Wake Wood Review by Corbin Bond

As a break from the stress of summer school work, I decided to take a trip to my local Best Buy to purchase some new Horror films. Earlier I had received a recommendation from a friend on this new film straight from Ireland called Wake Wood. The film is one of the many new films to be released by the now revitalized Hammer studio that brought the amazing Let Me In back in 2010. I don't plan on spoiling the film, but I will say that it definitely has me attracted to watching more Horror films from across the pond.
The film has a plot that is very reminiscent of classics such as The Wicker Man, Don't Look Now, and Pet Sematary. All is blended together to create an excellent example of modern Gothic Horror. The story is of Patrick and Louise, a husband and wife, who have just recently suffered the tragic and violent death of their daughter, Alice. In their despair, they move from their city home to the countryside village of Wake Wood. There, while trying to recuperate their lives and move on, they come to find a very dark feature of the town that leads them down a path of the occult and ultimately a nightmare beyond their initial intentions. Thus we are given a film with an extremely dark atmosphere and chilling imagery to provide the town with a major sense of foreboding.
Overall, the film displays beautiful cinematic work, as each shot seems to be intricately set to appear perfect in terms of building a sense of discomfort. The setting is very reminiscent of Edgar Allan Poe's descriptions that reflect feudal Europe. Meanwhile, the depiction of the forest reflects on the idea of the untamed wilderness where all forms of dark occurrences can develop. The film, in its connection to The Wicker Man, is also a definite presentation of the occult, especially necromancy. Each shot of the townspeople gathering around for rituals is chilling while also very much sublime.
Furthermore, Wake Wood, is an especially effective Horror film in is presentation of realistic violence. The film does not become overly gruesome like the Saw franchise, but there are definitely scenes of extreme pain and violence that can lead to major cringes. The sounds of the deaths are probably the most effective in their ability to make the audience very shocked. However, the film does not rely on gore to be horrific, which is a very good thing compared to most Horror films of this generation. Instead it focuses on the usage of disturbing images paired with emotional terror to produce a film that is very much like something one would hear from a campfire ghost story. In a way, it would be best to refer to this film as "folk" Gothic Horror.
The usage of the pastoral landscape, with the odd suspicious villagers and the dark imagery, makes the film very unsettling especially as the central story continues. Not only that, but the film also builds tension with some clever scares paired with acting of the awesome cast. The best of the cast has to be Timothy Spall (Peter Pettigrew - for all Harry Potter fans) who portrays the character of Arthur as very gentlemanly while also very suspicious and disturbing. When I saw the film, I instantly thought he would be the major villain when in reality, I was quite wrong. The story has some very good twists and turns to the point where you can't help but wonder what will happen next. By the end, I was blown away.
Overall, I definitely recommend Wake Wood. It has just the right amount of scares with the right build up of tension leading to the film's finale. This is definitely a new folk horror classic that provides a modern Gothic twist. It is definitely a good film in the return of Hammer as well. However, be warned. "What goes on in Wake Wood is not for everyone."