A visiting scholar lodges at an ancient inn while he trawls the manuscript collection of the local cathedral, only to find a connection that puts him in a deadly bind.I'm in two minds about this: it elaborates on the original story to give a more joined up drama, but it loses much of the uncanny alienation that is the hallmark of M R James. The protagonist is loaded with characterisation and yet he's unlikeable, his task is given more detail and that sets up plot points that come to fruition later on, and the haunting is more conventional than the original, with a cheesy shadow passing across the unnecessary print of Bosch's painting The Garden Of Earthly Delights - I much prefer the weird shadow dancing cast by the light of the bedroom window in James' story.It's well acted and well paced, and the post script is satisfying.Overall - well done, but although the drama is improved it's an adaptation too far for fans of the author.

As a big M.R James fan I am slighty worried about the quality of the two resent BBC4 productions of his work. True it is about time the stories of M.R James were re-told but to be honest these attempts at horror are nothing more than second rate at best.They are not nearly dark enough for my liking the atmosphere is really non-existent and the ghosts are a real disappointment, I agree one shouldn't see much of the ghost in stories like this but what you do see has to live up to the picture one has in ones imagination and to be honest these weren't even close.So my advice to you is watch the Laurence Gordon Clark adaptations made in the 70's available through the BFI if you want to see the infinitely more terrifying versions.

Academic Anderson comes to a small English cathedral town to authenticate some newly discovered letters that appeared to date back to Cromwell. At night he stays in room 12 of his hotel and by day he works out of the cathedral chambers. One day he discovers a letter from a mysterious figure called Nicholas Franken, while also looking into some shadowy allegations made against a former bishop of the town. As he digs though, he finds more mysterious goings-on exist outside of his letters and historical records.An atmospheric little ghost story this, based on a short story by MR James. Delivered by BBC4, the film doesn't really deliver all the answers that one would like and modern viewers such as myself might notice that it is not all tied up and resolved at the end in the way that many of our stories now are. However this is a slight point because really the film does much better where we're not sure at all what is going on and are caught up like Anderson in the fear and desire to get to the bottom of things.It is not particularly scary and again modern viewers who maintain that horror = gore will be left cold by this; however it is very creepy and it produces this very well. The sound design is well engineered to produce gradual noises and sudden silences while the visual effects are restrained and all the better for it. Wise leads the cast well while Freeman and David Burke both provide solid turns as the older figures in the story. I must admit that I didn't really like Tom Burke as Jenkins, but mostly because his character just felt like a red herring for most of the film.Overall though I found it enjoyable as it got by with its strong sense of atmosphere covering over for the lack of detail and slightly slow pace. Perhaps not the strongest thing that BBC4 were responsible for last year but it is still a quality little chiller for a dark evening on a windy night.

BBC Four continue their excellent form in drama with an adaptation of this MR James short story. This was a Christmas treat that perhaps continues a new tradition for the channel's Christmas output, after last year's MR James adaptation 'View From A Hill'.'Number 13' was simple, pleasurable entertainment; delivered in 40 minutes of suspenseful storytelling. The story was simple, with he mystery coming from the fact that room 13 does not exist, but can be heard by Greg Wise, in the lead role.There was very little to 'Number 13'. It was a short and enjoyable Victorian ghost story, something that should be welcome as an annual fixture for BBC Four.