From stalwart Ealing director Basil Deaden comes this enjoyable tale of a group of strangers driven to take shelter at a remote Welsh Inn during a storm. Each has a personal problem to hide, but the group is soon brought together by mysterious events perhaps precipitated by their hosts, the innkeepers.
In a summer of cinema dominated by blockbusters and insane Hollywood budgets, revisiting a film like The Halfway House is a real treat. Inviting, mysterious and even quaint in comparison to the cinema of today; this classic slice of Ealing will quickly pull you in.
An eclectic group of ten strangers arrive at one eerie location, each one with something dark and mysterious in their past they’re desperate to keep from bursting out into public view. Anyone familiar with the world of anthology horror will quickly take to this film, but The Halfway House doesn’t wade these waters as much as dip its toe in them.
Produced at the height of WWII, The Halfway House avoids more horrific avenues, instead relying on mystery and menace throughout. The potentially odd innkeepers help maintain a constance sense of threat, while the gathering of reluctant guests wait out the storm with their personal lives and grim secrets gradually coming into play.
Speaking of the central ensemble; it’s a healthy crop that offers plenty. There’s the grieving French couple who’ve just lot their son to war, another pairing whose marriage teeters on the brink of divorce, an army Captain recently released from prison and a pair of young newly-weds whose honeymoon period is well and truly over.
The Halfway House boasts a simple premise, but it’s in this simplicity where the appeal lies. There’s plenty of unusual notes peppered throughout this ghost story with a twist, but this often cosy tale won’t struggle to charm its audience.
Overall Verdict: Hardly the most ambitious tale, The Halfway House still packs a punch thanks to an unusual twist on the common ghost story. An engaging ensemble and solid performances will invite you in, while a cosy claustrophobia will keep glued there.
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Reviewer: David Steele