Manor of Darkness US Digital Review

3 star tense but slightly confused time loop tale.

Manor of Darkness is a 2025 British independant time loop horror take, from the imagination of Blake Ridder (Help, The Midnight Hour (TV Series)). It’s very much his project as he is also cinematographer, director and editor.

It is available on US Digital Platforms from 9th December 2025, courtesy of Ridder Films.

“You know, ever since we’ve got here, I’ve got this weirdest feeling, like I’ve been here before.”

Laura (Kim Spearman – The Last Breath, As I Am) is estranged from her brother Chris (Louis James – Escape, River of Blood) following a burglary gone horribly wrong. But now she’s caring for her sick mother (Stacey Edward Harris – Out for Vengeance) and needs to pay for her surgery, when Chris calls to say he’s found one last big score, she has no choice but to go along with it.

He has found a job listing for a film crew to work in a mansion, where the previous owner was arrested for theft from wealthy guests. An item worth £2 million was never recovered and Chris believes it to still be somewhere in the building. They recruit pickpocket Andy (Rui Shang – Canary Black) to act as the cameraman and Chris’s girlfriend Lisa (Sarah Alexandra Marks – Witch, River of Blood) makes up the film crew.

They arrive at the mansion and the owner tells them to head inside, he’ll be there soon. They split up to investigate, Andy and Chris find a dead body in the attic and Laura and Lisa open a dodgy looking chest in the basement and a load of black smoke comes out. Not usually a good, sign. When the owner Lucas (Stuart Wolfe-Murray – Makeup) arrives, he gets things off to a brutal and strange start and Laura finds herself back at the entrance with everyone else (groundhog day style). Somehow, she is the only one who remembers what came before. But can she convince the others that they are caught in a time loop and find a way save themselves?

“There is nothing I can say that will prepare you for what is to come during darkness. You’ll have to come find me, before I kill everyone.”

Manor of Darkness is an enjoyable film to watch and there are some really good acting performances from all concerned. It is also very atmospheric, the house is creepy and claustrophobic and the cinematography is good.

While it’s a good idea for a story, it is all rather confused and doesn’t actually make any sense if you apply your brain to it for any length of time. Having said that, it’s still good fun and worthy of 85 minutes of your time.

“I’m gonna go find Andy. Stay here. Don’t kill anyone.”