The Wolves of Willoughby Chase- Cult Film Review

I knew of the works of author Joan Aitkin initially through her books with illustrator Jan Piekowski, such as A Necklace of Raindrops. The Lotte Reiniger-style silhouette artwork is indelibly imprinted in my mind as my local library had a small recessed reading area with these art pieces displayed on large boards all around. It created a magical space that I loved and has remained with me over these 35 or so years.

I'd also known of Wolves of Willoughby Chase as I had seen it in my youth, probably on a wet Sunday afternoon as it does feel like a cozy family matinee movie. On a nostalgia kick, but also on a family film option scout, I thought I'd revisit the film to see if it would be a good one to show my own children.

The film is dark fantasy, kind of... As it is very much Victoria/ Edwardian England with workhouse, orphanages and stagecoaches but through the lens of an alternate timeline with King James III ruling.

On the Willoughby estate, the Lord and Lady of the Manor decide to travel for a while. In their stead they leave their daughter Bonnie and her cousin Sylvia with a new governess, Ms. Slighcarp. However, once the parents leave Ms. Slighcarp starts to show her dark side by being a cruel woman with a penchant for forgery. She plans to sink the ship the Lord and Lady are travelling on and gain access to the Willoughby fortune. What follows are escapades through the gothic secret tunnels of the daily home and adventures in a Victorian laundry workhouse.

The whole thing has a whiff of a made-for-TV movie but that's not a knock on it as it is effectively produced and is dramatic. Stephanie Beacham is beautiful yet imperiously cruel and scary in this film. She escalates things near the finale and the sight of her in the steam punk styles ice sledge is great. It's suitably daft yet dramatic, adding much needed drama to a quite melodramatic film. The two children in the main roles (Aleks Darowska and Emily Hudson) are pretty solid all-in-all but won't win any prizes for their acting in this role, however the other adults are quite broad too.

The film is cheesy yet sweet and, whilst there is no real peril for our heroines, a young lad does get squished in the laundry rollers. It doesn't reach the heights of later gothic Victorian set kids films like The Secret Garden or A Little Princess, which were in the early to mid 90s, but for an early 80s film, The Wolves of Willoughby Chase is quite effective.