The Stone Tape

You could splice the cast of Garth Marenghi into this thing and they would all be right at home

Probably not the scariest TV play I've ever seen, but certainly the loudest. It's an hour and a half of people shouting to each other in a resonant stone chamber. Jane Asher's performance is particularly hammy. The text overanalyzes its own meager premise and there is not much of a payoff to speak of.

Part Doctor Who episode, part Hammer Studios, third final part is a well crafted ghost story with one hell of an final scene. The British are masters of the ghost story.

This had the bones of a good story but the movie itself was very dull and the sound design was an assault on the ears.

Very good. Orac makes his first TV appearance, apparently.

The implications of the film are horrifying and gets at an attempted scientific explanation of ghosts (and is clearly a big influence on later films like Carpenter's Prince of Darkness and the whole ghost hunting niche). However The Stone Tape looks cheap and the acting is extremely hammy, so it's more of a relic of interest to genre aficianados rather than being a good horror film in of itself.

The ultimate definition of the hauntological features coming out of Britain in the 70's. Excellent paranormal sci-fi.

The acting gets rather belabored in spots, or perhaps the script is a trifle overwrought. Or perhaps it is all a matter of direction.

Typically intelligent treatment by Nigel Kneale suffers only from low budget TV production values. Well acted and beautifully paced, this builds to a terrific finale.