the likes of Bruce Davidson on the cast list.

If you enjoy a good old fashioned horror movie, then give "The Manor" a chance. I did, and I was genuinely entertained by what the movie delivered.

My rating of "The Manor" lands on a six out of ten stars.

Mystery / metaphysical horror movie. A fairly modern but aged woman, due to some health issues decides to separate from her daughter and grandson and stay in a nursing home. Still, strange things happen there, and among other things she loses all the freedom of her life, and while she still seems to have a clear mind, they try to convince her that she is crazy, that she has dementia, like the other ones. On the one hand she sees strange shadows at night, on the other hand she sees that gradually people in there to be dying one after another. As much as she wants to return home, her family is convinced that she is really suffering from hallucinations and she has dementia and that it is better to stay there. But what is really happening? Has she really started to lose her mind or is there something really dark in the nursing home? A question that she must answer trying to find evidence against time since soon it will be her turn too. Influenced by other films, but interesting and well-rounded, with experienced actors and very good direction, with suspense and mystery throughout and with a dark element in various timepoints. Also, its short duration does not leave room for boredom, while the ending will surprise many people. On the downside, despite the ongoing mystery, it could have been much more intense and may have been extended to have a little more action in the end. It is still worth a watch for fans of the genre.