The Room in the Tower

 "I've given you the room in the tower..."

It's that time of year, and so we have the latest of the BBC's Ghost Stories for Christmas helmed, as ever, by Mark Gatiss and on iPlayer right now along with all of its modern predecessors. It's really rather good, an adaptation of a short story by E.F. Benson. I'm in two minds, though- it's good to see adaptations of other writers, but I sort of pine for that M.R. James feel.

This is typical Gatiss Christmas fare, I suppose, which is no bad thing. Despite the ending, which is thoroughly earned, it's a slow, atmospheric tale in which the feeling of dread is slowly and masterfully managed by both script and visuals. The pacing is slow and old-fashioned, which some will not like. I very much do; the slow pace is precisely the point with a ghost story like this, all about mood.

Tobias Menzies does a good job as the protagonist, but it's incredible how subtly terrifying Joanna Lumley manages to be with what really isn't very much screen time. She really steals the show. The framing device with the air raid works well, too, and helps the ending to hit hard. This is, I think, one of the better Ghost Stories of recent years.