Stigma (1977)

Directed by

Lawrence Gordon Clark

Genre

horror film, ghost film

Country

United Kingdom

Runtime

32 min

Rating

5.6 of 10 from 20 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

A family moves to a rural cottage from the city. Workmen try to remove a large stone from the grass outside, and their efforts seem to unleash a supernatural force that makes the mother begin to bleed from invisible wounds.

eerieslow-burnsubtletenseunsettlingatmosphericbleaksuspenseful

What happens

Stigma is a short film which is part of the British supernatural anthology series A Ghost Story for Christmas. Written by Clive Exton, produced by Rosemary Hill, and directed by the series' creator, Lawrence Gordon Clark, it first aired on BBC1 on 29 December 1977 (delayed from 28 December), the latest airdate in the series relative to Christmas. At 31 minutes 47 seconds, it is the shortest episode in the original series. The story concerns a family consisting of Katharine (Kate Binchy), Peter (Peter Bowles), and Verity (Maxine Gordon) who move to a rural cottage from the city. Workmen are brought in to try and remove a large stone which is embedded in the grass outside the cottage, but their attempts appear to unleash a supernatural force which causes Katharine to start bleeding from invisible wounds. "Stigma" is the first instalment in the series not based on a pre-existing work, and the last to be directed by Clark. Hill, who had been brought on as producer in 1973, favoured contemporary stories as opposed to the period adaptations which had been the norm for the series. Clark's ambivalence to this direction led to his departure, and the series' original run would only last another year before ending. Critical and audience response was likewise negative, though in recent years it has been reassessed as a worthy piece of folk horror and body horror that stands alongside supernatural television plays of the decade such as those produced for Play for Today. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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• Opening Night (1977)
• Dead of Night (1977)
• Something Evil (1972)
• Burnt Offerings (1976)