If we consider The Blood on Satan’s Claw, The Wicker Man and Witchfinder General as the unholy trinity of Folk Horror cinema, then it feels only appropriate to consider The Owl Service as one of the key titles in the pantheon of folk horror television. Alongside titles like Children of the Stones, Robin Redbreast, The Stone Tape, Murrain and The Baby episode of Nigel Kneale’s Beasts it forms a group larger than cinema’s unholy trinity, but equally as important to what we now call folk horror.

The Owl Service tells the story of three teenagers, Gwyn (Michael Holden, of Please Sir! fame), Roger (Francis Willis, Thriller and The Breaking of Bumbo) and Alison (Gillian Hills, Clockwork Orange, Blow-Up and Demons of the Mind) who discover a set of dinner plates in the attic of stepsiblings Alison and Roger’s family holiday home, these plates are Owl Service of the title. After realising that the images on the plate are representations of owls, Alison makes copies, after which they disappear from the plates, subsequently unleashing an ancient magic into the valley. This is the beginning of a complex tale that takes in the complex relationships between the three teenagers as well as the relationships between folklore, traditions and the supernatural. 

Beautiful, strange, lyrical, poetic, literate and above all else darkly magical, The Owl Service is a fine adaption of the Alan Garner novel of the same name. A tour de force of young adult fiction based on the Mabinogion, a compilation of the earliest British prose stories based on Welsh folklore and traditions. Garner’s exquisite retelling of the tale of Blodeuwedd, the woman created from flowers by the King of Gwynned, Math and a magician Gwydion for a man who was cursed never to take a wife. Blodeuwedd would betray her husband in favour of a man named Gronw and is turned into an owl as punishment for persuading Gronw to kill her husband. 

The series itself belies its low budget at times by using its beautiful locations to great effect. The performances are solid, particularly Hills as Alison, Holden as Gwyn and Raymond Llewellyn (Cadfael, Dr Who and The Newcomers) as gardener Huw Halfbacon, a man who is initially deemed to be the local crazy man but has greater significance to the plot than one may first think. 

As a piece of children’s entertainment, it feels decidedly grown up, the relationships between Alison, Gwyn and Roger are charged with sexual tension and much is hinted at with regards to their complicated relationships. There is also a separate plotline about class division, with both Roger and Alison coming from wealthy backgrounds whilst Gwyn comes from a working-class background.  It’s hard to imagine this was screened for children (even older ones) in 1969. Director Peter Plummer produced an endearing masterpiece that has been long overdue on Blur-ay.

This new disc from Network Films looks pristine, the images are sharp, crisp and clean and the colours look natural. The disc features interviews with Alan Garner filmed in 1968 and 1980, as well as audio commentaries on some episodes from Tim Worthington, with a limited edition booklet featuring essays from Stephen McKay, Chris Lynch and Kim Newman.

The Owl Service remains one of the finest TV series ever made, a masterpiece of folk horror that draws the viewer in and won’t let go until the end. A tour de force of British pastoral traditions and an incredibly affecting chunk of televisual delight. We may never see its like again, but at least we will always have the original and Garner’s special novel.