The Wyvern Mystery

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The Wyvern Mystery ★ 2000

Confusing and stodgy Gothic mystery based on an 1869 novel by Sheridan Le Fanu. As a child, Alice is taken in by Squire Fairfield (Jacobi) when her tenant father dies. Alice grows up into a beautiful young woman (Watts) and the Squire has lustful designs on her but is bested when Alice runs off and marries Fairfield's son Charles (Glen). The newlyweds wind up at an isolated Fairfield property that apparently has a curse on it and a now-pregnant Alice begins to have nightmares of tragedy. Watts is demure and Jacobi chews the scenery; everything else is a follow-the-numbers folly. 118m/C VHS, DVD . GB Naomi Watts, Derek Jacobi, Iain Glen, Jack Davenport, Aisling O'Sullivan, Ellie Haddington; D: Alex Pillai; W: David Pirie; C: Simon Maggs; M: Philip Apple-by. TV