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To me, this movie is perfection.

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

Having seen the 1970's TV adaptations of M R James (goodish then; less so now) I was interested to see a couple of the more recent ones. Alas, they managed not only to be as staid as the worst moments of the 1970s ones but so relentlessly unimaginative they do James's ghost stories a real disservice. In 'A View from A Hill', one of James's most chilling stories, the central character explores a haunted hill, site of ancient hangings. In this TV film the director attempts to evoke its morbid atmosphere with serial killer-style subjective camera shots (cf. Black Christmas and a hundred other slashers) and quick-cut half-seen movement - the latter ok for one shot but quickly irritating, rather than frightening. What should have been a creepy sequence is entirely too crude, too literal, and simply doesn't work. I won't belabour the point further - but nothing in the film rises above this level. For those who want to experience a cinema version of M R James's truly creepy slow-burn atmospherics, which no-one has really managed so far, I'd recommend the Italian 'Across the River'. True, it can't supply James's distinctive Englishness, but its central character - a naturalist in search of night-time creatures, using fixed cameras - is a pretty good equivalent to James's peripatetic antiquaries in search of ancient texts. And like in James, the mysterious creatures which haunt abandoned village turn out to be immensely vengeful and vicious.[Note: these remarks exclude Night of the Demon, which although based on a James story, does not reflect the world of his stories - however good it is.]

An archaeologist visits a decaying country estate to survey its artefacts, but the artefacts lead him into a dark history.Another slice of MR James alienation, where intellectual curiosity attracts the attention of distant, menacing figures and ends in nothing good.The opening sequence is a little irritating with its slow focuses, but the rapid editing later on in the woods creates good tension. Music keeps the mood bubbling. Actors all excellent, and in the end nothing is explained.Overall - not the spookiest, but confident enough not to deliver pat answers.

This was clearly made for the fans, with 'nods' towards Lawrence Gordon Clark. It would be churlish to complain about the production being too respectful. It does fit nicely into the old series and the formulaic aspect can to some extent be laid at the door of James himself. Having said that, If the BBC were to make more I hope they don't fall into the trap they did before by moving away from MR James to contemporary stories that fail to resonate. There are plenty of his works still left to adapt.Some have complained of the modern editing of this new edition to the series, but I liked the way it made me jump. It is beautifully shot and kudos to Pip Torrens as the supercilious Squire Richards, who in looks and words reminded me of Hugh Laurie's great turn in 'Sense and Sensibilty' as Mr Palmer.

I must confess to not having read the original M R James story although I have read many of his other supernatural tales. I've also seen most of the previous BBC Christmas Ghost Stories and this one, in my opinion, surpasses most of them, only equalling The Signalman.I can't really fault A View From a Hill - the direction and 'mood' is perfect, as is the acting, lighting and, of course, the story and writing. I thoroughly enjoyed this and can only hope for more of this quality from the same director and production team. I understand that the BBC plan to make some more (not necessarily based on M R James stories) so that's promising.10/10