Line #42 Film/TheStoneTape


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bbc_the_stone_tape_nigel_kneale_1972_logo.png]]
2	A research team for British company Ryan Electronics move into a renovated castle where they intend to develop new technologies that can compete with Japan. When computer analyst Jill Greeley sees the ghost of Louisa Hanks, an undermaid killed falling from a staircase in 1890, team leader Peter Brock decides to concentrate their efforts on researching the phenomenon, convinced that it's the key to a revolutionary form of memory storage -- [[TitleDrop the "stone tape"]].
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4	''The Stone Tape'' was broadcast on Christmas 1972, and is regarded as one of Creator/NigelKneale's best and most frightening television plays, listed on ''The 100 Greatest Scary Moments''. It was originally intended to run as an extra-long instalment of an [[{{Anthology}} anthology series]], ''Dead Of Night''[[note]]That series also features episodes written by Creator/RobertHolmes and [[Film/BastardOutOfCarolina Dorothy Allison]][[/note]], but was eventually [[DivorcedInstallment broadcast as a standalone feature]]. Both Creator/StephenKing and Creator/JohnCarpenter have cited it as an influence. It was released on DVD (itself a revolutionary form of memory storage) in 2001.
5	----
6	!This telefilm provides examples of:
7	* {{Bizarrchitecture}}: The haunted room has a staircase leading up the wall to nowhere, apparently built as a folly. Louisa Hanks was killed falling off the stairs and Jill notes it doesn't seem high enough to kill someone that way. [[spoiler:Jill herself is pursued up the staircase by the Others to an EldritchLocation from which she falls an infinite distance, being found in the room later dead of shock.]]
8	* BriefAccentImitation: Whenever Brock quotes his boss, he does so in an Irish accent.
9	* BrownNote: The noises Brock is generating to trigger the stone tape drive even his colleagues to the point of madness. Also the voices of the EldritchAbomination as heard by Jill.
10	* CampbellCountry: The castle only dates to the 19th century, but the foundations turn out to be a lot older. It even has "[[Literature/TheRatsInTheWalls rats in the walls]]".
11	* ComputerEqualsTapeDrive: Averted
12	* DestroyTheEvidence: [[spoiler:After Jill's death, Brock has the computer printout shredded, derides Jill as a lunatic and orders his team not to discuss the matter.]]
13	* DiesWideOpen: [[spoiler:Jill]] is found like this.
14	* DueToTheDead: Averted. [[spoiler:Jill argues that the spirit should be treated with respect, but is overruled by Brock. Later Brock's colleagues are furious over how he emphasized Jill's mental instability at the coroner's hearing.]]
15	* EldritchAbomination: The Others. Whatever is in the house is extremely old and extremely powerful.
16	* EldritchLocation / AbsurdlyLongStairway: [[spoiler:Jill flees up the short flight of stairs to nowhere, and somehow ends up on a high precipice surrounded by stars.]]
17	* ElectromagneticGhosts: Averted -- the ghost scream won't record on audio or video. Eventually, the scientists realise what they hear and feel is the brain's reaction to whatever is imprinted into the walls; this is why some people are more sensitive to paranormal phenomena than others.
18	* EvenTheRatsWontTouchIt: The [[HauntedHouse strange noises in castle]] are said to be rats, but one character notes that there are still cans of spam left over from the war that would have been chewed open if that were the case.
19	* TheGhost: No, not an actual ghost -- the unseen boss of Ryan Electronics.
20	* GhostlyChill: The scientists speculate that the chill is caused by heat being drawn out of the air and converted to other forms of energy, to create the physical manifestation of the ghost.
21	* GoMadFromTheRevelation: Alan's friend Jackie was trapped in the haunted room during a childhood game of dare.
22	-->'''Alan:''' He made out it spoke to him... and then the Others came.
23	-->'''Jill:''' Can I meet him?
24	-->'''Alan:''' What for? He don't remember. They took him up the County, you know. They put him right. They can do that. He don't care a button he just ''[[LaughingMad la-a-a-ughs all the time!]]''
25	* HauntedCastle: Taskerlands
26	* HauntedTechnology: "[[{{Narm}} IT'S IN THE COMPUTER!]]"
27	* HystericalWoman: Jill's warnings that 'erasing' the stone tape has only uncovered something else are dismissed by all concerned, even Roy.
28	* IMeantToDoThat: Brock says this after he erases the stone tape. Everyone scoffs at him.
29	* ImpendingDoomPOV: [[spoiler:The final shot is a zoom-in on Brock's screaming face as he sees...]]
30	* ISeeDeadPeople: The team vary in their sensitivity to paranormal phenomena -- Jill can see the ghost, others like Stewart Jessop can barely hear it. Brock can hear but not see the ghost [[spoiler:though after Jill dies while screaming his name, it's implied he can see her just fine]].
31	* JapanTakesOverTheWorld: In a pep talk to his team, Brock predicts that that in ten years the only electronic industries will be Japanese unless Ryan Electronics develops radical new technologies.
32	* JerkAss: Peter Brock, which he openly admits to Crawshaw.
33	* JustThinkOfThePotential: All the scientists (even Jill) become quite excited at the commercial possibilities of the stone tape -- such as long term memory storage and television programs that can be beamed directly into your head.
34	* LabcoatOfScienceAndMedicine: Crawshaw wears a labcoat all the time, and Brock accuses him of doing it as a deliberate ploy (along with having hands permanently dyed with laundry powder) to emphasize that he's a hands-on researcher like their boss used to be. Sure enough when Crawshaw is put in charge of Taskerlands, he changes to a suit.
35	* LivingMemory: The stone tape is a residual memory of a past traumatic event imprinted into the stonework.
36	* ManInARubberSuit: Stewart Jessop arrives in the back of a station wagon dressed as a Martian.
37	* TheMistress: Jill to Brock, who has his own family; he callously dumps her for Crawshaw's SexySecretary when she becomes a liability.
38	* NeverMyFault: Brock never accepts responsibility for anything that goes wrong, and constantly dismisses Jill's fears as an [[ItsAllAboutMe attempt to manipulate him]].
39	* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Under pressure from his boss to come up with results, Brock [[TapedOverTurmoil accidentally erases the stone tape]] with his experiments, and then dismisses Jill's warnings in his eagerness to cover up his mistake.
40	* NothingIsScarier: Given the limited special effects budget of a BBC television play of TheSeventies, the Others are only seen as glowing lights or an ImpendingDoomPOV
41	* NotUsingTheZWord: Brock tells the others not to use words like "ghost" or "spook" because the impulse is not to take them seriously.
42	* OurGhostsAreDifferent: What we know as ghosts are in fact living memories from past traumatic events, 'taped' in the area where they happened, and their appearances are simply this tape being replayed.
43	* PerpetualMotionMonster: Lampshaded -- Jill notes that the 'tape' should have decayed after thousands of years. The fact that it hasn't shows that the Others still exist.
44	* PhoneCallFromTheDead: Some of the last words spoken by Louisa turn up in the computer printout.
45	* [[ReallySevenHundredYearsOld Really 7,000 Years Old]]: According to Jill's computer analysis, the Others are ''very'' old.
46	* SealedEvilInACan: Wiping the stone tape releases whatever it was recorded on top of.
47	* SecretKeeper: Implied with the Department of Conservation.
48	-->'''Paterson:''' Before I forget, sir. Them conservation inspectors was here again. Been in there a long time, they was. They said there would be a summons. And before they went one of them said, "Did you know about the room?"
49	-->'''Brock:''' What did they mean?
50	-->'''Paterson:''' Just that, sir. "Did you know about the room?"
51	* SexySecretary: One turns up with Crawshaw, and Brock doesn’t take long to bed her.
52	* ScienceRelatedMemeticDisorder: Jill is a genius with computer analysis but is [[HystericalWoman regarded as emotionally fragile by her colleagues]].
53	* ScreamingWoman: Played for horror. [[spoiler:Jill's dying scream ends up being imprinted on the stone tape.]]
54	* TalkToTheFist: Roy punches Brock in fury after he finds him destroying the evidence and deriding Jill as insane.
55	* UnrequitedLove: Roy Collinson is clearly attracted to Jill, but never makes a move on her.
56	* WhatTheHellHero: Brock gets called out several times on his jerkass behaviour, but continues to bully and bluster his way through events.
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Context Film / TheStoneTape