The biggest surprise is not that it’s hair-raising, but that it’s heart-rending too.
Nothing too groundbreaking but a compelling rife on creepily occult British horrors nonetheless.
This macabre, black-comic horror, set in rural Ireland, is in the tradition of Don't Look Now, The Wicker Man and the communal nightmares of Ira Levin; it's a low-budget film that entertainingly takes its audience to the brink of pure absurdity. But it also riffs nastily and effectively on ideas of taboo, on our perennial yearning for ceremony and ritual to alleviate the sadness of life, and on Larkin's idea that what's truly scary is not dying but being dead.
The result is an involving story with believably ambiguous characters, and a worthy addition to Hammer's catalogue.
A spine-chillingly good return for Hammer.
The enveloping creepiness of the village setting scores points, which the film proceeds to squander in careless plotting, imprecise effects and a denouement of arrant silliness – including a steal from a horror standard even more famous than the other two.
Creepy from start to finish, Wake Wood will please horror fans with its muted palette, creepy atmosphere and neat nods to the best of 70s British horror.
The film’s reasonably effective, but never heightens its impact beyond what’s on the page.
The third new film from the revived Hammer studios, Wake Wood is the first that feels like a proper Hammer horror, complete with a remote village, Pagan rituals, and geysers of bright red fake blood.
The film cleverly brings together WW Jacobs's celebrated short story The Monkey's Paw with The Wicker Man, and it's both touching and scary.
A predictable but well-made chiller.
An uneasy balance of atmosphere and action.
General release. Check local listings for show times.