I finally got round to watching Wake Wood, and it didn't disapoint.
Aidan Gillen and Eva Birthistle star as a grieving couple who, after losing their daughter to a viscious dog attack, move to a remote Irish village to rebuild their lives.
Once there they stumble across a pagan ritual, in which the leader (Timothy Spall) claims he can bring back the departed for 3 days in order to say their goodbyes, but that person could only have been dead for less than a year or things would go very wrong indeed. Patrick and Louise jump at the chance, with only one problem - their daughter had been dead longer than a year.
When thier daughter is brought back, things take a predictable and bloody turn for the worse.
The acting in this film is uniformly excellent, with The Wire's Aidan Gillen and Eva Birthistle from The Children convincing as the couple on the edge of despair.
But Timothy Spall, as always, shines as Arthur. A man who is doing something monstrous, and yet is doing it with a good heart for the good of the community, is both caring, sympathetic and sinister.
His Irish accent slips in a couple of scenes, but that is nit-picking.
Also worth a mention are Ruth McCabe from My Left Foot and the young Ella Connolly, who both deliver solid, convincing performances.
When I heard Hammer had returned, this is what I hoped for, instead they delivered drivel like Beyond The Rave and The Resident. But now they have delivered a film that would make Bray Studios proud.
If The Woman In Black is as successful in its adaptation, then Hammers future looks very good indeed.
Aidan Gillen and Eva Birthistle star as a grieving couple who, after losing their daughter to a viscious dog attack, move to a remote Irish village to rebuild their lives.
Once there they stumble across a pagan ritual, in which the leader (Timothy Spall) claims he can bring back the departed for 3 days in order to say their goodbyes, but that person could only have been dead for less than a year or things would go very wrong indeed. Patrick and Louise jump at the chance, with only one problem - their daughter had been dead longer than a year.
The acting in this film is uniformly excellent, with The Wire's Aidan Gillen and Eva Birthistle from The Children convincing as the couple on the edge of despair.
But Timothy Spall, as always, shines as Arthur. A man who is doing something monstrous, and yet is doing it with a good heart for the good of the community, is both caring, sympathetic and sinister.
Also worth a mention are Ruth McCabe from My Left Foot and the young Ella Connolly, who both deliver solid, convincing performances.
When I heard Hammer had returned, this is what I hoped for, instead they delivered drivel like Beyond The Rave and The Resident. But now they have delivered a film that would make Bray Studios proud.
If The Woman In Black is as successful in its adaptation, then Hammers future looks very good indeed.
I can't believe that you actually liked Hammer's version of "Pet Sematary".
ReplyDeleteI watched this Wake Wood last night!! Marvellous film, liked the gory bit! Particularly enjoyed one unfortunate guy getting squashed to daeth by an enormous bullock! Ooo-err!!
ReplyDeleteMy only gripe was that the scary soundtrack wasn't very scary for me.
Hey ho.
Got a great ending to this film too!
http://theguanogallery.blogspot.com/
It's easy to be cycnical and hate every film you watch, but I did enjoy this film.
ReplyDeleteYes there are themes that are the same as Pet Semetary, but where this film portrayed the couples loss with a degree of sympathy Pet Semetary was basically an overlong episode of The Munsters with a Chucky doll thrown in.
Nice blog man!!
ReplyDeletefallowing
http://darkbogdanel.blogspot.com