7/10
At a time when there are so many bad horror films doing the rounds, it seems a shame that such an excellent and creepy British film (from the resuscitated Hammer studio) should struggle to find an audience. But do watch it if you can.
If a film can be said to be the child of other films, then this is the daughter of Don't Look Now and The Wicker Man (which were originally released as a double bill in 1973). Though it is also related to a story called The Monkey's Paw, and has a brief nod to Carrie at the end. I would classify it as a ghost story rather than a horror film, though there are occasionally gory moments.
Patrick and Louise have lost their daughter in a dog attack. They have moved to Wake Wood to start a new life, but are unable to have another child. Patrick is a vet, Louise runs the chemists, but their lives are empty and bleak. There is a man called Arthur (Timothy Spall) who seems as if he is the squire of the community, and he comes up with an unexpected proposal, that is the catalyst for everything that then happens - and of course I won't be giving anything away. The thing to say about the story is that although it has supernatural elements, some literal blood and guts and several shocks, it is at the heart a film about grief and loss. The reason it works so well is that Eva Birthistle and Aidan Gillen are so credible and ordinary as Alice's grieving parents. They are everyday people who only want to reconnect with their child, and you find yourself fully in sympathy with their feelings.
As for the influences, well, Don't Look Now opens with the death of a small girl, and this girl, as you can see wears a yellow mac (as opposed to a red one). The Wicker Man is evoked by the nature of the community of Wake Wood, sinister, secretive and given to ancient rites that you don't find in your average rural village. And if you haven't read The Monkey's Paw, then I encourage you to do so. Follow this link if you want to do so - it's only very brief. As I say, I wish that it may find a wider audience than Saw 7, or Scream 4, if not immediately, then in the years that follow.
