Wake Wood

Recently resurrected British studio Hammer's latest film is a new addition to the folk horror genre, in which a couple move to rural (fictional) Irish town Wake Wood following the fatal dog-mauling of their only child, Alice. Desperate to see their daughter again, they partake in a ritual led by Arthur (a perfectly cast Timothy Spall), who can revive the dead for three days so that grieving loved ones can properly say goodbye, but the reunion takes an inevitably sinister turn.

Despite visceral animal mutilations and one particularly effective spike-through-the-neck, the 18-rating seems a tad excessive – director David Keating predominantly shows only brief flashes of gore before turning the camera away, leaving the audience to imagine the rest. As the resurrected Alice, Ella Connolly is suitably creepy, but Wake Wood opts for a satisfyingly simple explanation rather than a shocking twist, in keeping with the combined themes of grief, desperation and fear. The result is an involving story with believably ambiguous characters, and a worthy addition to Hammer's catalogue.