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Invaderbank The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

Ginger Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

Richard Lyons This is a fab little gem as the posters say. I didn't quite know what to expect as this isn't a thriller, nor is it a horror or for that matter much of a costume drama. What unfold here is almost a playlette but in a real location. TP McKenna is a powerful Henry despite being towards the end of his life and every inch the king. Nice to see a different take on the usual school history version of Henry and his wives. That said the wives do make an appearance but a the less said here the better save for spoilers. I liked this film and think that if you are in the right mood you will connect with it. For those willing to try something away from the bodice ripping TV movie versions of Henry (all gelled back hair and waxed chests) this makes for a pleasant change and at least has something to say. Shot on a shoe string over just a few weeks make the achievement all the more impressive. This film has certainly been through the wars, having been released in the late 90s to not much ado and then lost. The extras on the DVD reveal the fascinating story of the original camera negative and how this was the key to this HD remastered release which hits cinemas again some twenty years after its first bow.

Josh Parsons It's not often you see a debut director take on something as vast as a costume drama epic about Henry VIII. Most goes the easy route of gangsters and modern day ghost stories. But this film is not epic, but is a costume drama and has an element of haunted house too. I read about the remastering of this relatively recent film, shot in 1996 and in cinemas in 2000. But after hearing the original negative was lost I felt I had to find out more. John Walsh shot this film in two weeks with a micro budget, but amazingly on 35mm film. This is the format that all major Hollywood movies shot on.Clever bloke as this has future-protected the film and now it is back this time in a 2k remaster looking as sharp as a new pin. Is it any good? Unfair to compare with multimillion pound Hollywood fare, but this worth the price of admission to see how John Walsh pulls of the impossible of shooting a costume drama with some heavy eight performances from Jean Marsh and legendary Irish thesp, the late great, TP McKenna.

Nel Toteva Some reviews here say if you are not a fan of costume drama this is one for you. I am a fan of costume drama, so I wasn't quite sure what to expect here. I think I have seen all of the various Henry VIII iterations too, "Anne of a Thousand Days", "A Man for All Seasons" etc… What this film does is give us a snap shot of Henry in one stormy night. A high risk strategy in some ways, given the fact the cast is as sparse as the house that they stay in. The real success here is the performance and script. John Walsh's debut feature is a confident piece with plenty to say. In fact he is doing a Wolf Hall here, but more than ten years before Hilary Mantel.TP McKenna is a wonderful Henry as is certainly on par with Richard Burton and Robert Shaw's versions. Here we see a different side to Henry. By the end of this film I was even starting to think that other costume dramas had perhaps got it wrong and simply cut out a monstrous dictator-like figure for dramatic convenience. The film is a big departure to Henry VIII previous cinema outings and with a rather unusual role for Jean Marsh 'appearing' as she does, I was certainly left feeling the film had made an impact in a subtle and haunting way. It may not be everyone's cup of tea, but at least John Walsh has had something to say here and this has not been a costume parade as befalls many BBC period dramas of late.

Ollie Locke For all is money and bed room antics, The Tudors is not a patch on low budget feature Monarch. Why? Because I found out more about Henry VIII form this hidden gem of a movie than I did with four series of the soap opera with Jonathan Rhys Meyers. I'm a big fan of The Tudors. It has a Game of Thrones take on history. But as an avid follower of British Monarchy, this film Monarch gives me more food for thought. That said it is everything The Tudors isn't: low budget; all set in one location; during one night; a cast that all seem well passed middle age. Despite that it works well as a companion piece. Big TV mini-series have the scope and budget to make the spectacle as real as possible for the viewer, but for most of the cast there is little progression in their characters from one series to the next. I would say take a look at Monarch and see if you agree with the reviews here that the film is like a little time capsule and has captured a new view of Henry VIII, undeniably the most written, talked and filmed about Monarchs of all time. The late Irish actor TP McKenna plays Henry here and turns in a first rate performance. The film was the brain child of the now well- known social and political film maker, John Walsh. I want to see more dramas from him.