Once again, apologies for the interruption in schedule; just trying to get into a routine that works around my other commitments. This morning, that meant embarking on one of my periodic iPlayer raids to see what I could find. Being a chronically early riser, this is a habit I managed to acquire long before starting this blog, which is how I found Wake Wood first time around. I wouldn't say it's amongst the best the genre has to offer, but it was certainly interesting enough for me to be prepared to take another look.
For a self-confessed film buff, I haven't seen many Hammer horror films in my life; I'm not entirely convinced, in fact, that Wake Wood isn't the only one. I know of their reputation, though - lurid technicolour, even more lurid acting and copious quantities of Kensington Gore. That was back in the 60s and 70s, though, and the company lay dormant for a lot of years between then and now. In 2007, however, new owner John de Mol announced his intent to revive the Hammer tradition, and this, an Anglo-Irish collaboration, was their first feature-length effort.
The film opens with an anonymous-looking car trundling through a blandly pretty setting, soundtracked by the sort of tinkly, jangly music that helpfully informs the audience that they are now entering folk horror territory and to keep all their limbs securely within the enclosing wicker effigy. A series of brief flashbacks introduce us to our protagonists - vet Patrick Daley (Aidan Gillen), his wife Louise (Eva Birthistle) and their young daughter Alice (Ella Connolly). They're very much a movie family, bright, successful and loving, until the animal-loving Alice has a grisly encounter with one of Patrick's canine patients. Back in the present, a sign informs the occupants of the anonymous-looking car that they are entering the town of Wakewood, and we zoom in to see Patrick, Louise and an empty back seat.
So, we have a recently bereaved couple starting a new life in a rural setting. Practically writes itself, doesn't it? Of course the locals are going to be friendly but odd, and there'll be strange traditions involving everyone walking down the high street beating on primitive drums. Then, sooner or later, our heroes will see something they shouldn't - on this occasion, a bizarre nocturnal ritual involving the birthing of a human being from some sort of clay sarcophagus. Because the locals are friendly, they will gradually be persuaded to reveal their shared secret - namely, their ability to bring the recently-deceased back to life for a period of three days.
I should probably come clean at this point and admit that I know bugger all about Pagan horror as a subgenre. I've never seen The Wicker Man and I don't particularly intend to; I'm sure there are other examples out there but off the top of my head, I can't name even one. With all that said, I found myself rather warming to the nameless variety of Paganism espoused by Wake Wood, based on mutual respect and support as it is. Despite the film's supernatural elements, for the most part, the film's horror is derived primarily from the acts of desperation that grief can cause even the most civilised members of society to commit. The denizens of Wakewood town are open, kindly people, and things only start to go wrong when the newcomers fail to grasp the seriousness of the rules that they themselves have internalised for generations.
It's all quite slow-moving and thoughtful for the most part, with a lovely performance by Timothy Spall as Arthur, Patrick's employer. Somewhere around the hour mark, however, the movie loses the courage of its convictions for a bit, and taking a brief and slightly tedious foray into slasher territory before it regains its previous ominous tone.
I have no idea what horror fans look for in a horror movie, so I'll say this: at no point did Wake Wood scare me. It's a nicely haunting little piece, though, quiet and thoughtful and frequently rather sad.
Definitely worth a look.
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