Fackham Hall (2025) Review: A Ridiculously Silly Period Parody That Knows Exactly How Dumb It Is

Every once in a while, a film arrives with zero interest in subtlety and absolutely no shame about it.

Fackham Hall (2025) is that film.

Directed by Jim O’Hanlon and co-written by Jimmy Carr, Patrick Carr, and The Dawson Brothers, Fackham Hall is a full-blown period slapstick parody that gleefully skewers costume dramas, murder mysteries, and British aristocracy with the enthusiasm of a farce that refuses to slow down.

Released theatrically in the US on December 5, 2025, and in the UK on December 12, the film has quickly built a reputation as a love-it-or-hate-it comedy — the kind audiences quote, critics debate, and algorithms can’t quite explain.

🎭 What Is Fackham Hall About?

The plot of Fackham Hall is deliberately absurd — and proudly so.

The aristocratic Davenport family has ruled Fackham Hall for generations, but their lineage is in trouble. Patriarch Lord Davenport has no surviving male heir, and the family’s solution is pure parody fuel: marry their daughter Poppy to her deeply unpleasant cousin Archibald to keep the estate in the family.

Enter Eric Noone, a petty thief and orphan tasked with delivering a message to Lord Davenport. Through a cascade of misunderstandings, Eric is mistaken for a job applicant, hired as a hall boy, and promptly forgets about the letter that could change everything.

From there, the film escalates rapidly:

• A wedding interrupted by declarations of forbidden love

• A second daughter, Rose, repulsed by Archibald and drawn to Eric

• A dead lord discovered the morning after

• A locked-house murder mystery stuffed with suspects

And that’s just the setup.

🕵️ Murder, Mistaken Identity, and Maximum Chaos

After Lord Davenport’s suspicious death, Inspector Watt arrives and quickly decides the killer must be one of the wedding guests — a classic whodunit trope pushed to cartoonish extremes.

Eric is accused after being caught robbing the lord’s desk, but refuses to reveal his affair with Rose to protect her reputation. He’s jailed, Rose agrees to marry Archibald to save the estate, and the film leans fully into parody logic.

Then comes the reveal that defines Fackham Hall’s comedic identity:

Eric finally reads the forgotten letter and learns he is actually the long-lost heir — the child of Lord Davenport’s brother — and therefore the rightful owner of Fackham Hall.

What follows is a rapid-fire finale involving:

• Jailbreaks

• Interrupted weddings

• A confession explaining that the lord was accidentally stabbed, shot, poisoned, and strangled

• A furious housekeeper exposed as the killer

• A climactic attempt at fratricide that fails spectacularly

It’s nonsense.

And that’s entirely the point.

🎬 Performances That Embrace the Madness

The cast commits fully to the farce — a crucial requirement for this kind of comedy.

• Thomasin McKenzie brings surprising earnestness to the chaos

• Ben Radcliffe plays Eric as a classic parody hero — oblivious but charming

• Tom Felton revels in Archibald’s chauvinistic absurdity

• Anna Maxwell Martin and Sue Johnston steal scenes with impeccable comedic timing

The performances don’t aim for realism. They aim for precision silliness, and more often than not, they land.

😂 Humor Style: Airplane! Meets Downton Abbey

Fackham Hall will immediately remind viewers of:

• Airplane!

• The Naked Gun

• Monty Python–style absurdity

The jokes come fast, loud, and unapologetically juvenile. Visual gags pile on top of wordplay, misunderstandings, and exaggerated social satire.

Some viewers will find the humor exhausting.

Others will call it “stupidly hilarious.”

Both reactions are valid — and expected.

📉 Box Office & Reception: A Cult Comedy in the Making?

• Box Office: ~$895,626

• IMDb: ~6/10

• Rotten Tomatoes (Audience): Strongly positive

Audience Response:

Viewers have praised the film as:

• “An instant camp classic”

• “Nonstop nonsense in the best way”

• “Pure silliness done with commitment”

Critical Response:

Critical reactions have been more measured. The Guardian awarded the film three stars, noting that while the silliness can wear thin, the movie’s dedication to parody is admirable.

This split response positions Fackham Hall squarely in cult-comedy territory — the kind of film that finds its audience over time rather than overnight.

📺 Where to Watch Fackham Hall

Theatrical Release

• United States: December 5, 2025

• United Kingdom: December 12, 2025

• Currently playing in select cinemas

Streaming Status

As of now:

• ❌ Not available on Netflix, Prime Video, or Disney+

• ❌ No confirmed streaming release date

Home Video / Digital

• Available for pre-order on platforms like:

  • Apple TV

  • Fandango at Home (Vudu)

A streaming debut is expected after the theatrical window, but no official date has been announced.

🇮🇳 Will Fackham Hall Release in India?

There is currently no confirmed theatrical or streaming release date for India, including Bengaluru. Viewers can:

• Set alerts on JustWatch

• Watch for a future OTT release once international distribution expands

🧠 Final Verdict: Is Fackham Hall Worth Watching?

If you enjoy:

• Serious drama — ❌

• Subtle satire — ❌

But love:

• Over-the-top parody

• British farce

• Films that fully commit to being ridiculous

Then Fackham Hall is absolutely worth your time.

It doesn’t reinvent comedy.

It doesn’t pretend to be cleverer than it is.

It simply asks one question:

How many jokes can we fit into 97 minutes?

And then answers it… loudly.