The Little Stranger

During a sunlit summer after the war, Dr. Faraday is summoned to Hundreds Hall to treat a patient in a sprawling estate long tied to the Ayres family. Once grand, the Georgian manor now shows the wear of time as plaster peels and corridors sigh with history. Faraday's medical curiosity clashes with the Ayreses' fading pride, and as he spends time within the house he begins to sense a pressure between mind and surroundings. The boundary between diagnosis and something unseen grows thinner as whispers of illness and memory drift through the halls, hinting that the house may keep its own troubling secrets. Its moral questions hover over the characters as the house seems to press in, testing the doctor's faith in science and the lines between illness and fear.

Directed by Lenny Abrahamson, The Little Stranger adapts Sarah Waters's novel with a measured script by Lucinda Coxon, preserving the book's claustrophobic mood. The cast features Domhnall Gleeson, Ruth Wilson, Will Poulter, and Charlotte Rampling, and the 2018 release situates a restrained Gothic mood in a postwar setting.

Set in a late 1940s mood that blends manor house dread with postwar unease, the film stands out for its careful production design and its quiet, unsettling atmosphere. It translates Waters's gothic sensibility into cinema that lingers long after the credits, with damp corridors, muted colors, and careful sound design.

Critics praised the performances and the way the story marries medical psychology with hints of the supernatural while exploring class and secrecy. Some viewers found the pace deliberate, yet the focus on memory and perception keeps the drama steady and prompts reflection on truth and belief.

Worldwide box office reached about 1.82 million dollars, reflecting a modest release and a niche audience for this Gothic thriller. Its earnings were modest compared with glossy horror hits, but the film found a small, dedicated audience in art house circuits.