Black Narcissus Review: 3 Ups And 5 Downs Review

Black Narcissus at its core is a ghost story - kind of. The central question is raised early on episode one; why did the monks flee Mopu after only five months? This in turn leads to the second question; how will Sister Clodagh succeed in the face of such adversity? The opening sequence sets this up nicely as we see the Princess Srimati throw herself from the ludicrously high bell tower (it's a health and safety nightmare at Mopu).

As the nuns populate the palace, Sister Ruth begins to lose it a bit, clearly under the influence of a supernatural presence yet the representation of this is irritatingly disjointed. When we do see the odd glimpse of the Princess or previous concubines, the shots look and feel like pick-ups. The haunted never seem to share the frame with the haunters and while perhaps the intention was to present these as scenes from Ruth's imagination, this is never made clear enough. Ruth never seems to react to these visions, imagined or otherwise.

There are other threats here (the creepy young Prince, the extreme climate) yet these are never presented/shown as being terribly problematic as there seems to be a never ending train of supplies from the nearby village, literally down the road. Mr. Dean even readies his army issue revolver as the locals may attack but again, this threat is just ignored by the script that introduced it in the first place.

Warnings without consequence, ghosts that do nothing but giggle through sheets and mirrors; it's disappointing given the initial tone and reputation of the story.