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Photograph: Mansfield Dark View image in fullscreen Watch out, there’s a ghostly critic about … The Hounds Gate Haunting. Photograph: Mansfield Dark Horror films Review The Hounds Gate Haunting review – a ghostly critic lurks in the stalls in this suspenseful spooker This mockumentary from low-budget horror veteran Richard Mansfield isn’t the most subtle take on the artist-critic relationship but it has a certain sprightliness Phil Hoad Mon 17 Aug 2026 12.00 CEST Last modified on Mon 17 Aug 2026 12.14 CEST Share Prefer the Guardian on Google W here Quentin Dupieux’s 2023 theatre hostage-taking comedy Yannick pointed out that inside every punter is a critic, this no-frills British mockumentary suggests that if artists aren’t literally haunted by their reviews, then their inner critic might be just as deadly. It begins as a documentary crew arrive to chart theatre director Martin Beswick (Jonathan Cleaver) and his new production of MR James’s A Warning to the Curious at Nottingham’s Hounds Gate theatre (in real life, filmed at the city’s Arts theatre). He’s getting to grips with his cast, mostly amateurs apart from egomaniac thesp Colin Collins (Matthew Hunt). One day during rehearsals, one of the auditorium seats suddenly flips up, is eerily cold to the touch and has pistachio shells scattered underneath. The old ham Colin seizes the opportunity for an old Hounds Gate tale: about Cyril Cobb, a legendarily vicious director who sat in that very berth to critique other productions – hence his nickname, “Stalls”. After dying in a freak pistachio-swallowing accident, he has now apparently become, Overlook Hotel-style, part of the furniture. Captured in spectral audio recordings, he is heard opining that this new staging is: “Not … good … enough!” Low-budget horror veteran Richard Mansfield serves up the sprightly shaky-cam idiom easily enough – but his ghost story initially flounders for direction. As his proxy Ben roams the theatre’s corridors with his camera, we hang speculatively with this rather generic-seeming band of players: agent-bothering windbag Colin (a touch overplayed, ironically, by Hunt); prank-loving theatre manager Alex (Luke Willis); part-time sales rep Jessica (Rosanne Priest), constantly trying to dragoon the others into flogging her Tend & Tonic beauty range; set designer Cassie (Lara Drew), who uncovers more Cobb memorabilia. They seem more like types than developing characters – with the exception of Martin, whose insistence that Stalls is a ruse for one of the cast to wreck his play masks his insecurities. Mansfield’s film at last digs in thematically on the perennial creative fear of mediocrity; not the most subtle tack on the artist-critic relationship, but enough grounding for a reasonably suspenseful spooker, as Cobb’s manifestations cause the chippy director to unravel. The scant character work is further exposed by the abruptness of the final twist, but The Hounds Gate Haunting keeps up a definite game zeal throughout. “Not … Too … Bad,” as the voice from beyond might have it. The Hounds Gate Haunting is available now on digital platforms. Explore more on these topics Horror films reviews Share Reuse this content Most viewed Most viewed Books Music TV & radio Art & design Film Games Classical Stage News Opinion Sport Culture Lifestyle Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning Sign up for our email About us Help Complaints & corrections Contact us Tip us off SecureDrop Privacy policy Cookie policy Tax strategy Terms & conditions All topics All writers Newsletters Digital newspaper archive Bluesky Facebook Instagram LinkedIn Threads TikTok YouTube Advertise with us Search UK jobs Tips Accessibility settings Work with us Back to top © 2026 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. (dcr)
Original source
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2026/aug/17/the-hounds-gate-haunting-review-richard-mansfield
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