Fantastic Fest 2009

"Excellent...A powerful film which firmly establishes Rumley as a talent to watch". -Ainitcoolnews.com

"A visual jab in the eye...a jarring blast of something outstandingly different...A gruelling slice of contemporary cinema." -Sneersnipe.co.uk

"A stylish descent into hell...fans of horror stories and British indies with a dark side will certainly be entertained!" -Europeanfilms.net

"My favorite festival film of this year." -Yves Montmayeur, Arte TV

Aristocratic, impoverished and reclusive, with a truly historical lineage, Lord and Lady Brocklebank (Donald and Nancy) live in the magnificent but decrepit Longleigh House with their mentally challenged son James. Close to bankruptcy, Donald is negotiating to sell the family home when Nancy is taken seriously ill. In order to pay for her operation, Donald has to leave the estate for a few days and so arranges for the family nurse (Nurse Mary) to take control. James however wants to prove to his father that he is a responsible adult and perfectly capable of looking after his mother. As it becomes less and less apparent who is ill and who is not, what is real and what is not, the unimaginable becomes imaginable and the nightmare begins. Simon Rumley provides a mathematically precise sketch of the demise of a family, or the decay of a dynasty. Rumley makes the best possible use of the fantastic acting of the three protagonists and hallucinating camera work to portray the psyche of the pill-popping son. The downward spiral of the story keeps the viewer in an iron grip right up to the bitter end. (EH)