Wake Wood (2009)

After reading other reviews and watching the trailer for this movie, I had high hopes. They've since been dashed - I think I expected too much.

The story could have been a great one but has flaws. I felt many of the characters were a bit week so I didn't get emotionally attached to any of them and didn't really care what happened to them.

Don't get me wrong, I've sat through much worse films in my time and Wake Wood isn't terrible. I'm disappointed that I'm not going to bed with the story playing on my mind.

I'm also not sure what involvement Hammer had in this film, if any other than a logo on the box of the DVD and on the menu page. They weren't even mentioned in the credits which also had a copyright year of 2009.

If you could only watch one new Hammer movie I'd say The Resident or Let Me in are both a lot more enjoyable.

Fmovies: Based from the movie's cover, then "Wake Wood" looked really interesting, so it was with some anticipation and expectation that I sat down and watched this movie.

The story told in the movie was actually quite good, I will give the movie that much. Dealing with a family torn apart by the death of their little girl, then given the chance to see their deceased girl again for three days, and for three days only. But of course, something is amiss... Actually the story was much similar to the plot in Stephen King's "Pet Semetary" movie/book.

For scare effects and scare value, then "Wake Wood" was a very weak cup of tea. There weren't any moments that made you jump in the seat or even had the hairs on your neck stand up. Not everything in the movie was bad, mind you. There were scenes and scenery that were working well for the movie, but it just never came to any scary moments.

The acting in "Wake Wood" was alright as well. The movie was carried by Aidan Gillen (playing Patrick) and Eva Birthistle (playing Louise). The role of Alice (played by Ella Connolly) wasn't particularly well executed and could have been more creepy with another child actress.

For a horror movie, then "Wake Wood" was a very uninspiring, uninteresting and non-entertaining movie. If you like horror movies, then there are far better ones out there. The movie is worth checking out for the story alone, though, just bear in mind that it is much similar to the works of Stephen King though.

Even though they will forever remain linked to Peter Cushing, Christoper Lee and a whole variety of immortal Gothic horror movies produced during the sixties and seventies, it's still tremendously great news that Hammer Studios are back in business! The legendary British studios, of which I loved nearly everything they ever accomplished, make an exquisite comeback with the traditionally themed and old-fashioned spooky "Wake Wood". The plot borrows obvious and less obvious elements from a handful of famous genre classics, but it nevertheless stands on its own as a solid and competent horror movie that is occasionally very tense, disturbing and repulsive. Approximately one year after they tragically lost their only daughter in a rabid dog attack, the emotionally wrecked couple Patrick and Louise move to the small farmers' community of Wakewood, where he takes up his profession as a veterinary and she re-opens the local pharmacy. The town's patriarch Arthur informs Patrick and Louise that the entire town of Wakewood participates in a secluded and very secret Pagan ritual. Through the cadaver of a freshly deceased villager, Arthur can bring another dead person back to life for a period of three days, so that his/her family can spend some beautiful last moments together and properly prepare their goodbye. There are a few strict rules, however, including that the resurrected person's passing was less than one year ago and that he or she is forbidden to leave the town's perimeters. Blinded by their desire to be reunited with their daughter, the couple takes the risk of altering a few facts and convinces the town to bring back their beloved Alice. Needless to say horrible events ensue, as Alice doesn't exactly return as the cute and cherubic girl she once wasÂ… As said, "Wake Wood" clearly sought inspiration with some genuine classics, like "Pet Sematery" (bringing back a dead child), "The Wicker Man" (the entire town participating in the pagan ritual) and "Don't Look Now" (processing the tragic loss of child). This isn't a negative comment; however, as writer/director David Keating processes the subject matter in a respectable way and adds a modern and personal touch wherever possible. Arguably, the film is somewhat too slow-paced and pretentious in terms of editing (too many collages and brief insignificant flashbacks), but you can't really blame a film crew for trying to be stylish, now can you? The climax is a bit of a letdown, mainly because the events are too hectic, incoherent and also all of a sudden extremely cruel and sadist. There were some violent parts and grisly images throughout the entire film, like the harrowing dog attack at the beginning and the macabre Wakewood ritual, but the last ten minutes are really quite sick. It's a shame to let the movie end in such a negative and illogical way. Terrific acting performances here as well, particularly from the reliable Timothy Spall ("Sweeney Todd" and the "Harry Potter" franchise) as the town patriarch. Very much recommended, can't wait to see what Hammer does next.

Wake Wood fmovies. After the death of their beloved daughter Alice (Ella Connolly) by a savage dog, the veterinary Patrick (Aidan Gillen) and the pharmacist Louise (Eva Birthistle) move to Wake Wood, a small town in the countryside. Patrick befriends the local leader Arthur (Timothy Spall) and the couple grieves the death of Alice.

Sooner Louise witnesses part of a bloody ritual in the woods and they learn that the villagers practice a pagan ritual to bring back to life the beloved deceased one for three days for a better farewell within the first month of the casualty and within the village limits. Patrick and Louise accept the conditions and lie to Arthur about the date that Alice died. They succeed in resuscitating Alice but something goes deadly wrong.

"Wake Wood" is an interesting film that has a storyline very similar to "Pet Sematary" with desperate parents using a weird ritual to revive their beloved nine year-old daughter. The dramatic and creepy story is supported by good performances and worth watching this Hammer film. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Despertar dos Mortos" ("Awake of the Dead")

As I mentioned in other occasions, the classic movies produced by Hammer Films had a big influence in my formation as a cinephile. Those films were the first ones to show me a mature aspect of the fantastic cinema, in which the adult subjects and the drama could perfectly coexist with vampires, wolves and all kinds of malicious creatures...including the human being. I think that that ideological transition is an essential phenomenon for every teenager, and it can definitely be exploited as "nostalgia" during the adult age. However, I want to think that the modern rebirth of Hammer Films (even though, strictly speaking, it never "died") does not only aim to evoking juvenile memories and promoting new editions of its classic films, but creating new milestones of fantastic cinema. The problem is that none of their recent films (The Resident and Let Me In) has been remarkable...until now, because even though I would not put Wake Wood at the same level of the classic films made by Hammer, I definitely consider it an excellent horror film.

The screenplay from Wake Wood includes the classic elements from Gothic cinema; besides, the subjects of melancholy and contrition it deals with are universal, making the film timeless, because even though it is developed in modern-day UK, it could equally be a "retro" story without losing even a pinch of its narrative force and emotional depth. The actors make a perfect work in their roles; Aidan Gillen and Eva Birthistle are absolutely credible as a suffering couple whose sadness justifies the decisions they both make, and when the things go wrong, both actors express their characters' contradictory emotions without the need of words. And the girl Ella Connolly brings a good performance in a difficult character.

It is impossible to deny the fact that Wake Wood has various similarities with The Wicker Man (1973 -how sad it is to think that, whenever I make a reference to that monumental movie, I have to add a pertinent clarification in order not to confuse it with the tedious remake which was made in 2006-). And the irony is that The Wicker Man was not even a film produced by Hammer. But anyway...we can find various similarities between both films: the town hiding a pagan secret; the patriarch who is worried about the welfare of the community, but who is also inflexible when he has to employ violence against its inhabitants; the new people in town who get accidentally mixed in stuff which is beyond their comprehension; and some more. However, I do not consider those similarities as a con, but as a pro which contributes to bringing Wake Wood a dense and spiritual atmosphere, which make it different to any other "rural horror" movie.

The only thing I can say against Wake Wood is that a few details from the screenplay feel kinda forced. Nevertheless, I liked this film very much, and I enthusiastically recommend it as a great horror movie which is worthy of having the Hammer Films name attached to it.

And I am utterly delighted to say this is exactly the sort of movie I hoped Hammer would produce when it rose from the ashes. Last week, I laid into The Resident which was hopelessly feeble. This is anything but. A gory, edge-of-the-seat cracker which also has a fabulous psychological edge. From the start it grabbed me. Which is not too surprising because in the first three minutes a young couple's daughter is torn to death by an angry Alsatian. This inspires the pair, Patrick (Aidan Gillen) and Louise (Eva Birthistle) to start a new life, deep in the Irish countryside, at a village called Wake Wood (what a great name). Louise senses there is something a little odd about the locals, who are led by a squire, played with perfect gravitas by Timothy Spall. Many other reviews have given the game away at this point. I am going to avoid doing that and just suggest supernatural jiggery pokery. Patrick and Louise get involved and the consequences are bloody but rather brilliant. I have read that Wake Wood has echoes of the Whicker Man and I sort of understand this thinking. Certainly, the villagers share a secret and are involved in behaviour which outsiders are unlikely to understand. Gillen and Birtwistle are rather splendid as the fraught interlopers. They succeed where Hilary Swank failed so hopelessly in The Resident. And then there is Spall. I've been enthralled by Spall, so to speak, since the days of Auf Widersehen Pet. He gets better with age. But the real hero is director David Keating who was also on the writing team. With a limited budget he has created a movie with levels of horror and suspense which would make the heroes of Hammer proud.