By Will Barber Taylor

An 18th century cleric has his faith tested when he threatens to unearth an ancient evil within his newly appointed parish in North Yorkshire.

M R James is considered by many to be the king of the ghost story. Jamesian is an approving adjective given to works which manage to project the nuanced balance of indistinct terror and a very specific atmosphere and rhythm. Whilst Jamesian works usually have a very identifiable sense of place (somewhere usually close to the edge of society, a remote monastery, an isolated country house) and similar protagonists (academics of one kind or another who let their curiosity get the better of them) the threat that is posed is always somewhat ambiguous. For James, horror lay as much in the uncertainty of a terrible situation as it did in being explicit as to what was causing the hauntings facing his heroes. Unlike the obsession with more modern film makers, particularly in regard to big screen horror, James liked to play upon the unknown and the uncertain. This has given his work an enduring quality and one which has ensured that his work and those that attempt to emulate it will always find an audience.

These remarkable qualities are all present in Gaius Brown’s excellent A Caution For The Wise, adapted from Skendleby by Nick Brown. Like James, Brown places a learned man Heatly Smythe (in this case a newly appointed cleric) in a remote part of North Yorkshire where he is assailed by visions of watching men and strange women and told by the local inhabitants not to venture near Devil’s Mound, a strong hillock in words deserted of all other inhabitants.

In this dark and forbidding environment, Smythe finds himself tested to beyond the point of reason and attempts to master his surroundings. In true Jamesian fashion he soon discovers that there are some things that should not be meddled with…

Gaius Brown’s direction of this stirring and suitably festive feeling (the dark, wintery setting would make it a perfect addition to that wonderful strand of ghostly short stories known as A Ghost Story For Christmas) short film lends itself to the creeping shadows that surround Smythe. The use of lighting is particularly effective; in an age in which it is easy to be used to how bright things can be the lack of light and accurate rendering of the darkness that would have been present in most buildings in the 18th century is important to not only keep the viewers immersed in the world and believe they are experiencing it but also to lend to the threatening atmosphere needed for a good ghost story. The lingering uncertainty is key to any good tale of the undead or otherworldy and the flickering lighting, both in the exterior and interior shots Brown brings to his direction ensures that you are left on your seat throughout the viewing experience.

The acting is also excellently executed from the whole company, in particular the central performance of Patrick O’Donnell as Heatly Smythe. To be a true Jamesian protagonist, one has to have a very particular mixture of attributes – to be unwavering in their belief that the supernatural elements around them are not to be believed, at least initially; to be curious and academic in leaning and finally to not be so obstinate that they don’t believe the evidence of their own eyes. Smythe represents all these different characteristics and O’Donnell beautifully portrays them in the film.  His derision of the fear of his parishioners and his evident madness at being unable to convince them to help him excavating the Devil’s Mound is wonderfully realized by O’Donnell; the determination of Smythe to get to the bottom of the strangers he keeps seeing and the seemingly uncalled for fear of his flock is totally believable and O’Donnell ensures that we never once either doubt his performance or the situation he finds himself in. His excellent performance is the lynch pin that ensures that this film is an enjoyable spooky experience.

A Caution For The Wise is a brilliant short film and well worth watching if you get a chance to. It is an innovative film and one of the most exceptionally perfect encapsulations of what it means to experience a Jamesian ghost story outside of James’ own canon. It will remain at the back of your mind of many years to come, particularly when you venture into a deserted clearing that has no one near it apart from a strange figure in the distance, who appears to be watching you…