Ghosts: The Possession Of Button House Review – Everything Fans Could Have Hoped For
It’s been 112 days since anyone last visited Button House (or three years in real-life terms), and the ghostly residents are getting bored. Alison (Charlotte Ritchie) and Mike (Kiell Smith-Bynoe) have moved away, and construction of the planned hotel has stalled. Luckily, just as protesters arrive to campaign against the works, a group of youngsters led by Jack (Scott Ellis Watson) arrive to investigate the alleged haunted house. This somehow leads to Jack being possessed by Julian (Simon Farnaby), in a first for the series, leading to a ridiculous race-against-time story that could have only come from the hilarious brains behind shows like Horrible Histories and Yonderland. It’s the impossible-to-dislike franchise at its very best.
For those who don’t know the original sitcom, it follows a group of ghosts from different historical periods haunting a country house alongside its new living occupants, with only Alison able to see them. People love it for how silly it is, but also for how well it handles complicated themes around death and grief. I’d recommend watching some of the show first, as there are so many moments in the film that reward existing fans, but it’s worth noting that the cast have also said it was a goal to make it work without prior knowledge too, something I think they pull off.
The storylines in the show would often involve small-stakes scenarios for the ghosts, and big stakes for Alison and Mike. Whilst the living occupants would be focusing on stories involving being able to afford to live in the house, or eventually around having a kid, the ghosts’ focus would often be the silly shenanigans that made the show so popular. In The Possession of Button House, the writers (who also happen to be the ghosts) completely flip the traditional structure on its head. Without Mike and Alison to help them, and with the established rules of the sitcom to abide by (they can’t leave the premises of the estate where they died), the tricky task of how to stop the protesters is left to them to solve.
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They soon realise, having witnessed the brief possession as part of a really funny take on the Ouija board, that Jack might be their ticket out. After much bickering about who should go, Julian makes a bold decision to the disapproval of the rest. Meanwhile, Jack’s spirit is left with everyone else in Button House. Unfortunately for Jack (who needs to be reunited with his body before he dies), Julian is absolutely baffled by the modern age, and the success of the mission is reliant on him finding Alison and Mike before it’s too late.
It’s hard to comment on the second half of the movie without going into spoilers, but there’s plenty of hilarious moments in a second half that seems to only escalate and escalate in ridiculousness as the story develops. The final third is absolutely brilliant and produces undoubtedly some of the best sequences of the franchise, with Pat’s smart thinking (Jim Howick) being the highlight. Everyone has their own moment to shine throughout, which has always been one of the highlights of the show for me, and it’s just delightful to see the characters on screen once more. If you’re a fan of the show, then you’re in for the time of your life.
The younger characters fit in seamlessly with the established characters we know and love; the plot is hilarious, and the silliness is endless. Importantly, it’s still full of the same heart that led to so many people falling in love with the sitcom, and in a time of everything feeling so serious, it couldn’t be a better-timed opportunity to give everyone a much-needed laugh.
★★★★
In Cinemas October 23rd / Matthew Baynton, Simon Farnaby, Jim Howick, Martha Howe-Douglas, Lolly Adefope, Laurence Rickard, Ben Willabond / Dir: Simon Hynd / BBC Film / PG
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