I’d come so close to watching Seance on a Wet Afternoon so many times before today, the title and description told me it was right up my alley and while it was perfect for my taste just as I hoped it managed to achieve that through means I never would’ve expected. It’s really one of the best story concepts I’ve ever taken in, the way Myra coped with her stillborn son through developing “psychic” abilities made for one of the best depictions of parental grief I’ve ever seen and Richard Attenborough’s husband hopelessly watching his wife destroy herself but still supporting her even through the craziness added another layer of emotional nuance on top of it which I just ate up as a big lover of drama. And while that is praise is certainly for the author of the source material I have to commend Bryan Forbes for his vision in bringing that story to life, the screenplay is truly one of the best to come out of the 60’s and his directorial vision matched the amazing script quality. Speaking of the greatest of the 60’s iconic James Bond composer John Barry did this score and it’s absolutely amazing, I’ve loved his work through the dozen Bonds I’ve seen to this point and this perfectly unsettling drama score works to show me he’s got some impressive chops outside of that wheelhouse. As far as the performances go there’s only two worth mentioning and that’s Kim Stanley and Richard Attenborough in the leads, both are fantastic in bringing these deeply traumatized people to life and together they had such an impressively discomforting chemistry which just shows how good of a chemistry they truly had on set. This two hour runtime absolutely flew by and made for one of my new favorite watches of 2026, Seance on a Wet Afternoon is an under-seen pinnacle of 1960s drama and despite its dark subject matter it’s one I already know I’ll be recommending for years to come.

I’d come so close to watching Seance on a Wet Afternoon so many times before today, the title and description told me it was right up my alley and while it was perfect for my taste just as I hoped it managed to achieve that through means I never would’ve expected. It’s really one of the best story concepts I’ve ever taken in, the way Myra coped with her stillborn son through developing “psychic” abilities made for one of the best depictions of parental grief I’ve ever seen and Richard Attenborough’s husband hopelessly watching his wife destroy herself but still supporting her even through the craziness added another layer of emotional nuance on top of it which I just ate up as a big lover of drama. And while that is praise is certainly for the author of the source material I have to commend Bryan Forbes for his vision in bringing that story to life, the screenplay is truly one of the best to come out of the 60’s and his directorial vision matched the amazing script quality. Speaking of the greatest of the 60’s iconic James Bond composer John Barry did this score and it’s absolutely amazing, I’ve loved his work through the dozen Bonds I’ve seen to this point and this perfectly unsettling drama score works to show me he’s got some impressive chops outside of that wheelhouse. As far as the performances go there’s only two worth mentioning and that’s Kim Stanley and Richard Attenborough in the leads, both are fantastic in bringing these deeply traumatized people to life and together they had such an impressively discomforting chemistry which just shows how good of a chemistry they truly had on set. This two hour runtime absolutely flew by and made for one of my new favorite watches of 2026, Seance on a Wet Afternoon is an under-seen pinnacle of 1960s drama and despite its dark subject matter it’s one I already know I’ll be recommending for years to come.

Love the vibes and the acting performances, but I’m confused was her goal to replace the child she lost? Why was this child chosen to kidnap? At some point she said they wouldn’t keep the money, so what was the original goal, popularity? I see some comments say she wasn’t really psychic, if so how’d she know Billy didn’t kill her and wouldn’t that also mean she willingly blew their whole plan?

Love the vibes and the acting performances, but I’m confused was her goal to replace the child she lost? Why was this child chosen to kidnap? At some point she said they wouldn’t keep the money, so what was the original goal, popularity? I see some comments say she wasn’t really psychic, if so how’d she know Billy didn’t kill her and wouldn’t that also mean she willingly blew their whole plan?

Kim Stanley, what a powerhouse! Convinced that Ryan Murphy “borrowed” all of Jessica Lange’s AHS characters from this performance.

Kim Stanley, what a powerhouse! Convinced that Ryan Murphy “borrowed” all of Jessica Lange’s AHS characters from this performance.

Many such cases.

Many such cases.

Myra and Arthur have been dead for years. What's left of them are unrecognizable even to themselves. Myra has retreated into a pseudo-psychic state where she communicates with the spirit of her stillborn child while Arthur watches helplessly as his beloved partner loses touch with reality more every day. Still, his devotion to her is stronger than his own self-preservation and he finds himself helping her with a new plan to kidnap a child so Myra can claim to use her medium powers to help the family. They're not in this for the money but so Myra can be taken seriously, something she's been waiting for for years and something her husband hopes can cure her even slightly of these delusions. The plan was never going to work. Arthur knew this almost immediately but he hopes against hope that this can all work out somehow and they can return to who they were before everything happened. Seance on a Wet Afternoon is a film dripping with this kind of helpless and delusional hope that everything will go according to a plan doomed from the start, the kind of sinking feeling one gets from betting on a losing horse and watching yourself double down further and further.

Myra and Arthur have been dead for years. What's left of them are unrecognizable even to themselves. Myra has retreated into a pseudo-psychic state where she communicates with the spirit of her stillborn child while Arthur watches helplessly as his beloved partner loses touch with reality more every day. Still, his devotion to her is stronger than his own self-preservation and he finds himself helping her with a new plan to kidnap a child so Myra can claim to use her medium powers to help the family. They're not in this for the money but so Myra can be taken seriously, something she's been waiting for for years and something her husband hopes can cure her even slightly of these delusions. The plan was never going to work. Arthur knew this almost immediately but he hopes against hope that this can all work out somehow and they can return to who they were before everything happened. Seance on a Wet Afternoon is a film dripping with this kind of helpless and delusional hope that everything will go according to a plan doomed from the start, the kind of sinking feeling one gets from betting on a losing horse and watching yourself double down further and further.