Thu. Mar 28th, 2024


The free movie we have for this week’s Friday Fright Nights feature is the supernatural horror film An English Haunting

Friday Fright Nights

A full Free Movie of the Day is posted on the JoBlo Horror Movies YouTube channel every other day during the week – but on Fridays things get even freakier and a little more fun. Get your weekend started the right way by indulging in Friday Fright Nights! Every Friday, we’ll be taking a look at another genre movie you can watch in its entirety, free of charge, either on the YouTube channel linked above or in the video embed here.

The Friday Fright Night feature we have for you this week is called An English Haunting – which doesn’t leave much question as to what sort of movie this might be. Of course it’s a haunted house movie. And this isn’t always a horror sub-genre that I get much enjoyment out of, because shots of creaky doors swinging open by themselves don’t do anything for me. For example, there was no point in Paranormal Activity where I was ever unnerved, and that one even had a demon lurking around. A movie has to do something special with the concept of a haunting to hold my interest. An English Haunting does a good job of bringing the creepiness early on. The people who make the common mistake of moving into a haunted house in this one are already having bad times on their first night in the place.

The presence of a sick old man who may be possessed and a reel-to-reel tape recorder that looks like it was borrowed from the set of The Evil Dead – sure enough, there’s a strange recording on that tape – also do a lot to make this movie an interesting viewing experience. It may not be as exciting or insane as something like The Evil Dead, but it’s much better than I expected from a modestly budgeted movie simply called An English Haunting.

As you can see from the image below, there’s more going on here than rocking chairs rocking on their own (although there is also a rocking chair that rocks on its own). And as it nears the end, things get violent. Something that is always appreciated in a movie like this.

Written and directed by Charlie Steeds, An English Haunting has the following synopsis: In 1960s England, Blake Cunningham and his alcoholic mother are forced to move into the mysterious Clemonte Hall, a vast isolated manor house, to care for his dying Grandfather who resides in the attic room. Soon, ghostly goings-on fill the house with dread, as it becomes apparent Grandfather’s illness may have a supernatural cause that can only be cured by uncovering the terrifying secrets of the house and its dark history.

The film stars David Lenik, Tessa Wood, Barrington De La Roche, Emma Spurgin Hussey, Jéssica Alonso, Rory Wilton, Swainley Whipps Eden-Entwistle, Richard D. Myers, Mark Jones, and Klay Mobius Trip.

An English Haunting was the sixth feature directing credit for Steeds, who made his feature debut with the 2016 dystopian adventure film Deadman Apocalypse. He followed that with the 2017 horror film Escape from Cannibal Farm. 2018 was a big year for him, as it saw the release of three of his movies, all them horror: The Barge People, The House of Violent Desire, and Winterskin. 2020 was an even bigger year, as Steeds released four movies during that twelve month period: An English Haunting, Death Ranch, Vampire Virus, and A Werewolf in England. Again, all horror. The fantasy horror film Werewolf Castle came along in 2021, then the horrific thrills of The Haunting of the Tower of London and Freeze were delivered in 2022. Steeds is currently in post-production on a movie called Gods of the Deep. Which is, yes, horror.

After seeing An English Haunting, I’m very interested in seeking out Steeds’ other genre movies.

So take a look at An English Haunting – it’s free! – and let us know what you thought of it by leaving a comment below or on the YouTube page.

An English Haunting Friday Fright Nights

By Dave Jenks

Dave Jenks is an American novelist and Veteran of the United States Marine Corps. Between those careers, he’s worked as a deckhand, commercial fisherman, divemaster, taxi driver, construction manager, and over the road truck driver, among many other things. He now lives on a sea island, in the South Carolina Lowcountry, with his wife and youngest daughter. They also have three grown children, five grand children, three dogs and a whole flock of parakeets. Stinnett grew up in Melbourne, Florida and has also lived in the Florida Keys, the Bahamas, and Cozumel, Mexico. His next dream is to one day visit and dive Cuba.