In 2005, BBC4 revived the series, beginning with an adaptation of James’ story “A View from a Hill”, and there have been seven films made intermittently in the years following, all M.R. James adaptations barring one.

In the spirit of Christmas spooks, and the old tradition of gathering around the fire to tell a ghost story (as Dickens himself loved to do; he was responsible for many famous writers of the day giving ghost stories for anthologies specifically for Christmas, including Wilkie Collins and Robert Louis Stephenson), in this edition of Ranked we at The Film Magazine are taking all sixteen films, including the classics and the new releases, and ranking them for your reading and viewing pleasure. Sit back with a mug of cocoa, a roaring fire, and get ready to feel a little chill go across the bones. These are A Ghost Story for Christmas Films Ranked.

Follow @thefilmagazine on Twitter.

16. The Ice House (1978)

The second of two original stories created in the original run, The Ice House is the film which pretty much closed up shop on the series for nearly three decades.

In this tale, a gentleman staying at a luxury hotel in the countryside befriends the owners, a young brother and sister duo who seem to have the best interests of their residents at heart. But occasionally Paul feels some cold spells pass across him, and there’s definitely something strange and secretive about a modern, up-to-date establishment like this, with all its fridges and freezers, still having an ice house down the end of the garden.

The first film in the series to be directed by someone other than Lawrence Gorden Clark, the film suffers from being decidedly un-spooky, with a lack of chills save for perhaps one scene nearer the end. Irritatingly, it is also very uninteresting.

Ghosts are lacking in this ghost story, and whilst the performances try to lend… something, to the tale, it never really manages to rattle any chains. The final reveals are bland, and it’s easy to finish the film having forgotten pretty much everything as soon as it was said.

15. Stigma (1977)

The first of the two original stories from the original run, Stigma sees a mother at the mercy of an avenging spirit when a great boulder is moved from their garden. Now she’s bleeding everywhere, though there’s not a mark on her body, and her very life may be in danger…

Stigma is a fun concept, and it was certainly a risk for the series to both set a film in the modern day, and not be an adaptation of a previous work. Filmed in Avebury in Whiltshire, which was also used that year for the underrated family dark fantasy/folk horror serial ‘Children of the Stones’, there’s an attempt to blend past and present, bringing the traditional ghost story into the modern viewing age with an emphasis on bright red blood (hence the stigmata of the title) which possibly reflected the increase in explicit violence in film and TV happening in recent years. Despite this, the film just sort of… ends, and you can throw as much blood on the screen as you want; if it doesn’t chill the bones, it isn’t what we’re after.

Watch ‘Children of the Stones’, if you want good, spooky folk horror in the same setting in the same year.

Recommended for you: Blood Junkies (1993) Review

14. Martin’s Close (2019)

Peter Capaldi had acted in two ‘Doctor Who’ stories written by Mark Gatiss in the past, and now, not only is he back under Gatiss’ writing thumb, but also his directorial control (point to note: you’ll see many more ‘Doctor Who’ links as this list progresses).

This M.R. James adaptation has Simon Williams’ narrator regale us with a tale about a strange court case from the past, in which Capaldi’s Dolben must present the evidence for the conviction of a young man, Mr John Martin, on trial for the murder of a young woman. The strange part is, she has been seen by multiple witnesses, after she died.

This adaptation isn’t necessarily bad. The acting is strong (especially that of Peter Capaldi, but we all expected this), the direction is fine, and everything is generally ok. But therein lies the rub; it is ok. Nothing stands out, nothing really gets you sitting back in the armchair with your fingernails scratching at the leather.

Whilst the storyteller dramatisation idea with Simon Williams in his home is a commendable idea to recreate the story-by-the-fireside cosy feeling, it functions to interrupts the flow of the story when it shouldn’t, and constantly brings you out of any kind of immersion you might have felt. Despite everyone trying their best with what they have, it just doesn’t come together.

The Suicide Squad (2021)
Director: James Gunn
Screenwriters: James Gunn
Starring: Margot Robbie, Idris Elba, John Cena, Joel Kinnaman, Sylvester Stallone, Viola Davis, Jai Courtney, Peter Capaldi

2016’s Suicide Squad was doomed before it ever hit theaters. Batman v Superman had flopped while Marvel’s Captain America: Civil War made over one billion dollars at the box office. Warner Bros. screened two cuts of the film, one from director David Ayer, and the other from editing company Trailer Park who created a lighter version driven by flashy graphics and classic pop music. The latter went to theaters, and while it performed well enough, the film was another sign of Warner and DC’s inability to create works on par with Marvel. Zack Snyder’s DC work was too self-serious and complicated, while Trailer Park’s Suicide Squad was so blatantly smashed together to become the complete opposite – lost in its levity and music was any real character or sense of what DC was going for. It felt like a wannabe Guardians of the Galaxy.

The Suicide Squad shows Warner Bros. might finally be on the rails after a shaky start to their DC transmedia universe. Following a dismissal from Disney, director James Gunn arrived at Warner, and he and his team have turned any Guardians comparisons into praise. The Suicide Squad brings fun, humor, and music, along with gory bits Marvel can’t show in their films. The Suicide Squad reaches deep into the DC villain roster to find effective and comedic characters that help balance the fun with somewhat serious-feeling comic book stakes. Watching it feels like watching a graphic novel come to life, and what more could one want from a bombastic comic book film about a group of villains?

The Suicide Squad follows the ragtag Suicide Squad as they infiltrate a country on behalf of the US government to halt experiments on an extra-terrestrial being run by a super intelligent scientist called The Thinker. The group explore their various backstories and bond through violence as they travel to the mission, making introductions and exposition more organic than the first film. While the action scenes are rather enjoyable, the relationships and dynamics are what drive the story, aided by stylized lighting and camera movement that is missing in Marvel’s house style.

DC chose for the characters to resemble their traditional comic designs, no matter how absurd. John Cena manages to play Peacemaker – an assassin dedicated to peace at all costs – entirely straight in an outfit that Burt Ward’s Robin could laugh at. Gunn uses Peacemaker’s ridiculous helmet to shoot a fight scene, and it’s an interesting, creative way to use a costume. Ratcatcher 2 (Daniela Melchior) and Polka-Dot Man (David Dastmalchian) stay true to their comic outfits while receiving interesting backgrounds that play into the general themes of the Suicide Squad. On the other hand, Bloodsport gets a redesign that boosts the strong performance brought by Idris Elba. He engages in banter, but he’s the most serious of the costumed individuals, and who knows how difficult that might have been without Elba and the costume.

Of course, it wouldn’t be a Suicide Squad film without Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn. She gets her own storyline which keeps the wider narrative from feeling too stagnant. There are plenty of colorful lights throughout the film, but Quinn’s segments are what allow Gunn and company to bring a strong sense of expressionism, each moment stemming from her insanity being as comic book adjacent as you might expect. She has the kind of arc that adds to the feeling of episodic storytelling found in comic books – this is the one where Harley Quinn is taken captive by a dictator and he proposes to her; what shenanigans will she get into next time? With this film, it has become clear that Robbie and Quinn are ballasts for the new era of DC transmedia without being tethered to the Joker.

The Suicide Squad also uses Gunn’s proclivity for giving character to the animated. King Shark, voiced by Sylvester Stallone, is a bipedal man-eating shark that the animation and characterization make lovable. Ratcatcher 2 is flanked by a sentient rat who is essentially a live-action Disney princess sidekick, and he steals several scenes with his cute little cape. There’s even a starfish creature that is imbued with plenty of character despite its simplistic, comic-accurate appearance. The CGI for the animal-adjacent characters is not quite on par with 2019’s The Lion King, but it still looks solid with plenty of expression. The only complaint to be had about the animated characters is that Sean Gunn’s Weasel is woefully underused, but there are so many bizarre characters that he may have been one too many.

There aren’t many other complaints to be had about The Suicide Squad. Perhaps it could be said to be overly long (it runs for 2 hours and 12 minutes), or that it loses a bit of steam by the end, but that will ultimately be relative to the viewer. An issue with the 2016 film was the over-powered magical villain that should have outclassed the Suicide Squad. While the villain here is quite powerful, it’s not unreasonable that this group of super villains could actually take on The Thinker, or loads of soldiers with bullets.

Fans like to think of Marvel as the quippy franchise, but it’s a style that works for all comic book movies, and DC films like Aquaman, Shazam, and now The Suicide Squad show that DC doesn’t have to make something too different from Marvel to be successful. Putting the right people in charge with a specific visions for their films will lead to the best results. Maybe DC will never achieve the continuity standards Marvel has set for the industry, but it can at least produce enjoyable works that will get viewers into individual films that happen to be DC, rather than the property itself holding value as a brand universe.

It should be noted that the film does feature a post-credits scene that is sure to be a lead-in to new HBO Max episodic series, so it’s not like DC isn’t viewing this film as a springboard for further transmedia content. However, it’s far from guaranteed that any The Suicide Squad spin-off will manage to be as successful as Marvel’s recent spate of Disney+ series.

20/24

The Personal History of David Copperfield (2020)
Director: Armando Ianucci
Screenwriters: Simon Blackwell, Armando Ianucci
Starring: Dev Patel, Hugh Laurie, Tilda Swinton, Peter Capaldi, Ben Whishaw, Ranveer Jaiswal, Daisy May Cooper, Darren Boyd, Gwendoline Christie

The idea of the departed looking down upon the world of the living with confusion and exasperation has been a source of whimsy for many. If indeed the dead do meet up for regular tete a tete, I wonder if the banes of the English classroom, Mr Shakespere and Mr Dickens, meet up on the regular to compare notes. Do they indeed peer over the clouds to witness the groans and screams of school children as their dusty tomes are slammed on to the desks. Credit must go to the British Education Board for their admirable efforts to create such heated animosity aimed at two of our nation’s greatest wordsmiths. Still, there is a small part of me that feels that one of these particular bastards, Charles Dickens, had it coming. I can still feel the exquisite pain of enduring hours of the dragging monotone of my classmates tripping over the pages of description about how Joe Gargery pours gravy. I was glad to be shot of him once I had fulfilled my curricular obligations.

However, as I have frequently rediscovered time and time again (like a repeated slap in the face), the real learning starts after school. In a pleasant turn of events, Armando Ianucci turns out to be a thoroughly entertaining teacher.

This shouldn’t really be a surprise; the man is an award-winning genius and a pillar of smart British comedy with the likes of ‘The Thick of It’,’I’m Alan Partridge’ and The Death of Stalin under his belt. If only he could have been transported to my Year 8 English Class so that his gift for political satire could have lifted out Dickens’ intended hilarious and cutting social commentary and made it relevant to a classroom of children coming to grips with their coming adulthood in the 21^st century. In The Personal History of David Copperfield, he effectively combines the comedy and the drama of the novel itself; one that stirs up huge empathy for Charles Dickens, this particular story being one of the most famous semi-autobiographical works ever written, the piece illustrating the great pains of Dickens’ own youth.

To state the obvious, The Personal History of David Copperfield is a story about growing up, but moreso it’s about the importance of being loved. The beginning of David Copperfield’s life is defined by happiness and utter wonderment until his world is turned upside down by his mother’s (Morfydd Clark’s) remarriage to the cold and wicked Mr Murdstone (Darren Boyd), who sends him away to a miserable existence in London at the first chance he gets. Eventually David escapes from the poverty and drudgery imposed upon him by his step-father and flourishes. Whilst enjoying better times, he tries desperately to cover-up his tragic past, self-conscious of the good opinions of his new high-society friends. He eventually learns the futility of his charade, discovering that the darkest moments of his childhood are in fact the origins of his greatest strength: his compassion.

The film has an incredibly strong start with David Copperfield’s early life. Ranveer Jaiswal is delightfully adorable as the young Copperfield – an incredible feat as young David has quite the propensity to philosophise which would be quite irritating from a less talented child actor. He manages to invoke surprised quirks of half-smiles, transporting us to the innocence of our own childhoods through his barely contained awe over the simple joys of his life. This incredibly sweet beginning paves the way for heartbreak as our illusion of narrative security is torn away by the introduction of Mr Murdstone. His first appearance is dread-filled, which is deepened twice-fold once he’s joined by his spinster sister (a short appearance by a haughty and cold Gwendoline Christie). Dread turns to pure hatred as we witness the inexcusable abuse Murdstone rains down upon David, finally resulting in David’s devastating separation from his mother. Dev Patel channels the audience’s rage as he sabotages his evil step-father’s bottle factory at the news of his Mother’s death.

Unfortunately, the film loses its pace after the halfway point, which inflicts the whole movie with an overall muddled narrative. There are still some dramatic thrills and comedic moments, but they are diluted and weak amidst this dull second half. Characters introduced within this portion don’t only lack the charisma of their earlier counterparts, but the likes of Dora Spenlow (Morfydd Clark again in a weird incestuous turn) were tedious beyond their original narrative purpose, lacking any entertainment value. The attempts to establish this film as a unique adaptation simply work to further confound the audience as the narrative unpredictably hops between hypothesis and actuality. Even worse, the story seems to lose sight of its purpose, resulting in an underwhelming finale, which is almost criminal considering how scathing Dickens’ social commentary was within his novel; a commentary that could have been appreciated by 21st century audiences.

The film’s saving grace is Ianucci’s talent for character driven pieces, as it is a perfect match to Dickens’ keen discernment for the hidden yet continuing absurdity of human nature. Ianucci effectively lifts the colourful oddballs that fill the pages of Dickens (which have had readers returning time and time again for a century and a half) and brings them to a full cinematic realisation. Like many of Dickens’ novels, the titular character steps aside to give room for the side characters and bring life to the story; much to the detriment of Patel’s performance, the actor unfortunately suffering from constant scene-stealing.

An instant crowd-pleaser is Peter Capaldi as Micawber: on the surface simple comic relief, but in truth a deeply tragic character. His bravado and joviality act as a meer sheen for his almost ferocious instinct for survival, which he desperately tries to suppress so as to keep a shred of his dignity. Oddly this false zest for life is what provides his continuing motivation despite his depressing. Mr Micawber could have easily been presented as a scoundrel or even just plain villainous through his shameless scrounging, yet he still reaps our sympathy and empathy. Ianucci understands the horror of the destitution Dickens describes, and cleverly uses the comedy of Micawber to enrage his audience. Micawber must consume to live, yet the society he lives within refuses him the means to do so. It is both rib-tickling and sobering to see an honest man’s roast chicken taken away by bailiffs.

Such faithfulness to the spirit of Dickens’ novel is what makes these characters so captivating, especially as no compromises were made to “modernise” them. An excellent example is the plight of Mr Dick (Hugh Laurie), an individual who believes that the fears and anxieties of Charles I left the King’s head upon his decapitation and are now plaguing his own mind. No pseudo-psychology is applied, but it is the love and support of his friends and family which allow him to flourish. In particular, its the imagination and compassion of David Copperfield that free Mr Dick from his inner demons and ground him into the present.

Despite the lacklustre narrative of The Personal History of David Copperfield, it is its wonderful characters that bring home its message. Through the comedy of Ianucci we can revel in their flaws and oddities but also understand their vulnerability to poverty and homelessness. Through their charisma and panache we can understand that, despite their less honourable habits, none of them deserve to fight for an existence on the streets or in the slums – infact we are left enraged by those who deliberately inflict such fates on others through greed and corruption. The most gorgeous moments of this film are those in which the characters share what little they have with others, showing the true nobility of the human spirit within the slum classes of Victorian England.

As the world continues to flip flop towards shaky and unstable times in which financial security is becoming a pipe dream for more and more people, it becomes of increasing importance to produce films that directly address the injustice of poverty. Within the highs and lows of The Personal History of David Copperfield, Armando Ianucci validates his place within British Cinema as a writer and director, on the single merit that he is a filmmaker who seems to still care about social issues. He may not have been in top form here, but his voice is one that will gain further appreciation within the British film industry moving forward.

15/24

Paddington 2 (2017)
Director: Paul King
Screenwriters: Simon Farnaby, Paul King, Jon Croker
Starring: Brendan Gleeson, Sally Hawkins, Ben Whishaw, Michael Gambon, Hugh Grant, Jim Broadbent, Hugh Bonneville, Julie Walters, Peter Capaldi

A collective sigh of relief could be heard across the nation when Paddington was released in the winter of 2014. Despite the worrisome marketing material it proved to be a joyous and goodhearted adaptation of Michael Bond’s original source material, arriving to remind us all that there was still some good despite all the hardship in the world. A sequel was immediately greenlit, and the cast and crew have somehow managed to match their previous accomplishments.

Paddington 2 succeeds because it understands, unlike so many sequels, that sometimes going bigger doesn’t make it better. Against the temptation to take the beloved bear and place him at the centre of a save-the-world narrative or facing off against fantastical creations, the plot is admirably simple and humble; Paddington (Ben Wishaw) wants to buy a pop-up book of London landmarks for his Aunt Lucy (Imelda Staunton), but has to get a job in order to afford it – hilarious mishaps follow, including a run in with Hugh Grant’s villainous actor character Phoenix Buchanan.

The key is returning director Paul King, whose direction is just as impeccable and picturesque as before, if not more so. A glimpse inside the pop-up book, in which Paddington guides his Aunt Lucy around a cardboard representation of London, is a beautiful call-back to the classic Michael Hordern animated series, but his work in the basic language of visual storytelling extends beyond that in creative and simple ways. From in-camera transitions which almost border on magic-realism, to effective time-lapse effects and camera movements, he brings a real sense of identity to the series that unboxes itself like a toy chest of wonders.

It carries over the same idealistic version of London as its predecessor; a multicultural society built on hope, integration and acceptance as epitomised by Windsor Gardens – where not even the constant grumbling of nationalist allegory Mr. Curry (Peter Capaldi) can deter the neighbours of the street from rallying behind Paddington. Its a 21st-century vision of contemporary London that works around its own iconography while feeling open and accepting of all people – this is still a world in which an anthropomorphic talking bear is never a topic of conversation. Modern in aesthetic and design, and yet at one point, Paddington calls home from a derelict red telephone box. Even the prison system seems like a far more charming place to inhabit as Paddington’s kindness slowly transforms the inmates, including Brendan Gleeson’s hilarious Knuckles McGinty.

Much of this is down to Wishaw who, as the titular character, brings so much warmth and wide-eyed optimism to the picture, giving a vocal performance so believable that it’s strange when you have to remind yourself that he’s a perfectly rendered digital creation. Although, he is almost upstaged by Grant, who is a riot as the washed-up former theatre performer (which is meant as the highest compliment). He’s an absolute joy in the role, and the various facades that he wears over the course of his fiendish scheme are all a physical comedy treat.

The structure of the film and its screenplay is faultless; many scenes of which play out like they could easily work as individual stories in and of themselves (Paddington… becomes a Window Cleaner, goes to the Barbers/goes to Prison etc.). It makes sure that the main cast is handled well, and as with the in the previous film every member of the Brown family eventually uses one of their own unique abilities in their efforts to bring Paddington home, and the returning cast is as game and enjoyable as before. There’s even an action sequence on a train during the climax that is more exciting, funny and emotionally engaging than anything in the last James Bond movie.

The cast and crew that made the original work so well have pulled off the impossible again. Paddington 2 is an absolute delight; an utterly charming storybook adventure that’s as sweet and gooey as marmalade, a confident and assured family classic and every bit as good – if not better – than the first.

22/24

Written by Luke Whitticase

You can support Luke at the following links:

Twitter – @WhittyStuff
Letterboxd – whittystuff