(57%) A better than most family based horror from the new hands of Hammer horror. The great Tim Spall in a fairly decent in terms of screen time support role elevates the film by some margin, and even though the main line up isn't quite up to his standard I still found this to be a stronger film than I was first expecting. What this also has over many films of this type is quite a high level of blood and gore, plus it's entertaining, not that badly made considering the all too clear lowish budget. Overall the gore is there, it's watchable, it's not over-long, there's plenty fun to be had, and of course there's Mr Spall making this a better film than first assumed.

The Inhabitants of a small and very close-knit Irish town have an apparently ancient method of bringing a dead person back to life for 3 days by harnessing the energy of a fresh cadaver. What made me connect with this movie so well was the fact that the 'resurrections' had neither religious nor evil connotations - not a 'black magic' or occult procedure but rather something which could best be described as having a Pseudo- scientific basis. For example,a 'relic' of the person to be resurrected Is required - hair,bone,nail-clippings,that sort of thing - and this brings to mind the fact that DNA seems to be a major part of the ritual (although weather or not the townsfolk are aware of this Is never actually disclosed).The story revolves around a young couple - he a veterinary surgeon - who have recently moved to town. They lost their 8-year-old daughter after she was savaged by a dog and are offered the opportunity of having her returned to them for the 3 days that the ritual lasts, In order that they can then 'say goodbye' properly and come to terms with their loss. In order for the ritual to work, the person being 'brought back' must have been dead for less than one year - and therein lies the problem! So desperate are the couple to see daughter Alice again that they tell what they see as a 'white lie' - Alice has,in fact,been dead for over 13 months and NOT the 11 months,2 weeks and 2 days which Is what they tell Arthur!So Alice comes back - but she's all 'wrong', and any more detail would spoil It! A little dull and dreary - the constant wet weather doesn't help - but an interesting and very creepy story with some exceptional acting particularly from Timothy Spall as Arthur. My only regret Is that the story-line could have been expanded somewhat. Well worth watching.

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.

I was happy when I heard that Hammer studios was back in business. So far they delivered 2 flicks, The Resident (2011) and this one. Wake Wood leans more towards the Hammer style then The Resident although both do have their own thing. Wake Wood has more red stuff. But that doesn't make a flick. My only point of negativity is the use of CGI. There is one scene that I didn't like, when they make a close-up of the child's neck and we see her wounds disappear. It was done 100% CGI and I hated it. I guess one shot is also CGI, when blood sputters out of a neck. But luckily the film has a good atmosphere. It takes place in Ireland and let that be the country of Paganism and Witchcraft. And that is what it's all about. Bringing back the death by old rituals. As I stated it do contain a lot of blood but it never becomes too gory. It was David Keating his first attempt to make a real horror. And he succeeded. Some shots were typical seventies style , even hammer style and the way it was edited was also a return to the seventies. The acting was okay. Only Eva Birthistle we knew from the horror The Children (2008). She even has a small nudity in Wake Wood.If I must choose which one, Wake Wood or The Resident, leans most to the old Hammer I would say wake Wood. Gore 2/5 Nudity 0,5/5 Effects 3/5 Story 3/5 Comedy 0/5