Chiller (TV Series) The Man Who Didn't Believe in Ghosts (1995) User Reviews

Too many holes in the story

[Opinion02122 · 7/10 · 27 August 2020]

I think they may have already had a script for a movie that didn't sell, and decided to turn it into a TV episode. Because of the time constraints of a TV series, they had to take out pieces of the story. How else can you explain jumps from one thing to another with nothing ever being tied up in a nice little bow?

I found the ending to be very disappointing. There were questions that were never answered. It simply came to a very quick end with flashback scenes and...

You'll have to watch the show to see the ending. Perhaps you'll be less disappointed than I. I think it could have been a nice episode. It might even have been a nice movie. But this is neither one.

Good actors, good scenes, lousy script.

"Are we living in a haunted house?"

[classicsoncall · 7/10 · 15 November 2021]

This episode of 'Chiller' nicely builds an atmosphere of dread throughout, backed by a consistently ominous soundtrack. It's arguably the best story presented in the series thus far with only one more to go. As the new owners of Wind Whistle Hall, the Cramers suddenly experience moving shadow figures, creaking stairs, and a chandelier that falls directly over the bathtub Sophie Cramer (Mel Martin) just barely managed to escape from. With all that, I didn't think it was very wise for husband Richard (Peter Egan) to tell a ghost story to his already frightened son Matthew (Tobias Saunders), but at least that ended on a positive note. The maggots crawling out of the turkey dinner was just icing on the cake; I would have bailed on that dinner party as well.

Even so, there did occur a major disconnect in the story when previous owner Peter Walker (Miles Anderson) managed to find Mrs. Cramer trapped in the walk-in refrigerator. How and why? And the fact that he molested her while sufficiently dazed from her ordeal was never properly dealt with. The opening sequence concerning Rosemary Walker's (Helen Caldwell) death lent an air of credibility to the haunted house theme, but the resolution felt slightly bungled when her final appearance made her look all too real. With a slight reworking, this episode could have been made even creepier than it was, though the closing scene of a potential new owner was well scripted, as the departed Richard and pet dog Snowy were observed playing in the yard outside.

Good story, great performances.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 8/10 · 19 August 2018]

This short lived series has proved to be rather a decent watch, and this forth episode is arguably the best to date. A professional sceptic and spooky Naysayer, Dr Richard Cramer is given a touch of his own medicine, where he and his family move into a haunted house following a stroke.

It's a very cleverly written script, considering the short running time of the show, quite a lot is crammed in. It blends a good mix of the supernatural and real life crime, and leaves you asking questions, the main one being 'what actually happened up on that roof?' It's very well acted, I particularly liked Mel Martin, Peter Egan and Miles Anderson were also very good.

Typical of the writing of Anthony Horowitz, clever, smart, and a good twist at the end.

A pity neither ITV, nor the BBC make shows like this anymore, 8/10