Come Back Lucy (1978) British Kid’s Horror runs rings around its modern equivalents (DVD Review)

Timeshifts and tantrums in this kids horror throwback from the late 1970s. Adapted from Pamela Sykes’s novel of the same name, this 1978 TV series delivers nostalgia by the bucketload along with high-maintenance little girl ghosts and all the modern music of the late nineteen seventies! Groovy!

The titular Lucy is an odd little girl. Raised by her decrepit aunt Olive, with no mention of parents, Lucy is used to a sedate, simple and ‘proper’ way of life, not exposed to the modern ways of the late nineteen seventies. Upon her beloved aunt’s death, she is taken into the custody of a distant cousin she has never met and moves into her Victorian house with her unruly and awfully trendy family, much to her absolute horror. Lucy struggles to fit in with this rowdy home, where the kids listen to pop music, call their parents by their first names and most shockingly of all, girls wear jeans. She’s intrigued by a dusty attic room the kids have earmarked for an upcoming party, full of ‘junk’ left behind by previous owners, including an antique rocking horse and piles of dusty mirrors. A ghostly apparition appears to Lucy – this is Alice – a Victorian girl who used to live in the house and takes a shine to Lucy.

Alice’s influence allows Lucy to be physically transported back to Victorian times and the girls play together, at first enjoying each other’s company and the retro games, until Alice starts to insist that Lucy stay with her in the past for longer periods, leaving Lucy unsure of whether she should be in the past or the future with her new family. As Christmas approaches, her absences begin to be noticed by her relatives and as she can’t explain where she has been going, they assume she’s extremely unhappy in their company and fear she might not want to stay with them long term. Alice’s motives become clear to Lucy, however, when she encourages her to put herself at risk in order to join her in the past forever – Lucy has to make a decision about her own future before it’s too late.

Come Back Lucy, originally broadcast in 1978, bears all the hallmarks of British kid’s horror at the time – we have a lonely child, a new home and an attic full of antiques, along with absentee adults and an outspoken ghost with questionable motives. Come Back Lucy spends most of its time in the chaotic world of Lucy’s cousins, a rag-tag bunch consisting of politically-minded older brother Patrick, tomboy sister Rachel and cheeky younger sibling Bill, who mostly appears to adlib his lines and actually gives the most genuine performance of the three. Cousin Gwen and her husband Pete do a good job of being largely too busy to keep an eye on the kids, but they care when they need to, especially Gwen, who welcomes Lucy with open arms and tries to modernise her where possible, to include her in family life. They run a thoroughly modern household and drop Lucy in at the deep end, often pitying her and blaming her unconventional upbringing for her detached temperament. The kids are rough and tumble, doing their best to welcome Lucy but eventually falling out with her due to her contrary nature, calling her ’weird’ when she doesn’t want to join in on their plans and pastimes. They do give Lucy an abundance of chances to become part of the family, including her without protest in family life, checking in on her and encouraging her to open up about how she’s feeling. It’s actually Rachel who coins the show’s title, as she pines for a missing Lucy at the family’s front door, thinking she’s run away when she’s actually secretly living it up in Victorian times.

Lucy’s spectral bestie (and only bestie) Alice is a confusing character in many ways. She appears to know she’s a ghost but continues to live her life in Victorian times with friends and parties and such. She says she can control who she appears to, deciding not to appear to the incumbent family, claiming them to be uncouth and preferring Lucy’s quieter demeanour. She’s also incredibly demanding with strong main character energy, bossing Lucy around for most of their relationship and dictating to a wayward Lucy when and where she should be, even freaking out the family occasionally for laughs. She treats Lucy like a pet, at first she hides Lucy from her French governess and then wants Lucy to stay with her, intent on her becoming a ghost herself, by basically killing herself in a frozen lake, so it’s abundantly clear by the climax that Alice doesn’t have Lucy’s best intentions at heart. Lucy, as the actual main character, is on screen for most of the series and does a good job as a lost little girl in an unfamiliar world. She is particularly good at ‘throwing a strop’ which she does with most of the characters throughout. I did believe at points that she might stay in the past as it seemed to make her much happier than her present, and I’m not convinced it wouldn’t have made her family happier at times as well. Her journey does make sense and the actress does a good job of conveying themes of grief, loss and acceptance which really shine through by the end of the series.

It may have shaky sets, fluffed dialogue and some funky seventies fashion, but Come Back Lucy is a fun nostalgia watch in an efficient six twenty(ish) minute episode package. As kids’ horror goes, this is standard fare but it runs rings around its modern equivalents.

Come Back Lucy