'The Manor' is a horror film that follows Judith, a woman who suffers a stroke and moves into a historic nursing home. Soon after relocating, she suspects something is amiss and that a supernatural presence is preying on the nursing home inhabitants. In order to escape, Judith will have to find evidence and prove that something sinister is going on at the manor.
The film sets off as Judith celebrates her 70th birthday, surrounded by friends, family and her young dancer students. During the festivities she suffers a stroke, and as a result, some time later moves into a nursing home. During the first few days there, Judith finds it difficult to adjust as her room-mate is distant and she is still finding her footing. She befriends a young nurse, Liesel and the two of them tour the manor surroundings. Afterwards the pair come across Roland, Trish and Ruth, a trio of friends who invite Judith to join their regular bridge game. As the days pass, Judith feels more at home as she spends her time playing cards with the trio and her grandson Josh visits with her.
Ominous things start to happen at night, and Judith sees what she believes to be a man standing over her room-mate at night. She suspects one of the manor employees to be the perpetrator, but as the nights go on, she starts to suspect a more sinister plot at play. She reports what she has seen to the nurses who take little notice to what Judith says. As an act of desperation, Judith breaks out one night and is picked up by her daughter and Josh to following morning. In speaking with Josh, Judith tries to convince him that there is something wrong at the nursing home and that she needs to get out. Judith is then taken back to the manor, and this in turn leads to her being examined by the resident physician. Judith is diagnosed with dementia and her daughter heeds the doctors advice in that her mother shouldn't be removed from the manor. Believing it to be a conspiracy, Judith gathers evidence by way of perusing the nursing home director's office and uncovers that Roland, Trish and Ruth are all related to members of the staff. She is convinced that there is a conspiracy covering up the resident's deaths and leaves a voicemail for Josh telling him to help her escape. Hearing the voicemail, Josh realises that his grandmother is right, as he examines a photo of Roland, Trish and Ruth that Judith had pointed out to him earlier, showing that the trio haven't aged over the past four decades.
In trying to reach Judith, Josh arrives just in time to prevent his grandmother from giving up and committing suicide by overdosing on medication. The pair then go to Roland's room to gather evidence. There Judith finds a lock of her hair stowed away in the man's cupboard and she replaces it with his own hair. Later they witness Roland scaling the manor wall and they follow him to an old oak tree at which Roland, Trish and Ruth perform a ritual to summon a being that sucks the life force from its victims to, in turn, provide the pagan trio with a youthful appearance during the witching hours. As Roland summons the being, he forces Judith to the ground, but as the being approaches, it proceeds to consume Roland's life force and retreats to the oak tree. In the aftermath, Judith threatens Trish and Ruth with burning down the oak tree, but Trish and Ruth try to convince Judith of joining their ritual. They also try to convince Josh of the fact that he'll never have to lose his grandmother and eventually persuade the two to join them. The feature concludes on Judith celebrating her 70th birthday again, surrounded by her nursing home compatriots, her daughter and Josh, who is due to start working for the manor in due course, solidifying the two as now firmly part of the conspiracy.
'The Manor' is a horror film that puts its main character in a peculiar and dangerous situation, namely that of an elderly person being put in a nursing home that puts her at the centre of supernatural misdoings. Judith is shown to be a capable individual, exhibiting a spark for life. Even though she is aware of the limitations imposed on her by the ravages of age, she is still cheerful and energetic in her approach to her current circumstances. The film explores the cautious nature with which Judith comes to terms with being in a home - it is a new and unfamiliar environment to her, yet she is shown as being open to familiarizing herself with her new surroundings and the other residents. However, as the story progresses, and the supernatural being emerges, we can surmise
the film creator's intention to equate the maleficent being as an illustration for the fear and concern one may have on having to come to terms with living through their twilight years in a nursing home.
Soon after, Judith is diagnosed with dementia, an excuse for the manor staff to sway her family members to the opinion that all of Judith's findings are questionable and a result of her diminishing mental faculties. However, the film has not taken the opportunity to suggest that Judith may in fact be imagining all of what she sees. Perhaps the film would have benefited from a more convoluted plot in that sense, as the suggestion of her mental state actually deteriorating would have added an extra layer of intrigue to the narrative.
The film is unusual in that it explores a rarely examined relationship on screen, namely that of a grandmother and her grandson. We are shown the deep connection that Judith and Josh share, as it is revealed that Judith helped out her daughter and Josh after his father passed away, and they formed a close relationship. Each visit the two share illustrates the love and care they have for each other. Further, when the two find common ground and agree that something is off at the manor, their investigation encapsulates the ease with which the two can coordinate and the level of comfort and trust they have with each other as they peruse Roland's things and are frank with each other. The culmination of the film cements their bond, as Josh seemingly pushes Judith towards joining the paganistic ritual as he voices his fear of losing her. This can easily be considered the highlight of the film, as the actors portraying Judith and Josh, played by Barbara Hershey and Nicholas Alexander respectively, have established a close on-screen relationship and play well off each other.
The conclusion of the film may be surprising, as Judith and Josh choose to become a part of the conspiracy, to prolong their lives and cover up the ritualistic sacrifice of the other nursing home residents. As a twist, the film benefits from the unexpected turn, however, the overall impression remains muddled as prior to this, Judith had not shown any inclination towards being selfish. It also goes against the characters motivations, as Judith is presented as an empathetic and caring person, exhibiting sympathy for her fellow residents, thereby making her decision to overlook ending others lives perplexing. The twist may have come as a surprise, but eventually does not seem to match up with the characters nature, falling flat in the film's conclusion.
The film sets off on exploring an interesting set-up, with Judith being submitted to a nursing home and uncovering a mysterious supernatural conspiracy, however, the execution of the premise falls flat in providing a straightforward story to which the conclusion may be unexpected, yet falters in any deeper exploration of deteriorating mental health or in providing enough intense scenes to garner any distinction as a memorable horror film.
Score: 1/4
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