“On
the verge of a career-defining
American tour, a talented cellist is
horrified to witness the apparent suicide
of the woman she thought was her
mother, only to discover her connection
with a missing child and a seemingly
haunted mansion in Wales in the chilling
thriller Requiem...”
OFFERED THE OPPORTUNITY OF A US TOUR, young gifted cellist Matilda "Tilly"
Gray (Lydia Wilson: Ripper Street) and her friend and fellow musician
Hal (Joel Fry: Plebs) feel it is their dream come true and prepare for
their trip excitedly, but she is just about to find her life turned upside down.
When Tilly's mother Janice (Joanna Scanlan: No Offence) kills herself
in front of her distraught daughter, dark secrets from the past begin to emerge
as a box containing newspaper cuttings and photographs seems to link her mother
to Penllynith, a village in Wales where four year old Carys Howell (Emmie Thompson)
disappeared in 1994 — twenty-three years previously.
“Requiem
is eerily gripping
and compulsive viewing
right to the very last
moment...”
A
deeply-shocked Tilly starts having nightmares and hears voices, but she persuades
Hal to take her to Wales, where she hopes to find the answer to a myriad of
questions. In the village they arrive during the funeral of local landowner
Ewan Dean (Nick Hobbs) who, the day after Tilly's mother killed herself, apparently
inexplicably threw himself from the roof of his mansion.
At
the funeral, Tilly recognises Carys' mother Rose (Claire Rushbrook: Home
Fires) from the newspaper clippings. Divorced from Sean Howell (Sam Hazeldine)
and now married to Aron Morgan (Richard Harrington: Poldark), they have
a son of their own, David (Brochan Evans). Rose becomes upset when she sees
Tilly and approaches her, causing a scuffle to break out.
Tilly and Hal are befriended by Nick Dean (James Frecheville: Transparent),
a distant relative of Ewan who has inherited the mansion and who steps in to
help. He invites them to stay with him as the landlord of the inn, Harry Franken
(Ifan Huw Dafydd) and his daughter Trudy (Sian Reese-Williams) claim they have
no available rooms.
Tilly is astounded when she recognises the mansion from one of the photographs
that was in her mother's box, but there are more shocks to come as she and Hal
begin to hear strange noises and discover smashed mirrors. Even more odd is
that Tilly is having nightmares in which she discovers a child in a hidden room
and then leads Hal to a cellar she could not have known about unless she had
actually been there.
In a village of secrets and lies, Tilly begins to believe that she is indeed
the missing child; although the discovery of a child's body could throw this
into doubt. The Morgans are angry and want to be left alone; but who can be
trusted to help Tilly and Hal uncover the truth?
Nick has come all the way from Australia to inherit, but is he really what he
seems to be? He is desperate for money and antiques dealer Sylvia Walsh (Tara
Fitzgerald: In The Club) is keen to purchase items from the seemingly-haunted
manor, which Nick agrees to following the inexplicable death of a second relative.
Sylvia harbours a sinister secret, along with Dr Verity Satlow (Pippa Haywood)
and her husband Lloyd (Simon Kunz), but do they know anything about Carys' disappearance?
Even the Police: PC Graves (Clare Galbraith) and Constable Shortly (Darren Evans)
seem to be perplexed by strange goings-on and who is the hermit living in the
woods? Former Detective Stephen Kendrick (Brendan Coyle: Downton Abbey),
who worked on the original investigation into the missing Carys 23 years earlier,
comes back and appears to want to help to solve the mystery.
The mysterious and other-worldly Laura (Anastasia Hille) claims to be in touch
with someone on the other side who wants to tell Tilly something — but
is she genuine? What is the weird cult that practices in the village, and who
can Tilly trust when even Hal starts behaving oddly?
As Tilly's sanity and her life hang in the balance, emerging secrets include
possible murder and black magic and as the series reaches its climax, some things
still remain unsolved. We found the sheep deaths rather unnecessary but Requiem
is eerily gripping and compulsive viewing right to the very last moment. A splendid,
if a little puzzling at times, addition to the BBC's list of successful series.
Requiem also features: Jane Thorne as Aunt Meredith Dean; Daniel Baker
as Kendrick's Son; Dyfan Dwyfor as Ed Fenton, the local handyman; and Charles
Dale as Farmer Royce Evans.
Composer is Dominik Scherrer with Natasha Khan; Director of Photography is Chloë
Thomson; Screenplay is by Kris Mrksa (Underbelly) and Blake Ayshford;
Producer is Susan Breen; and Directed by Mahalia Belo.
*
From the team behind The Missing comes a new psychological supernatural
thriller with a difference — Requiem, airing first on BBC One and,
on 19 March 2018, released on DVD in the UK courtesy of Acorn Media International.
Certificate: 15 | Running Time: 360 Minutes Approximately | Catalogue Number:
AV3415 | RRP: £24.99.
"Requiem is eerily gripping and compulsive viewing right to the very
last moment" — Maggie Woods, MotorBar
"An exemplary winter chiller" — The Guardian Guide
"It's good to see the BBC still keeping us on our toes — and hiding behind
the sofa" — Sunday Mirror Notebook
"Spine-tingling… atmospheric… influences of Don't Look Now and Rosemary's
Baby" — Cosmopolitan
“On
the verge of a career-defining