Four years after 'Whistle and I'll Come to You', A Ghost Story for Christmas once more returned to the BBC, for another festive tale to chill the blood in the shape of 'The Tractate Middoth'. Adapted from a short story by M. R. James by Mark Gatiss, who also made his debut as director, the resulting episode is very much in the program's grand tradition, although it isn't quite as scary as it might have been.
'The Tractate Middoth' sees young librarian William Garrett becoming embroiled in the search for the eponymous tome by cousins John Eldred and Mary Simpson, since it contains the last will and testament of evil old reverend Dr. Rant. The trouble is, the book is haunted by the ghost of Dr. Rant, who is as malevolent in death as he was in life. The story is classic James, with dusty Victorian academics and a valuable prize guarded by a monstrous revenant that forces those seeking it to pay a terrible price.
All of the ingredients that make a great Ghost Story for Christmas are thus present and correct in the story, and Gatiss the director provides the rest, with a fine cast that includes several Doctor Who luminaries including Lousie Jameson, Eleanor Bron and Pamela Salem, plus David Ryall who appeared in Gatiss' Big Finish audio Doctor Who story 'Phantasmagoria'. John Castle is convincingly jumpy as the selfish Eldred, whilst Sacha Dhawan exudes bright-eyed enthusiasm as William Garrett, which gives way to haunted nervousness and exhaustion after he encounters the ghost. Gatiss also has a solid grasp of mise-en-scéne; the period setting is well realised, via the costumes, sets and props and in keeping with the past traditions of the program, there's some lovely location filming.
The problem is, 'The Tractate Middoth' is decidedly lacking in chills, a fault of the direction more than the script. Deciding to opt for the sort of showy camera trickery that was unavailable to Lawrence Gordon Clark, he over-eggs the pudding by showing too much, too slowly, so that the first appearance of the ghost isn't scary, nor is Eldred's admittedly stylishly shot death. The scene in which Garrett sees glimpses of the ghost in his dream on the train on the other hand is much creepier, so it's a pity that Gatiss couldn't maintain that level throughout the rest of the story.
It also doesn't help that Gatiss provides some comic relief in the forms of Roy Barraclough's Hodgson and Nicholas Burns' George Earle (Gatiss' own creation, to provide exposition, one assumes), which slightly undermines the story's atmosphere and feels at odds with James' work, as though he can't help poking fun at fusty academics. But in spite of these criticisms, 'The Tractate Middoth' is handsomely made, well acted and hugely entertaining, and that's not a bad result for a first time director by any means.
'The Tractate Middoth' sees young librarian William Garrett becoming embroiled in the search for the eponymous tome by cousins John Eldred and Mary Simpson, since it contains the last will and testament of evil old reverend Dr. Rant. The trouble is, the book is haunted by the ghost of Dr. Rant, who is as malevolent in death as he was in life. The story is classic James, with dusty Victorian academics and a valuable prize guarded by a monstrous revenant that forces those seeking it to pay a terrible price.
All of the ingredients that make a great Ghost Story for Christmas are thus present and correct in the story, and Gatiss the director provides the rest, with a fine cast that includes several Doctor Who luminaries including Lousie Jameson, Eleanor Bron and Pamela Salem, plus David Ryall who appeared in Gatiss' Big Finish audio Doctor Who story 'Phantasmagoria'. John Castle is convincingly jumpy as the selfish Eldred, whilst Sacha Dhawan exudes bright-eyed enthusiasm as William Garrett, which gives way to haunted nervousness and exhaustion after he encounters the ghost. Gatiss also has a solid grasp of mise-en-scéne; the period setting is well realised, via the costumes, sets and props and in keeping with the past traditions of the program, there's some lovely location filming.
The problem is, 'The Tractate Middoth' is decidedly lacking in chills, a fault of the direction more than the script. Deciding to opt for the sort of showy camera trickery that was unavailable to Lawrence Gordon Clark, he over-eggs the pudding by showing too much, too slowly, so that the first appearance of the ghost isn't scary, nor is Eldred's admittedly stylishly shot death. The scene in which Garrett sees glimpses of the ghost in his dream on the train on the other hand is much creepier, so it's a pity that Gatiss couldn't maintain that level throughout the rest of the story.
It also doesn't help that Gatiss provides some comic relief in the forms of Roy Barraclough's Hodgson and Nicholas Burns' George Earle (Gatiss' own creation, to provide exposition, one assumes), which slightly undermines the story's atmosphere and feels at odds with James' work, as though he can't help poking fun at fusty academics. But in spite of these criticisms, 'The Tractate Middoth' is handsomely made, well acted and hugely entertaining, and that's not a bad result for a first time director by any means.