The Manor Movie Review

Streaming on Amazon Prime starting October 8, 2021

“The Manor” is a Blumhouse Television production that mixes a story of an old-folks home with the supernatural spookiness of “The Wicker Man”, but without the bees.  When an elderly lady suffers a stroke, she finds a place of rest and peace living at the Golden Sun Manor. But then she uncovers a world enveloped in ancient rituals that threaten her very existence. She might not be able to tell reality from her own vivid dreams, and those dreams turn into nightmares.

Judith Albright (played by Barbara Hershey) is a spry 70-year-old who lives with her daughter Barbara (played by Katie Keane) and her grandson Josh (played by Nicholas Alexander). She is a former ballet dancer and instructor. Her husband passed away many years ago. She suffers a stroke and she and Barbara decide that Judith would be best served in a nursing/retirement home in the rural countryside. Judith checks into Golden Sun Manor to live there.

Ms. Bensen (played by Stacey Travis) is the director of the Golden Sun Manor, and she takes in Judith. Judith is surprised that she will not be able to keep her cell phone. She will be cut off from her beloved grandson Josh. But both Judith and Barbara know that this will be the best place for here. Judith meets a nice nurse named Liesel (played by Ciera Payton). She is roomed with another older lady, but her roommate is paranoid and on the edge. But odd things start to happen. Such as Judith sees that her hairbrush goes missing, and then she sees and hears strange things at night.

Judith gets a chance to meet some other residents.  Roland (played by Bruce Davison) is a man who has lost his wife many years ago. He impresses Judith as a charismatic leader. His other friends also welcome Judith in for meals and to play bridge. Trish (played by Jill Larson) and Ruth (played by Fran Bennet) are the other free-spirit types who are friends with Roland. Judith and Nurse Liese go for a walk in the woods. There is a gnarled old tree with a bunch of burned out candles nearby. Liese says it is just the local teenagers who cut through the fence and party there at night.

Judith gets some mixed signals from Roland, who is a bit of a ladies man. She notices an odd tattoo that he has. She continues to see and hear weird and unexplained things. When she tells the staff, they say she imagined it all. Ms. Bensen tells Barbara that her mother is getting dementia. Judith tells her strange stories of shadows in the night and creaking doors. Josh is upset that his grandmother is being considered for a higher level of isolation. But then, Judith’s roommate dies suddenly. But she first tells Judith that she is ‘marked’ and she will be next in line.

Josh and Judith find some evidence that everything is not right at Golden Sun Manor. They are able to determine that Roland, Trish and Ruth have been there for many years — but they have never aged or gotten ill. There is some type of supernatural bond that they have with the surrounding woods. Especially that gnarled old tree in the forest. Judith and Josh begin to fight back against a potential magical spell that exists in the forest, and has been fed by Roland and his friends. Over the years, there have been many residents who have died at The Manor. And every one of them had been ‘marked’ in some way.

Judith teams up with Josh to fight back. But will there be any way to overcome some ancient forest magic? Will Roland work with Trish and Ruth to get the upper hand over Judith? But is there really a problem with Judith and how she sees the world? Is this all just an elaborate fantasy in her head? Or is something more sinister at hand?

“The Manor” is tale of gothic terror, played out a sunny retirement home with a lot of friendly faces. It mixes the troubling idea of somebody losing a grasp on reality, even as that reality is tilting into a horrible situation. Barbara Hershey does a very good job as the lady in distress as the spookiness slowly builds up around her. Axelle Carolyn has written and directed a nice little scary story that has a twist (and sort of twisted) ending.

“The Manor” is a place to which you might want to retire, and a place where you might feel secure. That is, until you find people are dying to get out.

Streaming on Amazon Prime starting October 8, 2021