Add your email and we'll match picks to the services you stream at home.

Poster for The Living and the Dead

The Living and the Dead

Seen it?

2006 | 83 min | Drama, Horror

Sunday Safe Betearly rating

Why it’s a Sunday Safe Bet

Critics loved it (91% on Rotten Tomatoes), though it had almost no lasting buzz and soft box office. A safe bet when you want something reliable.

Based on critics, audiences, awards, box office and buzz. Details below.

Is it for you?

Who'll love it
Made for horror fans. If you loved The Babadook or Repulsion, start here.
The mood
Scary.
The pace
Takes its time with its characters, at 1 hr 23 min.
What might put you off
Nothing much for most grown-ups.

Lord Donald and Lady Nancy reside in the magnificent but run-down Longleigh House with James, their mentally disabled adult son. Nancy has fallen seriously ill and Donald is preparing to sell the house to raise enough money to pay for an operation. He arranges for the family nurse, Mary, to take care of Nancy while he leaves to tend to the sale. However, James wants to prove to his father that he can look after his mother on his own and decides to lock Mary out of the house. It isn't long before James starts mixing his mother's pills and forgetting to take his own medication, and as the stress of looking after his mother increases, so too does the severity of his own condition.

How it earned its rating

  • CriticsVery strong

    91% on Rotten Tomatoes

  • AudiencesNot counted

    Not measured yet: not enough ratings

  • AwardsNot counted

    No major awards or nominations

  • Reach & staying powerBelow par

    Streaming release that reached a small audience so far; still draws a steady audience long after release

  • Buzz & cultural impactWeak

    About 8K people sought it out in the past year

Trailer

More like this

Want more like this, picked just for you? Get my picks

Cast & crew

Directed by Simon Rumley

  • Leo BillJames Brocklebank
  • Roger Lloyd PackDonald Brocklebank
  • Kate FahyNancy Brocklebank
  • Sarah BallNurse Mary
  • Neil ConrichPoliceman
  • Richard Wills-CottonNurse Mike