Savage House Review

Savage House is a darkly comedic and satirical take on British period dramas as everyone in society attempts to climb the social ladder.

Sir Chauncey Savage (Richard E. Grant) is the son of a lowly Welshman who married into the prestigious but impoverished Savage Family. Within Savage House, Chauncey and his wife (Claire Foy) are having affairs with the staff, whilst Chauncey’s loyal valet, Reginald Halifax (Jack Farthing) and the maid, Miss Neville (Bel Powley), plot to take over the stately manor. The Savages have the potential to preserve their fortunes when the Devonshires request to visit Savage House, but the family risks going further into debt so they can please their illustrious guests.

Period dramas are popular in the UK. In recent times, there have been many films and TV shows released, ranging from Downton Abbey franchise and The Other Bennett Sister to major American shows like Bridgerton and Outlander being filmed in the UK. There was a fun Naked Gun-style piss-take in the form of 2025’s Fackham Hall. Savage House took a darker, irreverent approach. This was shown in the film’s opening scene, which depicted Savage House in a state of disrepair: there were cracks in the ceiling, bowls were used to catch rainwater leaking from the roof, and blank spaces on the walls where paintings used to hang. Sir Chauncey was hungover, Lady Savage needed to mask holes and rips in her dress, and their daughter, Fanny (Kíla Lord Cassidy), made the mice into her pets.

This was a film that showed the 18^th century to be unpleasant. Miss Neville had to clean out Lady Savage’s chamber pot; a pile of waste was just outside the house; Sir Chauncey recruited men with poor hygiene; and a duel could be a horrific sight. It was a time of mud, dirt, and grit: Savage House could have been a grounded historical drama if it hadn’t been for the comedy and satire. Savage House was a grotesque film at times because animals were butchered, there were horrible diseases, and the sex acts were mucky. The film was not for the fainthearted.

Visually and tonally, Savage House was closer to films like Barry Lyndon and The Favourite. Chauncey was similar to Barry Lyndon, both were lower-born men from a Celtic nation who married upwards and were rogues because they were gamblers, cheats, and committed fraud. Both men even shared a trait: they overpaid for artwork. Savage House copied Barry Lyndon’s use of a narrator and classical music. The Favourite had a grotty depiction of the 18^th Century, which included muck and sex acts. There was even a scene in Savage House where a character tortured a mouse, which felt similar to when Emma Stone tried to crush a rabbit.

Savage House was Peter Glanz’s second film as a writer/director, and he made a film with gusto. It was a booming soundtrack and a lack of deference. It made the film distinct, and he used it to focus on an age-old English issue: the class system. Nearly everyone was vile, willing to backstab and betray one another to take a step up the social ladder. It didn’t matter if they owned land or were workers looking for a better job.

Savage House had a stacked cast. Grant and Foy were the big names and were fantastic, as expected. Grant has mainly been cast in supporting roles in recent years, so it’s nice to see him in a lead role again. Chauncey was a flawed and selfish character who physically and mentally declined throughout the film, but there was some sympathy because he didn’t want to return to the gutter, and he had some affinity towards workers, even if it led to some poor-judged decisions. Lady Savage was a woman who was able to take command when needed. The pair had complicated and conflicted feelings for each other.

The supporting cast was talented, and it featured many actors I like. Farthing and Powley were a great pairing as they had to handle the Savages’ dirty work. Farthing’s Mr Halifax was particularly notable since he was a loyal servant to Chauncey even though he was shagging his wife. Lord Cassidy has a great reputation, having appeared in films ranging from the acclaimed The Wonder to The Conjuring franchise. Her character was one of the few genuinely likeable because she was a smart girl who was interested in science and could cut through her parents’ bullshit, but was stuck in a time when girls were expected to marry and entertain. Tony Way, AKA Donto Hollard in Game of Thrones, made an impression as James Darby, a worker who quickly rose through the ranks in the Savage household. He reminded me of Mark Addy. He went from being a lowly man to someone more commanding.

Savage House was for people who like period dramas to have an edge to them. It was a sharp and pointed satire as it showed the perils of social climbing and one man’s obsession.