Last modified on Fri 18 Dec 2020 15.02 EST
This supernatural thriller is based on a little-known MR James story about murder and attempted resurrection in a time of plague. Like so many of Jamesâs tales, The Experiment is over in a matter of a few pages: a wife kills her mean husband but tries to conjure his spirit so that she can discover where he hid all his earthly treasure.
Philip Franksâs adaptation turns that lean tale into a richer drama about abuse, revenge, paedophilia and occultist practices without losing any of its tautness. Jamesâs 1931 story takes place in an unspecified past in which there is a âsicknessâ that is believed to refer to the bubonic plague. Here, it is shown to be the Spanish flu of 1918, and a parallel, contemporary plotline features a cash-strapped millennial couple during the Covid lockdown.