Blackwood

What we have here, to keep it kinda short , but hardly sweet, is a film that is chock full of misdirection with no explanation . AT.ALL. A truly thrilling film most of the time, but that pretty much ends up saying: some guys in the world, whom are not bad but may have problems; men whom were once good, but because of women....s m h. PERIOD. The movie did a great job of keeping me watching and waiting for a true fright, but twas for naught. The suspense was there though...then it suddenly kept thinning out. In the end I found myself hating the women in this film, and perhaps even the main male characters a little. But if ALL that is what I felt, then it was but the aim of the director, and in that at least, the film succeeded. The rest...had so much potential....I really need a film about some redeeming qualities of people now lol.

Saw this at a festival last year and wasn't sure it was going to get distribution, but, against what appeared to be the general feeling it looks like it has a distributor for August, so have decided to post my notes.

The premise is the usual one for scary, strange-bump-in-the-night movies, emotionally challenged husband moves innocent family out of the big city and in to harms way. This is fine, after all, we all need to get our characters out of their comfort zones and into some kind of jeopardy, otherwise, 'Lassie' for example, would never have been made.

I totally love these type of films, but what follows is unfortunately something of a mash up of all the things you've seen before that have to appear in a make-'em-jump movie. Now, of course, we could try to to convince ourselves (a la Ben Affleck's speech to Col Dolittle in 'Pearl Harbour), that copying others is not bad, its an 'homage'. But then that would force you to accept the US remake of 'The Vanishing' was an 'homage' to George Sluizer's truly taut original. So we see 'Blackwood' is a fairly lame regurgitation of all the familiar tropes, there is a twist at the end, but if you don't spot it a mile you should pop out and show yourself a good time more often, either that or you've dozed off at some point. So all in all, not so unlike Lassie, a little bit more than just a dog.

Wonderful production, beautiful locations. The whole film was executed to such a high standard. Great cast too, especially Sophia Myles. I liked the level of suspense, and the tension wasn't too overwhelming or distracting from the plot. Just the right level to be a traditional ghost story without being too shocking. There's twists to the plot, just what you would expect, but all placed very well in the storyline to not be cliché.

A testament to a low budget British film, however I feel there is further to go and possibly a break away from this genre. Overall I really enjoyed the film and hope to see more from Wimpenny and co.

I don't know if the word chiller is strictly a genre but Blackwood perfectly fits the description. A moody thriller with ghost story leanings, mysterious locals, a missing woman and child and a haunted house that could have been plucked straight out of a Gothic romance it serves to get under the skin rather than try to turn your stomach. Directed with flare, rich cinematography and and a very haunting score it was one of the best low budget British films I've seen for some time. Sometimes the characters are difficult to root for as they are such a complex bunch riled with hidden secrets, but equally it's interesting to see a film that challenges your allegiance as to who to sympathise with. Wouldn't have hurt been a little longer to tie up some of the complex back stories but If you like well written character based horror and a good old fashioned fright then give it a look in.

A good old fashioned take on the traditional ghost story which works well. Shot beautifully with good use of locations that reflect the story and add to the drama. A well paced script builds the tension throughout and you're never quite sure what's coming next. Sometimes there are some predictable shock factors but all in all a film that makes you want to see what happens at the end. Good cast as well. With high production values for a lower budget, we should look forward to seeing what comes next from this new promising director/producer team. Recommend this very British production and welcome quality drama in the making.