Oh dear. I was really looking forward to a decent scare over the festive period. I did get a shock watching this, just not in the way that the makers of The Small Hand intended.
An otherwise talented cast mumbled their dialogue in such a way as to suggest they were embarrassed to be involved in what turned out to be a complete yawn-fest of a 'ghost story' with a total absence of atmosphere and shocks.
A lacklustre script and turgid direction made for a deeply disappointing drama which should be done under The Trades Description Act for calling itself a ghost story.
I've had more scares waiting for my Yorkshire puddings to rise!
Do yourselves a favour and give this two hour dud a miss. It is not worth investing your time. On the other hand, Martin's Close by MR James shown on BBC4 on Christmas Eve is definitely thirty minutes well spent.