Tamal Kundu
Directed by Axelle Carolyn, ‘The Manor’ is a horror film that follows Judith Albright (Barbara Hershey), a woman who has a stroke on her 70th birthday. She subsequently starts fearing that things will only get worse for her. Not wanting to force her family to take care of her, Judith becomes a Golden Sun Manor Nursing Home resident. Her grandson Josh, whom she practically raised, doesn’t believe that she belongs there.
She soon starts seeing a mysterious entity hovering around the bed of her roommate. When she tries to speak to the staff about it, they tell her it’s just a dream. But the more time she spends at the facility, the more she sees the entity. She comes to believe that she will die if she stays at the manor and unsuccessfully tries to escape. The film faithfully depicts some of the problems that older adults encounter in modern society. If you are wondering whether ‘The Manor’ is based on real-life events, this is what you need to know.
Is The Manor Based on a True Story?
No, ‘The Manor’ is not based on a true story. It’s a horror film that heavily draws from Celtic mythology, especially the components involving the Tree of Life. There are elements such as witchcraft, regeneration, and a monster in the film. So, it is definitely not inspired by actual events. It’s the 8th entry in the ‘Welcome to the Blumhouse’ series of movies.
However, that doesn’t mean that ‘The Manor’ is completely devoid of any realistic aspect. Carolyn also wrote the script for the film. And she stated in an interview that the script was partly influenced by going to visit loved ones at nursing homes and realizing the effect it has on an individual. She also wanted to delve into how modern society treats the older generations. She included how she saw herself aging. Her anxieties about it also found their way into the script. Her opinions about nursing homes are part of the narrative structure of ‘The Manor’ as well.
Carolyn is not new to the horror genre. She previously directed episodes of ‘American Horror Story,’ ‘Creepshow,’ and ‘The Haunting of Bly Manor’ and horror romance film ‘Soulmate.’ She expertly employs her experience into this project, creating a perfect balance between realism and supernatural.
Carolyn stated that her favorite scenes in the film are the ones involving the monster. The objective was never to make a movie that would be extremely terrifying. However, she loved developing the supernatural aspect of the film with prosthetics and practical effects.
Along with ‘Madres,’ the other ‘Welcome to the Blumhouse’ project released on the same day as Carolyn’s film, ‘The Manor’ explores two seemingly contrasting factors of existence: life and death. The ending of ‘The Manor’ might be nihilistic, but it is also quite honest as a significant number of people will likely make the same choice as Judith. So, while ‘The Manor’ is not based on a true story, it’s completely understandable if someone thinks it is.
Read More: Blumhouse’s The Manor Ending, Explained
