THINGS THAT GO BUMP IN THE NIGHY

DURING an ominous lull in this macabre murder mystery set on the fog-choked streets of Victorian London, a stage actor draws parallels between his craft and human nature. “We all wear pantomime masks, do we not?” he asks. Those words resonate with a chill throughout Juan Carlos Medina’s The Limehouse Golem. It’s a stylish battle of wits between Scotland Yard and a serial killer. The late Alan Rickman was to have led the fine ensemble cast. Instead, Bill Nighy brings solemnity and gravitas to the complex role of a righteous police officer, whose career has been dogged by rumours that “he’s not the marrying kind”. It’s a measured and moving performance, devoid of the deadpan comic shtick that has elevated Nighy in the nation’s affections. He beautifully conveys his protagonist’s inner turmoil, fully aware he is being set up as a scapegoat if the killer remains at large.

Jane Goldman’s script, adapted from Peter Ackroyd’s novel Dan Leno and The Limehouse Golem, uses cinematic trickery to keep us guessing about the murderer’s identity until a deliciously satisfying reveal when someone’s pantomine mask slips.

A series of slayings in the alleys of 1880s east London, attributed to an elusive figure nicknamed The Golem, baffles Scotland Yard.

Inspector John Kildare (Nighy) is hurriedly promoted to lead investigator, primarily to take the fall when police fail to apprehend a suspect. “The public wants blood, The Golem provides it,” ruefully notes Kildare to Constable George Flood (Daniel Mays), his sole ally.

Evidence points to four suspects: journalist John Cree (Sam Reid), music hall performer Dan Leno (Douglas Booth), novelist George Gissing (Morgan Watkins) and philosopher Karl Marx (Henry Goodman).

Kildare’s gut instinct points to Cree. He was recently murdered by his wife Elizabeth (Olivia Cooke) and the inspector surmises she glimpsed her husband’s dark side and poisoned John to end his reign of terror.

Testimony from the Crees’ spiteful maid condemns Elizabeth to the gallows and Kildare races against time to prove his theory before the noose tightens.

The Limehouse Golem sustains the element of surprise and doesn’t stint on blood and gore. Something wickedly entertaining this way comes.