I first saw Cold Comfort Farm way back in the early 70's on TV, but this latest version is so much funnier. Kate Beckinsale makes a wonderful bossy "take charge" Flora, and everyone else in the cast is just hilarious. Eileen Atkins' scenery chewing when her son, played by Rufus Sewell, was leaving home to become a Hollywood film star, just about had me in hysterics. The dread menacing atmosphere, the dark hints about something seen in the woodshed, and the general squalor of a once prosperous family gone to ruin are all conveyed in a humourous but not slapstick or farcical way. The Starkadders mooch about muttering threateningly until Flora eventually sets them all on the right path to recovering prosperity. Flora is the kind of upbeat heroine who would take a hot cup of cocoa to Dracula "because he is probably cold after all that time in the tomb." A very enjoyable film for those who like something different.