Crone Wood

A few times during the movie I forgot it was an indie production and began to critic it too aggressively. A really solid production for a small budget movie. The cast were very convincing, and acted to a high standard. A fun watch, and a good contribution to the horror genre. Your review does not contain enough lines - the minimum length for reviews is 5 lines of text. Stupid rule!

The notes say it was shot in five days or something but it really looks more like they shot it in two. "Found footage" is always a difficult gag and this one is not convincing at all. Add to that a warmed over cult thing done so well in the 1970s "Wicker Man" that it makes you wonder why they bothered. No fault of the cast, who make the most of a lot of slowly walking around and silly cult tropes of hippie witch rituals. I don't want to include a spoiler so I will just say the actions earlier in the film make little sense when you get to the end.

What can you do with the found footage genre that hasn't been done. Not a lot. But this Irish hand held horror makes a good fist of treading new ground. First off the main characters : we don't know a lot about them but with some strong direction and subtle performances we feel like we know them and what's more like them. So after some first day together tom foolery the characters spend together the sense of dread just rises and rises as they head for a day in the forested mountains and the infamous Hellfire club. For a change we don't want the characters to die. They are funny sweet and human and doomed.

The atmosphere builds slowly and the pressure is released just at the right time, (without giving too much away) gears are switched on you and its a ride you can't get off. The story pulls the characters further and further down a rabbit hole full of twists and turns. Comparisons with The Blair Witch are obvious but its more towards the original Wicker Man that this film looks for its inspiration. If its cheap scares your looking for you won't find them here. Everything is set up and boiled until just right. Well worth a watch.

In this low-key folk horror, we follow Danny and Hayley (Ed Murphy and Elva Trill) as they seem determined to get themselves into as much bother as they can. They are a likeable couple, and it's a pleasure to spend time in their company, but you do wish - as is often the case in such films - that they would just turn around and go home.

Director and writer Mark Sheridan, for whom 'Crone Wood' seems to be his last venture to date, has created an immersive found footage world. Events are presented at a fair pace, and we're never in doubt as to exactly the kind of jeopardy our heroes are in - unless he wants to reveal a further twist, that is.

Taking full advantage of the beautiful Irish location, and the notorious Hellfire Club too, which hosted a satanic group at one time. Crone Wood is well worth a visit. My score is 8 out of 10.

Anyone else tired of found footage flicks? I do have to wonder what the director actually does on movies like this. On the plus side the actress is good. Unfortunately the male lead is incredibly dull and there's no chemistry between them. Everything else is predictable and slow moving.