Suranne Jones in The Secret of Crickley Hall. Picture from the B.B.C.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Cast: Suranne Jones, Tom Ellis, Douglas Henshall, David Warner, Sarah Smart, Iain DeCaestecker, Olivia Cooke, Maise Williams, Bill Milner, Kian Parsiani, Pixie Davies, Donald Sumpter.

The final part of James Herbert’s acclaimed supernatural thriller, The Secret Of Crickley Hall, contained one of the most shocking scenes in recent memory on television and even though the scene was short, the chilling sight of children on the floor would have struck a nerve with anyone who has read anything of the disposal of human bodies during World War Two. Unnerving and it stuck in the craw but it proved to be an incredible piece of story-telling adapted for television by Joe Ahearne and for that the B.B.C. and the cast of the three part series deserve high credit for their acting.

Viewers have followed the story avidly and the secret once told, will be hard to contain. Morally disturbing, a throwback to an era when punishment beatings went unchecked after the war in certain corners but also a fascinating insight into the mind of a cold hearted and sadistic man who is losing his mind bit by bit and sees justice only being delivered by the rule of cruelty and the swift action of the cane.

If Suranne Jones has been the lynch pin of the three part series for her portrayal of the mother who has lost her only son then the final part’s top billing deservedly should go to Douglas Henshall. Playing against type and in a role he must have felt incredibly uncomfortable with, Mr. Henshall sowed a cast iron fear as his icy and damning stare all but chilled the bones. The scene where he placed the children in the cellar to meet their fate was devastating but handled well by this excellent actor.

Much praise must go to Sarah Smart as well, there is also something of the macabre about her performance, the steely façade that gives way in the end when she witness the final scene that is just as brutal and just as calmly delivered without siding desperately close to melodrama.

There now has to be case for the B.B.C. to look beyond the usual fare that it serves in way of drama; much of it superbly done, however with many writers from these shores and the abundance of novels and short stories they have created still virtually untapped and ripe for adaptation, the B.B.C. could do a lot worse than open up the purse strings and give the quality drama it has come to respected for showing, a further push and away from the dispensable fallow feast they offer in its stead.

Ian D. Hall