Previously adapted for television in
1968, renowned author M.R James's classic ghost story "Oh, Whistle & I'll Come To You, My Lad" is updated for modern audiences by writer Neil Cross (Spooks, Luther) and director Andy de Emmony (Cutting It, Canterbury Tales), with the estimable
John Hurt as this version's victim of a restless coastal spirit... Retired astronomer James Parkin (Hurt) is forced to relinquish his catatonic wife Alice (
Gemma Jones) to a care home, while he goes on a respite holiday to an idyllic seaside town they used to visit in their youth. Parkin arrives at a quiet hotel and settles down for a few day's rest in his portentous double room, before discovering a ring buried on a beach inscribed "Who Is This, Who Is Coming?" Taking the ring back to his room as found treasure, this "theft" seems to attract the attention of a shrouded apparition, which Parkin first notices following him on an empty beach, before being subjected to sleepless nights thanks to curious scratching and a shadowy figure banging on his door. Has the spectral owner of the ring followed Parkin back to his hotel? Or are these supernatural scares a symptom of Parkin's guilt over leaving his sick wife in someone else's care?
Whistle & I'll Come To You makes some changes to the source material (the Robert Burns poem which inspired James's story), but the alterations were perfectly reasonable and helped give the story its own sense of identity and purpose. There's ultimately nothing here that's pushing boundaries of the genre, as half the fun is simply relishing the tense atmosphere that grips the screen from the opening seconds. It's an old-fashioned spooky tale, told with clarity and restraint, held together by Hurt's natural charisma. A world away from the effects-fuelled hauntings that clutter cinemas, Whistle & I'll Come To You holds your mind in its icy grip with uncomplicated ease: a deserted overcast beach, a porcelain sculpture of a cherubic boy's head with a clenched smile, nocturnal scratching under a bed, a lamp that turns itself off while you sleep, wind breathing against the gaps of a window frame... It's possible to be cynical about the old-fashioned nature of this drama and it's feasible many will guess the twist, but Whistle & I'll Come To You is about staying in the moment and savoring the ambience. It's about watching every contour of John Hurt's leathery face, scanning the background for lurking spooks, and keeping your ears pinned back for scuttling movements off-camera. The writing and direction to an admirable job of keeping you engaged with the story, particularly with the unsettling subplot of Parkin's poor wife being left alone in the nursing home. To paraphrase Parkin himself, what's scarier: the continuation of the human personality after bodily death (ghosts), or the death of the human personality while the body survives (his wife's plight)?
Overall, Whistle & I'll Come To You is all about your approach to the material. If you're a restless soul who prefers their horror to be more extroverted in execution, you'll very likely be quickly bored and maybe underwhelmed by the distressing reveal. But if you savor a sense of creeping dread, and appreciate ghost stories that you can place yourself in the context of, this is a fine example of the art form. The final night's haunting, building to a wonderfully edited shock moment on a bed, was a satisfying climax to a beautifully sustained hour of eeriness. The denouement leaves you with lingering questions, and should send you to bed with some spine-chilling images lodged in your memory -- like waggling fingers under a door frame...
WRITER: Neil Cross (based on the story by M.R James) DIRECTOR: Andy de Emmony CAST: John Hurt, Gemma Jones, Lesley Sharp & Sophie Thompson TRANSMISSION: 24 December 2010, BBC2/HD, 9PM