Critics have been raving about the latest Netflix triumph A Series of Unfortunate Events, written by Daniel Handler and adapted from his own series of gothic novels for children. The series blends the sensibilities of Wes Anderson and Tim Burton while covering the events of the first four books, and cannot help but call to mind the 2004 big screen adaptation, Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events.

The film was envisioned as the first of a franchise that might rival the Harry Potter series, but a sequel never materialised despite a healthy box office return. The production was undoubtedly troubled, not least because producer Scott Rudin left the project as a result of budgetary concerns while director Barry Sonnenfeld was replaced by Brad Silberling, a man initially unfamiliar with the source material.

The film version covers the first three novels and stars Jim Carrey as the villainous Count Olaf. Lemony Snicket, released the same year as Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, just about marks the end of the imperious phase of his career that began with Ace Ventura: Pet Detective a decade earlier. As Olaf, a bad actor and worse person, Carrey is in typically manic form and is ideally suited to the material.

The film, like the book series, opens with a warning (delivered by Jude Law as Lemony Snicket): “The movie you are about to see is extremely unpleasant.” Not long after, the three Baudelaire children are rocked to discover their parents have been killed in a mysterious fire. They are placed in the custody of their distant cousin, Olaf, whose sole motive behind taking in the orphans is that he hopes to steal their parents’ enormous fortune.