The Secret of Marrowbone (15) ★★☆☆☆

PART horror, part family drama, this film takes place primarily in America in 1969 and centres on a mother (Nicola Harrison) who moves with her four children from England to the large, remote north-eastern countryside estate – Marrowbone is her maiden name – where she grew up.

At first, the attempt to escape the clutches of their abusive criminal father and start a happy new life seems to be working out perfectly, including the siblings’ meeting and befriending a local girl, Allie (Anya Taylor-Joy), who shows them around.

However, when the mother dies, the child, Jack (George MacKay), is left to look after his siblings – Billy (Charlie Heaton), Jane (Mia Goth) and Sam (Matthew Stagg) – until he can officially inherit the property on his 21st birthday.

In order to remain together, they must keep a dark truth secret from anyone who would try to tear their family apart – including inconveniently curious lawyer, Tom (Kyle Soller) – all the while being plagued by a sinister presence seemingly lurking within the house.

The debut feature from director Sergio G Sanchez shares some of the aesthetic spirit of films such as The Orphanage (which Sanchez wrote) and The Others. The cinematography by Xavi Gimenez authentically showcases the idea that this dusty old house is a relic of a century earlier and encapsulates the old-fashioned, low-key gothic atmosphere that the film wears proudly.

There’s also a game attempt at inflecting the present-day horror that’s afflicting the family with traumas of the past, to explore what it means for suffering to catch up with you no matter where you try to hide.

But it’s a film that never quite delivers on its promise of mixing skulking horror with family melodrama, one extreme taking away from the other rather than them mixing fluidly. It makes for a frustrating experience because the sinister creepiness lurking within the walls is never focused on enough to be truly unnerving, while the rather thin characterisation, unnecessary subplots and reliance on flashbacks take away from the overall power of the drama.

Though well acted by a talented young cast, the film never escapes the trappings of genre familiarity and an increasingly ridiculous and confused plot. It builds towards a revelatory bombshell that not so much stretches credulity as snaps it completely. It feels like a bit of a cheat of an ending and an unsatisfying way to bring together its worthwhile themes about pain, grief and family bonds.