We took a look at part one during October’s Halloween season (click here) and with the subsequent instalments arriving throughout November, the full piece will soon be available for viewers to watch as a series or as one long feature.

The film concerns itself with a woman (Lizzie) being released from an institution into the care of her sister but all is not well on her return to the family home. Is there something sinister afoot? Or could it be inside Lizzie’s head like the authorities suggested?

Well, part two kicks off in the bathtub where we left Lizzie witnessing a disturbed man haunting her consciousness. But her pleas to be believed are dismissed outright by her sister. And later, their dinner table argument leads to a bloody confrontation and the horror starts to increase and paranoia sets in. 

At the next meal, thinking she’s being drugged, Lizzie pours out her soup and her anger at being treated like a child literally spills over pushing her sister into a rage.

Leaving part two on a violent slap from we arrive into the 3rd act with things more sombre but Lizzie becoming increasingly fragile – both mentally and physically. The style again is consistent throughout all 4 parts The 70s homage – both in editing, costume and the retro house design – is still terrific and really plays an important function in creating an unsettling atmosphere.

The family’s gardener Mr. Anderson plays a larger role in this segment as his sympathy for Lizzie is at odds with Margaret’s more austere attempts to cajole Lizzie back to “reality”. 

The performances are top notch across the board too. We get to feel a range of emotions from confusion and empathy all the way through to disgust and worry. Ensuring there are real stakes at risk all the time. And with the main three characters all acting suspicious, the filmmaker has done a great job in keeping the mystery unexplained until the right moment.

Part 4 arrives on the back of a dark discovery at the end of the previous episode and we finally uncover some of the shadowy home truths. The term “cry of magpies” is believed to symbolise the arrival of a welcome visitor or the visit of death and the film aptly plays on this duality. Without spoiling, the true nature of the forces at play (be they spiritual or real) are discovered and revealed to be part of a distressful domestic drama of sorts.

With some typical nods to the genre, its familiar familial frights are actually given their own unique slant from a passionate Midlands filmmaker, who delivers a high-quality retro horror in four fantastic parts.

And in the end, with the narrative twists and turns, the film continually keeps you guessing until the final act, with Cry of the Magpie offering a tremendous mind-trip into the dark recesses of the mind.