Down a Dark Hall

Ghostly happenings at a creepy manor with AnnaSophia Robb and Uma Thurman

A troubled teen (AnnaSophia) is sent to Blackwood Boarding School in Upstate New York where she and a handful of other difficult girls are coached by the mysterious headmistress (Uma) and her staff to be productive members of society. It doesn’t take long for the teens to discern something eerie is going on.

Based on the 1974 book by Lois Duncan, "Down a Dark Hall" (2018) is stylish Gothic mystery/horror with the milieu of the seminal "The House That Screamed" from five decades prior. Fans of that film and later ones, such as "Lust for a Vampire," "Picnic at Hanging Rock," "Suspiria," "The Woods" and “The Moth Diaries,” should appreciate this. There are also elements of “The Fog” remake from 2005.

The first 50 minutes are rather uneventful, but they’re just a set-up to the lively last act. Winsome AnnaSophia is an effective protagonist and it’s good to see Uma again.

The movie runs 1 hour, 36 minutes, and was shot in late 2016 in Barcelona on the northeastern coast of Spain, as well as Las Palmas de Gran Canaria in the Canary Islands, which is also Spain.

GRADE: B-