Strange Unearthly Things

Creagh (Nevermore) solidly straddles the line between moody gothic romance and bleak work of horror in this paranormal retelling of Jane Eyre. Eighteen-year-old psychic artist Jane can detect the presence of spirits using charcoal pencils and her sketch pad. After leaving the unpleasant girls’ foster home she was raised in, she accepts a job to help expunge “oppressive forces” from Fairfax Hall in Derbyshire. Unbeknownst to Jane, she is also being stalked by a demonic horned being that follows her to Fairfax. At the eerily familiar estate, she meets two other hires: Giovanni, a flirt who perceives insights via touch, and Ingrid, a tarot card reader. When the three psychics encounter brooding teenager Elias, their eyepatch-wearing employer, Jane feels an immediate attraction to him. Meanwhile, the demon continues stalking Jane, complicating her investigation into Fairfax Hall’s evil spirits. While a love triangle between Jane, Giovanni, and Elias feels forced, the narrative’s intense and appropriately grim atmosphere is brightened by ebullient writing—Elias is described as “Mr. Darcy with a splash of Dr. Frankenstein”—and a smartly climactic resolution stays true to the inspiration material’s roots. The cast largely cues as white. Ages 12–up. Agent: Janna Bonikowski, Knight Agency. (Aug.)