Casting the Runes - Cult TV Review

If you have 50 minutes to spare and have an appetite for the uncanny, ITV’s 1979 adaptation of M.R. James’ Casting the Runes is a masterclass in atmospheric minimalism. While many supernatural thrillers rely on loud jump scares, this production favors a quiet, creeping dread that feels uncomfortably grounded; in many ways, it shares a lot of DNA with the classic Ghost Stories for Christmas series.

At the heart of the film is the excellent Iain Cuthbertson, who delivers a chilling performance as a Crowley-esque occultist who, after being slighted by a television producer, delivers a death sentence via a runic slip of paper. What follows is a frantic race against time; Prudence (played with convincing urgency by the wonderful Jan Francis) has only one month to live before the shadows finally close in.

The production’s pared-back aesthetic is its greatest strength. This economy of design creates a claustrophobic mood that many big-budget features struggle to replicate. By embedding the supernatural within the mundane world of 1970s television offices, the dark magic feels less like fantasy and more like a malignant, hidden layer of reality. Cuthbertson doesn’t require capes or pyrotechnics to be terrifying; his menace is rooted in cold, intellectual arrogance. This juxtaposition of the ordinary and the ancient makes the stakes feel surprisingly high.

The finale elevates the story from a simple ghost hunt to a profound moral conundrum. As the protagonist attempts to "return to sender" the deadly runes, the viewer is left with a haunting question: Is survival worth the price of another's soul?

Overall, Casting the Runes is a taut, unsettling, and intelligent piece of television. It proves that the most frightening things are often things that are much more mundane than the spooky creatures that go bump in the night.

LINK- Kolchak: The Night Stalker- Cult TV Series Review

LINK- Children of the Stones: Cult TV Series Review

LINK- The Stone Tapes: Cult TV Review

LINK- How to be Perfect: The Correct Answer to Every Moral Question by Mike Schur- Book Review

LINK- The Good Place and Philosophy- Book Review

LINK- On And On And Colston ( Or, How We Kinda Sort of Learned to Talk About the Legacy of Colonialism and the British Empire)

The Stone Tapes- Cult TV Review

Nigel Kneale is one of the great British writers, gaining prominence with his Quatermass trilogy and other sci-Fi/ supernatural works in T.V. drama. Over his 50 year career in writing, Kneale wrote many pieces that are high televisual watermarks. One of these is The Stone Tapes, a legendary work he wrote which is fondly spoken of so I thought I'd give it a looksie.

Originally shown in 1972 on Christmas Day, this ghost story had just the right mix of the supernatural and science fiction to make a lasting impression. Looking online many people fondly recalled watching the series on their black and white TV's (even though the show itself was shot is colour) and the sleepless nights and nightmares that followed.

The basic plot element identifies that the fabric of a building, the stones, can absorb or record events of the past and re-play them when triggered by another event . In this case, some re-building work taking place in a gothic mansion awaken a malevolent spirit. I don't want to spoil it but the payoff is great and will haunt your dreams.


The whole thing is and looks like it was all shot in a studio, similar in style to Doctor Who, but it works well and stands the test of time after nearly 40 years- a sign of great writing. The cast itself is solid but can be a little shouty at times. Jane Asher plays her role well as a scientist who is experiencing the supernatural phenomenon and slowly losing her mind. Iain Cuthbertson is a dependable actor, performing his role as a friend to Asher well and Michael Bryant excels in his love rat role as Peter, even though he does go bug-eyed and over-dramatic a few times.

The horror of the film does not come in the form of blood and gore but from cranking up tension- something that British television did extremely well in these productions, due to the lack of finances and economy of design- sometimes what you don't see is far more scary than what you do.

After watching the film I was impressed with its contemplation of an uncanny alien presence in the midst of our human world, a very Lovecraftian theme. Don't be put off by the 70's period detail and old-tech computers-this is a thoroughly modern story about the search for a perfect technological archive and could just as easily be about digital media or the web.

The whole production is greatly enhanced by the wonderful Radiophonic Workshop tracks that make the genuinely shocking conclusion all the more powerful. After meditating on the film I can see why this series is so fondly remembered, back at a time when the mass British population weren't desensitised to violence and horror a work like this would have shaken people to the core and after 40 years it still has the power to chill. Thoroughly recommended!

LINK- Dead of Night: Cult TV Review

LINK- Children of the Stones: Cult TV Series Review

LINK- Tom’s Midnight Garden: Cult TV Review

LINK- Children of the Dogstar: Cult TV Series Review

Children Of The Stones- Cult TV Series Review

I'm a huge fan of suspense and horror- it's one of my favourite genres. I especially like when it isn't simply jump scares, gore porn or cheap thrills but a piece of work that builds up tension slowly and the payoff is exciting and jolting. So for my first review I've decided to look at Children Of The Stones. I chose this because I heard it mentioned a few times and spoken of affectionately by several people including comedian Stewart Lee, who described it as the scariest children's programme ever. As a fan of Twin Peaks, X Files, American Gothic and the like this sounded right up my street so I decided to give it a look.

Children of the Stones is often described as a landmark in children's television. The series was filmed largely in Avebury in Wiltshire and progresses over 7 episodes, shown weekly over the Summer of 1977. The series introduces us to astrophysicist Adam Brake (played by Gareth Thomas who is famous for Blake 7- I've never seen that show though) and his son Matthew as they go to the village of Milbury to carry out research on an ancient Megalithic stone circle. When they arrive at the village they start to understand that its people are held captive by the sinister power of its stone circle and the mysterious Hendrick, a prominent figure in the village.

The spooky ethereal music sets the sinister mood, the soundtrack is beautiful dark and unsettling. To get a hint of the creepiness check out the opening credits and the first few minutes of the first episode, then try to sleep tonight.

I found the introduction was very similar to the beginning of Twin Peaks where we are introduced to an outsider going into a small community. At just over 2 and a half hours the tale is well paced and crafted, brought to the screen with some very adept direction and a remarkably haunting musical score which heightens the mood and tension. The cast are excellent, even the child actors perform astonishingly well. Iain Cuthbertson is excellent in channeling his best Crowley and succeeds in being sinister.
Unsurprisingly, Children of the Stones has gained a devoted cult following in the decades since its first transmission in 1977. There are a few online forums where people still discuss the ending and the implications of what occurred at the conclusion and any series that does that is okay in my book, except Lost, now that ending sucked! Children of the Stones is inescapably haunting, even if you see it now for the first time as an adult (which I did). 

This is an incredibly intelligent, atmospheric and genuinely unnerving series and to call it a children's show is a bit of an insult. If I had to describe it to the uninitiated I'd say it was like a Young Adult version of the Wicker Man. This may seem like hyperbole as this is high praise indeed but both share many of the themes and ideas such as outsiders coming into a new town full of strange folk who seem to be guarding a secret about an ancient evil. To be honest I'm surprised it got away with being shown before the watershed. It isn't horror per se but the way people act and the situation brings a creeping dread. The series incorporates such complex concepts such as 'Time Circles', 'Psychic Bubbles' and 'Time Rifts'- heady subjects for adults let alone a programme supposedly aimed at children.