THE MEZZOTINT (2021)

 A GHOST STORY FOR CHRISTMAS. . .OR RATHER HALLOWEEN.

  This was another Mark Gatiss written and directed yuletide terror tale based on the works of M.R. James which he's been doing and it's a pretty good one.  Following THE TRACTATE MIDDOTH, THE DEAD ROOM and MARTIN'S CLOSE -- all of which range from good to very good -- this is a really nice little presentation of the classic ghost story by the master ghost story writer himself.  If you're not familiar with James' short story, THE MEZZOTINT is a type of engraving which depicts the outside of an English country house. 

This engraving or mezzotint comes into the possession of Edward Williams (Rory Kinnear); one of M.R. James' parade of academics who slowly begins to notice that the picture keeps changing.  First a full moon appears where none was before.  Then a figure can just be glimpsed partially obscured behind a foreground object.  Then the eerie figure can be seen crawling across the lawn towards the house and, eventually, the figure is gone but a ground floor window is suddenly seen to be open.  The skeletal 'thing' seems to have entered the house!  The next time we see the picture change, the skeletal figure is seen leaving the house carrying a baby in it's arms.  Williams meets a woman named Mrs. Ambrigail (the wonderful Frances Barber)

during his research and he tells her that his grandpappy was illegitimate; his birth certificate had 2 last names on it -- Williams and Francis.  Later on, Mrs. Ambrigail turns up some facts about a country toff named Arthur Francis who had a poacher named Gawdy executed for trespassing.  Later on, Francis' only heir -- a little baby -- was carried off in the night by a friend of Gawdy's as an act of revenge.  I mean, it MUST have been a FRIEND of Gawdy's. . . . since Gawdy was dead, right???  Of course, we've all filled in the gaps here, haven't we?  That Edward Williams is actually the last living descendant of  Mr. Arthur Francis.  Uh oh!  I don't think this will end well.  Mark Gatiss' adaptation of the classic ghost story is, I think, one of the most effective of the 4 I've seen; equal to the terrific TRACTATE MIDDOTH and better than the other two.  The creepy feeling of dread is well conveyed by Gatiss' direction and the performance of Rory Kinnear who is slowly shaken by the encroaching supernatural doings.  Frances Barber only has two scenes as Mrs. Ambrigail but she shines in both of them and you can't take your eyes off her!  The final scary payoff is quite effective as well.  All these "GHOST STORIES FOR CHRISTMAS" have actually nothing to do with the holiday season and are perfect for Halloween viewing.