SpuffyWeb Sadly Over-hyped

Huievest Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

Janae Milner Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.

Ava-Grace Willis Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

alexanderdavies-99382 This is another triumph for Nigel Kneale. The writing,acting all combine to create a story that is genuinely creepy and has a brilliant atmosphere. The plot concerns attempts by a group of scientists in investigating a supposed Haunted House. I can highly recommend this one if you enjoy Ghost stories.

Paul Evans I've been wanting to see this for so long, and at last a DVD release. The Seventies were a bit of a purple patch for fans of Ghost stories, who doesn't love a ghost story, and why are we starved of them now?I watched the Stone Tape and enjoyed from start to finish, a story one could argue that was somewhat ahead of its time. The whole concept of computers, communication and using such a medium to contact the dead was very cleverly written, as I say ahead of its time. I kept watching it and being reminded of the Woman in Black, the scares, the screams and shock ending etc.Jane Asher was brilliant as Jane, I truly believed her torment throughout, the opening scene with the two lorries was also very cleverly done. Michael Bryant (Of course brilliant) and Ian Cuthbertson never fail to disappoint, and both are great here. Only Reginald Marsh is poor here, maybe the character, or over the top appearance, or both, jut plain irritated me.A must watch for fans of 70's drama and ghost stories 8/10

screenman This was a very nicely executed concept of Nigel Kneale's. Effects, directing and budgets had grown up a little since the cash-strapped days of Quatermass in the 1950's. The premise was that if an event impacted upon the human psyche with sufficient vigour, a remanence of the emotional distress was recorded upon the physical fabric of the immediate world. As stone is usually much more resilient a substance than organic materials such as cloth or wood, the remanence would endure in it longest. Of course, the story wasn't quite that simple. Sometimes there were overlays of imparted memory from different ages. Sometimes history not only repeated itself, but was induced to repetition by an earlier memory. The basis of all hauntings. There were lots of subtle plays upon the idea, and likewise the susceptibility of individuals to detect or respond to these recordings. The question was posed; if nobody could see the ghost walk, would it actually walk? Against this scenario, came a team of modern - what might be called boffins - attempting to develop a new type of recording medium. They stumbled upon the haunting and began to research a method by which it might be commercially exploited. For the most part it was intelligently realised. The creepy borderline between human emotional frailty and the timelessness of its seeming persistence on the substance of the world, evolved in a suspenseful - if rather slow - revelation. If I have a criticism of the drama, it is one of Nigel Kneale's in general. Characters were just too emotional at times. Conflicts seemed needlessly exaggerated, arguments and reactions too histrionic. There were occasions when I found myself muttering 'oh, for heavens sake, sit down and stop shouting', or 'why not just talk this over rationally'. As I say, this seemed to be a Kneale trademark, but I found the lack of a 'safe pair of hands' in most of his work tended to detract from the entertainment. But maybe that's just the way I was brought up. If you get a chance to watch it by all means do. However, I saw it when first broadcast, and though I found the evolving conflict between science and supernatural extremely gripping, the strident characterisation rather irritated me even then. If somebody hands me a copy, I'll give it a whizz. But for the most part hysteria just turns me off. It is too often used as a prop for a poor script.

Theo Robertson BBC four showed a tribute to the great Nigel Kneale entitled THE KNEALE TAPES and followed it with a screening of the 1972 teleplay THE STONE TAPE . I enjoyed the profile but couldn`t help thinking I would have preferred seeing the groundbreaking 1984 or even QUATERMASS 2 but never look a gift horse in the mouth I enjoyed THE STONE TAPE far more than I expected but there is a slight flaw to it - It`s highly derivative of Kneale`s other scripts from the past , especially his masterwork QUATERMASS AND THE PIT . Without giving too much away I was instantly reminded of the events of Hobs Lane with a terrified character running away and a minister turning up with a bell , book and candle THE STONE TAPE does thankfully manage to stand on its own legs and works as a haunted house story . It`s also very clever even if it`s not amongst Kneale`s greatest work though some viewers may be put off with the unsympathetic characters especially Peter Brock , but remember Kneale`s not the sort of guy who paints people black and white . Director Peter Sasdy`s direction may be a little flat but that`s not really a criticism and he does bring a certain amount of atmosphere to the play , check out the scary title and end credits . My only criticism of Sasdy is that the acting is a little over emphatic , which strangely seems to be a problem with some of Nigel Kneale teleplays no matter who the director is . But it`s still pretty good stuff from a time when watching television was a great experience ,and I`d be very interested in what people who have never seen QUATERMASS AND THE PIT thought of it .And if you`re reading this Mister Kneale I`d like to say thanks for all the outstanding drama you`ve given us over the decades