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Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

Captivating movie !

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

After reading the 10 previous strongly positive reviews, I purchased this film on DVD. What a mistake! The plot was risible and the direction lame. The acting was pretty good, especially on the part of the two leads (too bad that Gipps-Kent died so young -- he was good enough that I wondered at first if the part was being played by a much more experienced woman). Nonetheless, the set-up (an innocent young orphan comes into the care of a kindly old bachelor) was followed by action that yielded not a particle of mystery, not a moment's frisson. The hackneyed denouement was so poorly executed as to leave me wondering what the other reviewers were thinking. They couldn't all be related to the cast or crew! Hope that other outings in the series are better-- I've now got several more to plow through. I'm a real fan of British TV and film, but this one isn't worth the heel of Mary Shelley's boot.

I watched this as a child whilst baby-sitting my younger sister and it scared the living hell out of me. 40 years later I think I would still hesitate to watch it again.Reading the previous reviews went some way to reliving the horror that I experienced when I saw it and I can concur that the scene where the two children walk up the staircase dragging their long fingernails against the banister has to be one of the most ghastly I can remember. By modern standards its probably rather a tame affair but the combination of horror and the children's lost innocence is what makes it such compelling viewing.

I was very excited to see Lost Hearts as part of the BBC Four ghost week: the story has been a horror-genre benchmark for me since I saw it in 1966 (Mystery & Imagination). This, however, is the 1973 version, and a disappointment. The film quality and set design are very good, and probably superior to the earlier version. But. In this version, Mr Abney is bordering on clownish; the ghosts aren't frightening or "other worldly"; details differ significantly from M R James's story; the climax is a let-down. I wonder if the 1966 version still exists: it was faithful to James's story, the ghosts were truly frightening and the climax was horribly unexpected - mainly due to the Mr Abney character being more realistic and manipulating the audience into a false sense of security. I would love to see it again.

Another of the "Ghost Stories for Christmas" that the BBC ran back in the '70s - those were the days. Clocking it at just under forty minutes, LOST HEARTS is nevertheless a fine adaptation of the short story by famed author M. R. James. Here we have the bare bones of a ghostly tale, stripped of any of the fat that might have been added had the tale been made into a full-length film, and once again a fantastically eerie watch.The story is set at a large countryside mansion complete with creaking floor boards and long, deserted passageways - a fine setting for a ghostly tale if ever I saw one. The haunting itself takes the shape of a pair of ghost children, who appear from a distance watching the main character rather like THE WOMAN IN BLACK did sixteen years later. These children have blue, dead skin, and open chest cavities where their hearts have been removed (hence the title). Although their appearance seems to be indebted to NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, the ghosts still pack one heck of a punch and are entirely creepy and disturbing to watch - especially when the camera moves in close on their grinning faces.The story is a concise and good one, with an inevitable finale looming ever closer. It turns out that Abney is an occultist who believes he has found the secret of immortality - but needs to burn the heart of a young child to achieve that end. You can easily guess the outcome of the man's actions, but it's still gripping stuff. Simon Gipps-Kent plays the young Stephen, and is one of the best child actors I've seen. His performance requires him to act terrified a lot of the time and he does this well, along with being inquisitive and strong-minded. Joseph O'Connor puts in a great portrayal of a mad old man, and comes across as more than sadly pathetic than terrifying. The ghost kids are great, and the supporting actors and actresses make good of their minor turns.LOST HEARTS is a film that brings out the melancholy and eeriness of the old British countryside, whether it be at a flowing stream, a churchyard, or the deep woods. It captures a forgotten Victorian era which is often overdone in bigger-budgeted movies which become unrealistic and too slick-looking. Here, the setting is fine, and the music greatly adds to the atmosphere. LOST HEARTS is a creepy and forgotten little film recommended to all true horror fans who like their chills to be old-fashioned and macabre rather than gory and in-your-face.