During the Blitz of England circa 1944, Patricia Woodhouse (Kelly Goudie) has to contend with the potential of being blown to smithereens as well as settling the affairs of her recently departed estranged sister Susanna Baylock. Once arriving at that humble abode, our heroine is informed by her sister’s maid, Annabel Blair (Sarah Wynne Kordas) that she has inherited the whole kit n’ caboodle.
Lucky day for you, eh Patty? Well, maybe not that lucky as she immediately begins having migraines and dreams of the “fucked up” variety… not to mention the dark figure that seems to permeate the entire structure… a structure that naturally… or is that preternaturally, played host to arcane rites and murder!
The Baylock Residence is an effective lil’ slice of period piece horror biz. You got your classic Gothic tropes; the ol’ dark house, a woman secluded from the outside world, and of course, supernatural goings-on… and all are stirred in a petulant pot to give us a solid sinister story!
To break it on down a tad further; Goudie and Kordas make for strong leads, and generate a good amount of audience sympathy… you know, so we actually give a toss if they make it through this misadventure with their sanity and body parts intact, and the dwelling the inhabit is suitably creepy, and filled with period accurate accoutrements… in truth the whole film is packed with costumes and ephemera that bring the World War II era to vivid life… with a few noticeable exceptions…
The biggest standouts in the “take me right out of the story” department is a small radio that looks like a cheap replica of an actual radio from that period (did they even have radio’s that size back then… if they did, let my ass know and I’ll adjust this revoltin’ review accordingly), and a minor character that has a visible, and out of place tattoo… seriously, it takes next to no effort to cover that shit up (I speak from experience having had to do just that for both of the films I have made).
As for bonus material on this DVD release, we get an alternate ending, a music video, and a “making of” featurette.
Minor nitpicks aside, The Baylock Residence is an excellent supernatural shocker with all of the fixins and worth placing your eerie eyeballs upon!
