The Tour

When American tourists Cassie (Heather Dorff) and Morgan (Jessica Cameron) head for a European trek, the quiet town of Darkmoor appears to be more than an idyllic resting place. Upon arriving at Darkmoor Manor with tour guide Tom (Tom Gordon) their interest in the haunted hotspot is almost as attractive as the attention between Cassie and Tom. Dragging her friend along, Cassie forces Tom to take them on a private tour of the house at night but what the house has to offer is more than they can handle.

 

Mathieson and Rickard have managed to not only managed to create a terrifying short on a small budget but also used the best of the genres talent in such a confined piece. Despite Cameron and Dorff’s penchant for bloody and violence (especially turns in Cameron’s own twisted ‘Truth or Dare’) they manage to play well against type as two (fairly) modest women in a subtle horror that refrains from buckets of blood and instead paces for good storytelling and genuine scares.

 

There may be a twist you can see a mile off but this is not the end of the film and as it falls into its closing minutes, adds a nice close to an already great piece.

 

‘The Tour’ manages to do all that is right in film-making with a steady build up, a believable script and unpredictable scares, a superb debut from Mathieson and Rickard which leaves us screaming for a full length adaptation and more adventures from Cassie and Morgans haunted Europe.