Film Review: WAKE WOOD (2011)

Co-Writer/Director: David Keating
Running time: 90 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): 15

Genre: Drama/Horror/Thriller
UK Release date: 25^th March 2011

Watched on Sky+ Sunday 9^th October 2011.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

I hadn’t heard much about this film before giving it a viewing. Reading just one review was enough for me to give it a look. I must admit I liked this atmospheric low budget horror flick, it definitely has the edge over a lot of the better funded more recent efforts on offer. It’s a tale about the loss of a child and the hope that the parents might bring her back, albeit temporarily… but possibly at a cost. I’ll give you my thoughts after this brief summary.

Grieving after the loss of their young daughter, Alice; Patrick and Louise move to the small Irish town of Wakewood (that’s how it is spelt on the sign… I’m unsure why they filmmakers felt they had to change it for the title). Patrick is a veterinarian and has a job working for Arthur, now preparing for retirement. Louise is a pharmacist and runs the local chemist shop. They are both still depressed about Alice but Louise feels the loss more and wants to leave. One night they stumble upon a strange, almost pagan, ceremony in which a person is “reborn” (for want of a better word). Arthur visits them that night and tells them there may be a way to bring their daughter back, but for just three days. They are so desperate they agree, but are they willing to abide by the strict rules Arthur lays out before them?... I will leave it there so as not to enrage the gods of the Spoiler Police.

With a haunting musical score by Michael Convertino, I found this film very atmospheric and quite poignant at times. Very reminiscent of earlier films like ‘The Wicker Man’ (original version) and ‘Don’t Look Now’. Great performances by all of the leading cast; Aidan Gillen was excellent as Patrick, as was Eva Birthistle as Louise. Timothy Spall was up to his usual excellent standard as Arthur and the young Ella Connolly did a really great job as Alice.

Being a low-budget film, there are many companies listed as being involved in the production. The most recognisable being Hammer Film Productions. This is the first of what I hope will be many new films that may bring this famous company back from the darkness (at it were). I really like the look and feel of the movie. Filmed on location on Ireland, it has a kind of desolate feel to it that adds to the haunting quality given to it by the score and the script. There is a nice little twist at the end that may surprise a few, but I thought it quite fitting. Probably the best horror film I’ve seen this year… Recommended.

My Score: 7.4/10.

IMDb Score: 5.5/10 (based on 1,712 votes at the time of going to press).
http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt1296899/

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 84/100 (based on 19 reviews counted at the time of going to press).
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/wake-wood/

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LINKS:
Trailer:

Film Review: BLACKOUT (2007)

Director: Rigoberto Castañeda
Running time: 82 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): 18

German release date: 9th February 2008 (European Film Market)

Watched on Sky+ Sunday 5th September 2010.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

I had heard nothing about this film before it came up in the TV listings. I hadn’t even seen it on the shelves of my local DVD store. I read the write-up on the TV and it looked interesting and so I decided to watch it. Not the best film of its type, but still quite a good watch, but more of that later, here’s a brief synopsis.

Three people board an elevator in an old apartment building. It is a holiday weekend and most of the residents have gone away. The elevator rises past the ninth floor and then a power outage leaves it stuck between nine and ten. As time passes we learn about the three occupants. Karl is a surgeon; he has a young daughter and is grieving for his wife who had died tragically. Claudia is asthmatic, a student who is worried about her grandmother who has a terminal illness. Tommy, who has bruised knuckles has come from his girlfriend, Francesca’s house and is in a hurry. They do all the usual things, press the alarm button, open the doors and shout, but to no avail. We are told in flashback the events that led these three to be on this elevator and it makes for some interesting revelations, especially when we discover one particularly gruesome secret that makes one of them very dangerous. But, of course, I’m not going to give that away, so I’ll leave it here.

This is quite a tense claustrophobic drama that unfolds into an exciting thriller in the end. I like the way the back-stories of the three main characters slowly unfold, which adds to the tension. Decent performances from the entire main cast, so honourable mentions go to Amber Tamblyn as Claudia, Aidan Gillen as Karl, Armie Hammer as Tommy and Katie Stuart as Francesca.

This version has a running time of only 82 minutes which, I felt, was just right. Any longer and I think I may have got bored. As I said at the beginning, it’s not the best film of its type, but having said that, I did find it quite entertaining and pretty gruesome in places. So, it’s not one for the feint hearted, but quite an interesting film none the less. Recommended.

My score: 6.3/10

LINKS:
IMDb Site: http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0844666/