Penny Dreadful follows the exploits of Jessica and David, a newly married couple whose new house has all the trappings of a classic haunted house. When dark figures appear in the night and the power refuses to work properly, it soon becomes clear that we're back in Amityville Horror territory. And who's that young boy who smiles at Jessica from her front window, then promptly vanishes into thin air? After much skulking about in the dark witnessing strange visions and the intervention of a dotty medium, an answer is provided in the final moments; after Jessica suffers a nervous breakdown, a new family moves in and its all revealed to have been events witnessed psychically in advance by poor Jessica.
Director Bryan Norton does a commendable subverting the clichéd and old hat premise, always letting the audience think they're ahead of the game. Norton mounts one or two quite creditable, if minor, shock scenes, and it must be said though that ending is a genuine shock.
Director Bryan Norton does a commendable subverting the clichéd and old hat premise, always letting the audience think they're ahead of the game. Norton mounts one or two quite creditable, if minor, shock scenes, and it must be said though that ending is a genuine shock.