Wake Wood (V)
| release date | July 5 2011 |
| studio | Hammer Films/MPI/Dark Sky Films |
| director | David Keating |
| writer | David Keating, Brendan McCarthy |
| starring | Aidan Gillen, Eva Birthistle, Timothy Spall |
| site | wakewoodmovie.com |
| trailer 1 | Trailer #1 |
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A smart and pretty original Irish horror-thriller, produced by the Hammer studios and gladly waaay better than their last production, the super-lame “The Resident”.
The fascinating plot starts out as some kinda “Pet Sematary” but eventually ends up as terrific quasi-blend of “Wicker Man” and “The Children”, brilliantly written and paced with lots of unexpected plot twists.
The rural ‘Wake Wood’ settings all look quite haunting and convey a gothic mood. The camera work is beautiful and the soundtrack is very fitting.
I was surprised by the acting which is consistently awesome, thanks to great and believable performances from Aidan Gillen, Eva Birthistle, old school character actor Timothy Spall and the brilliant child actress Ella Connolly.
Furthermore, there are lots of surprisingly brutal and gory moments throughout the film,
and one of the weirdest, yet most intriguing birth scenes I’ve ever seen.
Flaws: a bit too tedious in the beginning, a few lame-looking CGI effects and a disappointing ending
- but apart from that, this is a welcome change in modern horror. Recommended!
Review by Ryan Gelley
Hammer is back! The production company that made Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing household names as Dracula and Van Helsing returned to action recently, to the delight of genre fans everywhere. Last year’s remake of the brilliant vampire coming-of-age story Let The Right One In (retitled Let Me In) was almost as good as the original. Recently, Hammer produced a film starring Hilary Swank and Jeffrey Dean Morgan called The Resident, and the reviews have not been as kind. So (not having seen The Resident), i was fairly confident that Wake Wood, Hammer’s latest offering, had at least a 50/50 shot at pleasing me. I underestimated its chances. I enjoyed Wake Wood, and am more confident about the future of Hammer than ever.
A couple’s young daughter is mauled to death by a dog, and they move to the small town of Wake Wood for a fresh start. It’s not long before they begin to notice that the townsfolk are a little odd. Soon the newly widowed Louise (Eva Birthistle) witnesses a demented, gooey, supernatural ritual that she can’t quite fathom, and was not meant to see. This scene instantly shifts the movie into a completely new gear in a bold flourish reminiscent of genre-benders like Martyrs or The Last Exorcism. “OK”, i said to myself “its that kind of movie now”. The first act has deservedly drawn comparisons to The Wicker Man, as both feature a cult-like community who shun the outside world while participating in forbidden magic(k?)s. I was also reminded of In The Mouth Of Madness and Silent Hill at times, but for all it’s references and homages, Wake Wood is more original and engaging that 90% of today’s horror films.
Louise and her husband Patrick (Aiden Gillen) are assured by the creepy Arthur (the brilliant Timothy Spall) that he can resurrect their daughter for a short time. They agree to the stipulation that they stay in Wake Wood forever. Arthur whips out the coolest necromantical abacus I’ve ever seen, and soon their daughter is slimily birthed from within the cadaver of a dead local. Fans of the supernatural horror genre will confirm that all magical pacts have strict rules. If the rules are not followed, events turn grim quickly. Wake Wood uses this popular “You must abide by the ancient eldritch laws of whatever the fuck” device, yet makes it as interesting as possible, constantly seeking to subvert the viewer’s expectations.
Along with it’s fine actors, strong screenplay, and goops of gooey gore, Wake Wood also has a fantastic ending. Great endings in horror films are rare. Earlier I mentioned Martyrs and The Last Exorcism, fine examples of how to leave the viewer with questions, and clues to the answers, but never absolutes. Wake Wood invites participation and interpretation, setting it apart and lifting it above the pack of stale, formulaic horror that forms the bulk of today’s output.
Wake Wood is not a perfect film. For example, you see the boom in the lower left corner of frame, quite clearly (at least to my friend David Nowacki, who pointed it out), at approx 5:30. Keating uses some strange and distracting wall-eyed camera wankery that I found slightly unsettling. Overall, though, there were very few drawbacks here, and a lot to like. I hope my desire to see Hammer 2.0 succeed has not swayed my opinion of this film. I can’t guarantee cinephiles will enjoy it, or praise it to the extent I have, but I’m convinced most horror fans will consider Wake Wood`s 90 minutes time well spent 7/10
Wakewood was a delightful surprise for me.
It was not original but the cinematography,acting and feel of the film made it seem fresh.
It got straight to the point and went to the guts from there.
There was quite a bit of blood and some gore which I didn’t expect but loved.
it was very well cast and it really did have that old Hammer feel to it.
The story was well crafted and executed and the only thing I can say as a minor negative would be that there is no explanation given as to why, how or when Wakewood came to be.
I was very intrigued and satisfied with this endeavor and highly recommend it.
As I watched Wake Wood this evening, I could not escape that Deja Vu feeling. I get that amongst any well-defined genre that there are always going to be similar movies. Having said that, I think that this tends to work better when the similar movie puts a new spin o things or in some way surpasses the original. Sadly Wake Wood would fail in this regard.
What I mean by all of the previous is that Wake Wood is at it’s very core a “poor Man’s” Pet Sematary. The initial build-up, the characters, setting and acting were all building towards something. Sadly the film seemed to jump forward way too fast and became a fairly silly horror movie really quickly. The little girl barely had any build up to being creepy and “wrong” and it came across as rushed.
The general premise is that the people of Wake Wood have the ability to bring the recently dead back to life for 3 days. This time the daughter of a veterinarian and his wife who was tragically killed by a dog is brought back, only this time something has gone wrong. There was so much here that could have lent itself to just one phenomenal movie.
By the time a few plot twists were revealed I simply ceased to care about what was transpiring. I think the movie needed another 2-30 minutes of running time, during which they could have built up to what was going on with the daughter and just how wrong things were going. I cannot stress enough how off the rails the movie got with the violence and gore. The little girl was suitably capable of creepy, but she just wasn’t given much to work with.
While a rental will suffice, this movie failed to capture me the way I had hoped. Another case of close, but not close enough to capturing the makings of an excellent horror film. The ending actually started showing potential, but of course it ended before we really got the chance to see what was going to happen.
The movie is intense and go right to the point, but isn’t perfect.
innocent little girl going around killing people aww
kinda felt like a cheap dance around of “Pet Semetary”. But it wasn’t all bad. I think it’s worth watching.
A nice, creepy atmosphere in a slow moving town and a slow moving story. While it was interesting, and the little “mystery” that had to be solved as to what was going wrong with their kid was cool, no one got brutally murdered till the last twenty or thirty minutes of the movie! I mean, come on! I want blood! I want killings! But, oh well. The ending… was a little bit traumatizing though not unexpected.
Meh. Pet Sematary wrapped in classic Hammer garb. It ain’t bad, but it brings nothing new to the table.
I had a hard time staying awake watching this bullshit. British people can’t make good horror films. Clive Barker maybe an exception but he lives in Hollywood as an ex-pat, right? Big yawn. Don’t waste your time. See Pet Sematary instead.
Recently saw this over here in England. It is okay, not great. It has a nice set up, but in the end is much less than the some of its parts. It borrows a lot from better movies like the original Wicker Man and left me feeling that I should just watch that again instead. However it does have its moments and isn’t a complete waste of time.
As you may already know – that is, if you know anything about me at all -, one of my absolute favorite films of all-time is Anthony Shaffer’s brilliant occult masterpiece “The Wicker Man”; a thriller so rich with artistic detail that it might just take two-three more viewings to actually “get” the movie. I’ve seen it plenty of times, and it’s improved significantly the more I watch it. So, given that it’s a favorite, I’m typically overjoyed when a film takes elements from that film and either pays homage to the material or gives it a new flavor. Edgar Wright was one of those people who “paid homage” to the great film in his hilarious multi-genre spoof “Hot Fuzz”; which, much like “The Wicker Man”, only gets better as you see it more-and-more. However, few films have truly taken the most basic of ideas from the original film and succeeded in making something worth spreading the word about. The newest film to remind me ever-so-fondly of “The Wicker Man” is the Irish horror feature, “Wake Wood”. It’s the kind of movie where you don’t know what to expect going in, but in the end, you get a pleasant surprise. And yes, even horror films can have those.
I’ll never understand why films as good as this one don’t get the attention that they deserve. Perhaps, like the film it draws most of its influence from, “Wake Wood” will someday get a sort of cult following. A handful of the critics who saw it liked it; but the handful, unfortunately, is not really all that big. I agree with pretty much anyone who praised the film based on its atmosphere and attention to detail; it’s probably better than AT LEAST 80% of the mainstream horror films releasing this year. So, with that being said, why not explore the genre and watch it? I can’t say it’s a fantastic horror film, but it’s effectively creepy, and when it’s brilliant, it’s VERY brilliant. Most of this “brilliance” that I speak of comes in the form of little scenes in scenarios, but ask yourselves this; is that not enough to satisfy?
A husband-and-wife – a vet and a pharmacist – loose their daughter to the gnashing teeth of a fierce canine. Grieving over her passing, they move to a secluded town known as Wakewood. They find solace with the local population of the area, who seem mysterious at first, but friendly nonetheless. They also find work; GOOD work. The townsfolk are very pleased indeed. The man who seemingly runs the town is Arthur (Timothy Spall), who hides a dark but fascinating secret from most newcomers. When revealed, the film just gets all-the-more intriguing, and since it appears that most plot synopsis’s spoil it for you, I think I’ll reveal the “big twist”, since it’s crucial to the rest of the movie.
Arthur learns of the tragic demise of the couple’s child, and informs them that, with their permission and the help of the local folk, he can bring back their daughter free-of-charge. After some thinking, they agree to go through with it; snatching a finger from their kid’s now-rotting corpse, and attending whatever ritual that makes this action possible. To their surprise, it works; and their daughter is with them yet again. The couple is overjoyed; and Arthur is happy that they are well. However, there is a catch; the child can only remain alive for three days, which should give the couple enough time to say goodbye the proper way. However, they want to keep their sweet baby-girl forever, so the question is: what will they do – or, what will Arthur and the inhabitants of Wakewood do – when it’s time for the child to return to her grave?
By using deception and a very memorable and great scene of ritual performance, “Wake Wood” is indeed a clone of “The Wicker Man”; but it’s a pretty good one. In that sense, maybe clone isn’t the right word. It reimagines many of the ideas from the earlier film instead of merely copying them. I appreciated that, and who wouldn’t? Horror fans will be very pleased by the skill and time that was put into this film; call it a quality product, if you will. It’s an interesting, never-boring, consistently entertaining chiller that’s as spooky as it is admirably well-made. The only problem I have with the film, as it is, would be the final act; which is still fun to watch unfold, but it’s a little absurd. You’ll see what I mean if and when you see the film, and believe me, even though it is ever-so-far from greatness, it’s still worth a good watch. I recommend it, as much as I can, and from where I’m standing, leaving it at that might be a damn good idea.
Thoroughly unoriginal, but solid horror nonetheless. Great acting, atmosphere, and a feeling of dread throughout. If you have a triple digit IQ and dislike the Transformers franchise then you’ll enjoy this film.
As touched on in other reviews, Wake is very similar thematically to a classic King adaptation and others, and almost all horror borrows at some point–but in this case it was hard to get past that as the story progressed. Yeah, there is the dark nature of the plot and some evil in the 2nd half, but the way the little girl and her violence was rendered at times worked against a scene instead of adding any creep or terror factor (which was sorely needed). Wake is a watchable but average take on an idea used more effectively elsewhere.
Original, interesting, entertaining, dramatic, good film
Irish film Wake Wood (or more properly Wakewood) is the latest film from the re-vamped Hammer Films studio. It’s a distinct blend of two beloved horror films, Pet Semetary and The Wickerman. Strangely, another rather high profile (at least from a critics point of view) horror film from “across the pond” Kill List borrows a lot from The Wickerman as well and while that film seems to be getting the most buzz, Wake Wood just may be the superior of the two films.
check out more @ http://betweentwelveandfourteen.blogspot.com/2012/02/wake-wood-2011.html
Emotional and gruesome, worth watching!
An unique spin on the evil child subgenre that has its disturbing and graphic moments and just enough suspense to keep you glued that has a old fashioned and atmosheric atmoshere. The film is so eccentric yet so familiar that I’m stuck in the middle of saying it’s really good to fair and ok and by the time this year is over it will be blurred in my memory by other horror efforts. Wake Wood gets pretty graphic with gore here and there but doesn’t shove it in your face and has a slow burn approach to shock and discomfort you that I could see this film coming out in the early or mid 1970′s and wears its Hammer film logo well. The acting from the the leads who played the parents were strong yet subtle and their story heartbreaking and grim and their new ordeal is like straight out of a nightmare or a The Twilight Zone episode that gives them new hope of moving on after the freak death of their only child but has devilish consequences. The movie is quite similar to films like Pet Cemetary, The Children, Plague Town and The Wicker Man but has a couple of new tricks as well making it enthralling in its wackness but in the end for me there wasn’t enough distinctive aspects about it to make it stand on the top of the genre but I can say that Hammer films are on a role of putting out quality horror films and hope they are even better ones in the future. Overall there are plenty of horrible direct to dvd horror flicks out their and ok plain ones but this little gem is not one of them. Rent it! 6.5 out of 10
Not bad, but not great. Everyone keeps comparing it to “Pet Semetary”, and had I not already heard those comparisons, I would not have thought so. It did have the “Wicker Man” vibe, and also reminded me of the great short story “The Monkey’s Paw”. All in all, not a bad way to spend an evening, but not something I’ll probably watch again.