Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children

[School of Movies 2019]

On paper this is a film we should absolutely love, based on a book we should also absolutely love. Average boy discovers a secret, secluded old mansion populated by strange children with special powers, looked after by an eccentric and magical woman, played by a fine actress and directed by a man known for his quirky outsider tales and memorable imagery. From a multi-part children's book series literally inspired by odd Victorian photographs!

And yet it was a strangely cold, disconnected, hollow experience filled with troubling and ultimately unexamined behaviour that makes the central character a different kind of villain to the grotesque child-eating monsters filling up the corners. 

This is a facsimile of a Guillermo del Toro version of X-Men Hogwarts, run through so many filters of nonsense and artifice that there's almost nothing genuinely effective left. What started out as a Quick Review ended up being edited three times into an exploration of our troubles with Tim Burton. 

Next Week: The Mummy!