Wake Wood

It was just last year that Hammer Film Productions was revived from its three-decade-long slumber, its last feature before the extended hibernation being 1979's "The Lady Vanishes." The iconic UK film company, which specialises in movies of the horrifying persuasion, hit it big with the tremendously chilling American remake "Let Me In" in late 2010 before stubbing its toe with dud "The Resident" earlier this year. Their newest flick is, of course, another creepy spook-em-up leaking with excessive guts and gruesome gore, and it's pure Hammer through and through, in a generally positive way.

"Wake Wood" tells a tale of the reawakened dead and of discomforting townsfolk. Patrick (Aidan Gillen, "12 Rounds") is a vet, while his wife Louise (Eva Birthistle, "The Children") is a pharmacist. They live happily with their sweet nine-year-old daughter Alice (Ella Connolly) in Dublin, Ireland. I'd just like to add that I am sad to say there are no evil leprechauns stalking any characters throughout this film.

The idyllic homelife they all share is gravely disturbed when a wandering Alice is mauled to death by a vicious German Shepherd when going off her usual school route. Understandably mortified by their loss, the husband and wife relocate to the sleepy town of Wake Wood roughly a year later to spend their days gazing out of windows and lying on the floor while loudly weeping.

It is here that they meet Arthur (Timothy Spall, "The King's Speech"), the town's lovely-on-the-outside ringleader of sorts. He offers the couple a proposal: he will bring back their deceased daughter for three days for a final farewell if they stay in the village until the day they die. Patrick and Louise are quick to accept. Oh, I'm sure everything will turn out perfectly fine. Right?

So, a kooky ritual is performed (which includes burning a dead body and cutting open Louise's palm), resulting in the resurrection of the young Alice. Patrick and Louise are overwhelmed with delight, planning to spend every waking second of the next three days with their bundle of undead joy. However, things soon take a rather violent and nasty turn. As the late Fred Gwynne once said, "Sometimes dead is better."

"Wake Wood" could best be described as a mishmash of dark contemporary chills and '70s Hammer goofiness. For the most part, this tonal collaboration works wonders, creating a film that's both camp and bloodcurdling in equal measure. With these two intact, it remains a gritty and serious chiller. However, David Keating's occult horror is not without its overly corny moments.

A scene in which a man is crushed to death under the arse of a cow may be harrowing in idea, but is difficult to take seriously given the visual. The spooky reanimated girl occasionally comes across as cheesy in her ploys of intimidation. And the shock ending (which I won't give away) is borderline ridiculous, albeit unexpected and quite the scandal. These scenes are not necessarily laughable, just classic Hammer that feels odd when placed in the 21st Century.

Images from Robin Hardy's "The Wicker Man" and Mary Lambert's "Pet Sematary" inevitably seep into one's memory throughout the film, from the pagan locals to the general storyline. Genre familiarities such as flickering lights, creepy villagers and broken-down cars also trickle into the proceedings, but something about them tears them away from the abyss of cliché.

Timothy Spall is entrancing as the all-knowing landowner, keeping one guessing as to whether or not he should be considered a conniving villain. The excellent English character actor has an extraordinary on-screen presence, playing the town's leader with both a cheerful charm and sinister menace. Spall is certainly a man of much underrated talent.

The rejuvenated little girl at the centre of the plot is played impressively by Connolly, this being the young actress' first acting role. At times a regular, bright ray of sunshine, she suddenly turns into an evil-minded devil akin to the glowy-eyed psychic tots in Wolf Rilla's "Village of the Damned." Convincing in both these roles, she's an eerie figure in an eerie film.

And the two leading parents are thankfully relatable, the script by Brendan McCarthy and director Keating allowing us to sympathise with their unfortunate circumstances. They are shown to just be two grieving individuals who yearn to see their daughter once more, no matter what the consequences may be. We go through this with them, feeling much sorrow when their reunion goes horribly awry, which is inevitable given the genre at hand.

"Wake Wood" is an effectively creepy and grisly chiller that's just slightly bruised by its own silliness. It supplies scares (through both atmosphere and sudden contrasts in decibel levels), is host to fine performances all round and is fitted with a script that is occasionally rather clever. I'm just going to assume the two protagonists never watched "Pet Sematary."

7/10