[Demoncrat]

Originally Posted by J Harker

Dead of Night, The Exorcism.
I watched this on the weekend. Actually the first episode on BFI's dvd but the second I've watched. I started with the rather more interesting A Woman Sobbing.
Have to say while i enjoyed A Woman Sobbing, The Exorcism is where it's at for this series.
I've still to watch the middle episode about an airline pilot, I'll get there but it doesn't sound particularly intriguing.
So back to The Exorcism, a snobbish upper class couple invite friends to enjoy Xmas with them at their newly refurbished country retreat.
An old cottage restored and updated to include 'all mod cons' as the characters keep emphasising.
The episode starts with the borish though not completely dislikeable husbands discussing the cottage and the renovation work. Nothing else is really suggested yet though a few choice remarks about politics and essentially the working class are mentioned.
As the couples settle down to dinner odd things begin happening initially ambiguous such as a power cut but gradually becoming more...unusual.
I'll say no more but the dvd is more than worth the £7 i paid for this episode alone. Unlike A Woman Sobbing which looked incredibly cheap, the cottage setting in this one imbues a nice tangible atmosphere that AWS sorely lacked.
Nice to see Clive Swift in something too, I've only ever known him as the long suffering husband to that despicable cow Mrs Bucket in Keeping Up Appearances.

Great wee turn from Swift in Hitchcock's Frenzy btw