Manor of Darkness (2025) horror movie review - A Heist Gone Wrong... And Wrong... And Wrong Again

Welcome to Knockout Horror. It’s the first of December so you know what that means? Yep, it’s time to take a look at a horror movie that has absolutely nothing to do with Christmas. Speaking of which, if you are looking for festive frights, check out our Awful Advent category for loads of Christmas horror movie reviews and lists. Today, we are taking a look at Blake Ridder’s brand new time-loop horror Manor of Darkness (2025).

This movie is coming to digital platforms on the 9th of December and we’ll be sure to update the review as soon as it hits. The story follows Laura (Kim Spearman), a young woman who, while struggling to care for her terminally ill mother, decides to reconnect with her estranged brother Chris (Louis James) for one last score.

The job is simple, disguise themselves as a documentary film crew to gain access to a mysterious manor house. Little do they realise, once they are inside, the house has no intention of letting them leave.

The Heist Before the Horror

We are in a bit of a golden age when it comes to Meta Horror. Naturally, the late 90s kicked off the era of self-aware slashers but, in recent years, the sub-genre has diversified dramatically. We’ve seen great meta-slashers like Totally Killer and Bodies, Bodies, Bodies; folk-horror such as In The Earth; found-footage deconstructions like Deadstream and Skinamarink; as well as art-house movies like I Saw The TV Glow.

Modern horror audiences are tired of the same old same old. They want their horror to be clever, self aware, and, above all else, inventive. Manor of Darkness ticks a lot of these boxes but it does take a little while to get there. The opening half of this movie feels like a traditional heist thriller and, if I am being brutally honest, a rather boring heist thriller, at that. Stick with it, though. It does get better.

Our sibling duo have already been involved in at least one job that went horribly wrong. This leaves Laura with no small amount of trepidation when the opportunity for another score comes up. She’s desperate for the money, though and feels like she is out of options. This leaves Chris and Laura with the task of assembling a crew that they can trust.

Chris’s new partner, Lisa (Sarah Alexandra Marks), joins the fray along with Andy (Rui Shang), a slightly hapless but enthusiastic friend. The job seems fairly straight forward; pose as a documentary crew, get into the house, and steal a priceless artifact. The first 30 minutes or so are devoted solely to planning the heist and building the backstory.

Waiting for the Nightmare

It’s a bit of a dialogue heavy slog that I can imagine many viewers checking out from before they get to the good stuff. It’s almost soap opera levels of mundane. There’s no examining blueprints, scouting the location out, or expounding on the various cast member’s very specific set of skills. It’s just drama stuff with little to grasp onto. It feels far longer than it actually is, as well.

We do get the occasional scare but it’s just the vaguest hint at some of the supernatural shenanigans to come. Both Laura and Chris are clearly haunted by their past and this impacts them in a number of different ways, be it hallucinations or simply bad dreams.

Laura is our main protagonist and seems to have much more of a sympathetic moral compass than her brother, Chris. Chris is hot-headed and impulsive. You get the feeling, very early on, that he is about to lead her into some serious trouble, just like he has done in the past.

If you enjoy heist movies, you know what to expect here and you may just have a good time. Just don’t expect too many thrills. Manor of Darkness has a very slight comedic bent that keeps things light, which does help but it’s all very routine.

Things get a bit more interesting when we finally make it inside and get a bit of exposition on the manor itself. This is a great looking setting that reminds you how spooky a lot of the UK’s old stately homes really are. We’ll be doing a bit of exploring in here and this is where things really open up.

Here We Go Again (And Again)

The final 50 minutes of the movie turn into a full blown, supernatural, time-loop horror. I actually have the full press release for this movie but avoided reading the plot outline because I enjoy surprises. I love time-loop horror movies and was definitely caught off guard by the switch-up. In the best way possible, of course.

It’s quite reminiscent of the recent Until Dawn while still following the tried and tested formula of looping the day until they get it right. The big difference here is that only one of our cast members is actually aware of the loop. Everyone else is completely oblivious. This leaves Laura with the conundrum of not only finding a way to solve the loop but also convincing the others to play along.

If you enjoy these types of movies, it’s a hell of a lot of fun. Manor of Darkness manages to balance its self aware, meta-horror shenanigans with some seriously effective kills and even a few moments of humour. Andy, in particular, gets a lot of laughs thanks to his outlandish plans to survive the night.

Ridder plays on horror cliches in a way that demonstrates a serious love for the genre while also showing a desire to poke a little fun at it in the process. Laura’s ever growing frustration at the situation keeps things light. I chuckled at her request to be murdered in a slightly less painful way, as well. It’s good fun and fans of this type of horror theme will have a great time.

Until Dawn Vibes?

Ridder’s direction is noteworthy. I am assuming this is a decently low-budget movie but you wouldn’t guess it. He makes fantastic use of shadows and moody lighting to hide some of the monetary constraints. He never gets too antsy with the shot, either, allowing the moment to develop and linger. This is a very nice looking film that demonstrates a director with a lot of skill and potential.

I really enjoyed Kim Spearman as Laura in the main role. I thought she had some great moments and she made her character’s frustrations feel almost palpable. Rui Shang was a lot of fun as Andy, too. There really isn’t a weak cast member in the entire film.

On the downside, scripting is a bit of a problem. The dialogue rarely gives the characters a serious opportunity to emote or delve into dramatics. This can leave the performances feeling a little flat. This is particularly noteworthy when characters are barely reacting to their friends being butchered in front of them.

As mentioned earlier, Manor of Darkness is arriving off the back of a bunch of meta-horror movies. That’s going to dampen the surprise element and make it feel just a little too familiar. My fiancée immediately compared it to Until Dawn. Even the aesthetics are similar thanks to the moody lighting and the spooky setting.

My biggest complaint, as mentioned earlier, is that the first half of the movie just isn’t all that interesting. Heist films are done to death and it takes a seriously compelling story to make them work. The planning aspect here just doesn’t manage to capture the imagination particularly well. This is a movie that is far more comfortable when it is a full blown horror with a few moments of comedy.

Our Scoring Philosophy: A Fair Fight

Horror is a genre that thrives thanks to indie film makers and low budget creators. At Knockout Horror, we firmly believe that every movie that we review deserves a fair fight. That's why we grade on a curve. Our star ratings are all about context, judging a film on what it achieves with the resources it has.

A 4-star rating for a scrappy indie horror made for $10,000 is a testament to its ingenuity and raw power. A 4-star rating for a $100 million blockbuster means it delivered on its epic promises. We don't compare them side-by-side; we celebrate success in every weight class, from the back-alley brawler to the heavyweight champion. Please keep this in mind when considering star ratings.

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