‘The Orchard End Murder’: a horrifying forgotten British short
The British film industry has produced some incredible and distinctively unique horror movies over the years, from The Wicker Man to 28 Days Later. Yet, between these more well-known titles are many forgotten gems, like The Orchard End Murder, a 40-minute movie made to be screened before a feature, in this case, 1981’s Dead & Buried.
The Orchard End Murder, directed by Christian Marnham, now remains an obscure remnant of British horror history, sitting alongside other slices of underrated 1980s titles like Sleepwalker and The Appointment. The movie is surprisingly brutal, with Marnham charting a young woman’s steps towards tragedy as her curiosity gets the better of her, leading her to become the victim of a seemingly idyllic village’s strange inhabitants.
While David Lynch would reveal the seedy underbelly within American suburbia in his film Blue Velvet just a few years later – uncovering the grisly darkness that lurks alongside white picket fences – The Orchard End Murder does something similar with a distinctively English approach. Drawing from the folk horror movies that came before it, like the aforementioned The Wicker Man or The Blood on Satan’s Claw, Marnham’s film is a pastoral nightmare.
The film begins with a village cricket match – very English – with the camera panning to a field where Pauline and her boyfriend are getting cosy among a nearby orchard. However, the first sign of danger comes from the hidden figure who appears to be spying on them – someone we will soon come to meet. Once Pauline and her boyfriend return to the cricket match, she quickly tires of the event, wandering away and into the house of a railway gatekeeper who offers her tea.
What transpires might catch some viewers off guard. We know something bad is going to happen – especially when we meet Ewan, a man whose impressive physical strength doesn’t match his mental capacity – but the film doesn’t hold back in capturing the sadistic act that soon occurs.
Pauline’s sexually-charged murder among a pile of rotting apples is a clear reference to the story of Eve, but the film doesn’t feel as cliché as that might sound. It’s a harrowing scene that truly emphasises the exploitation of women, and while it might not be an explicitly feminist film, it certainly highlights the absurdity and senselessness of such male-on-female violence.
With its blend of religious references, folk horror, and tragic depiction of violence, The Orchard End Murder emerges as a horrifying yet poignant tale with a few twists that will surely shock viewers. It might look unassuming, with its small budget and ‘60s village setting, but the film aims to strike true fear into the heart of its viewers, and it certainly achieves this goal.
The film was also the first performance by Clive Mantle, whose portrayal of Ewan is incredibly unnerving, while a young Rik Mayall can be seen playing one of the police officers. So, while it might not be remembered widely in the canon of British cinema history, The Orchard End Murder came at a time when horror was properly given a chance to thrive in the country, something that now feels like a distant memory.
