Despertar dos Mortos

After the death of their beloved daughter Alice (Ella Connolly) by a savage dog, the veterinary Patrick (Aidan Gillen) and the pharmacist Louise (Eva Birthistle) move to Wake Wood, a small town in the countryside. Patrick befriends the local leader Arthur (Timothy Spall) and the couple grieves the death of Alice.

Sooner Louise witnesses part of a bloody ritual in the woods and they learn that the villagers practice a pagan ritual to bring back to life the beloved deceased one for three days for a better farewell within the first month of the casualty and within the village limits. Patrick and Louise accept the conditions and lie to Arthur about the date that Alice died. They succeed in resuscitating Alice but something goes deadly wrong.

"Wake Wood" is an interesting film that has a storyline very similar to "Pet Sematary" with desperate parents using a weird ritual to revive their beloved nine year-old daughter. The dramatic and creepy story is supported by good performances and worth watching this Hammer film. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Despertar dos Mortos" ("Awake of the Dead")

Love these tucked away films that you chance upon. Nice, neat, right running time, little shocker.

Its the premise thats of interest here and fascinating. A youngish couple losing their only child (and she says she cant have any more)and then given the chance to have her back, as she was, but for only three days. Given the emotional turmoil involved, and the couples position (a split is also on the cards), how many couples would go along with this. I suspect quite a few.

This also comes along with i) not everyone playing by the rules i.e. lying (how long girl was dead) and ii) it comes at a price! The viewer knows this, he's watched a lot of horror films.

Like the Irish feel, the ancient ways handed down in a localised village, the underlying creepy atmosphere, then again balanced by the modern i.e. the wind machines at the boundaries of the village.

Nice touch with the life cycle, from death comes rebirth; the mixture of births e.g the dead rebirths, cesarean of the cows, and even Alice pulls her doll through a rubbish bag.

Maybe Brendan Gleason ought to have played the squire, Timothy Spalls accent was a bit suspect.

Following the unnecessary, yet excellent remake 'Let me In' Hammer returns with Wake Wood a supernatural chiller in which a child is brought back from the dead to comfort her parents for three days. But she's not quite the angelic child she was.

Eva Birthistle plays the grieving mother Louise and Twelve Rounds (2009) bad guy Adian Gillen is exceptional as the deceased child's father. Reliable Timothy Spall and the child actress are notable and the supporting cast are solid. 

There's some effective bloody gore, grizzly births, severed spines, dog attacks and killings. Some supernatural elements take place out of shot to avoid the use of CGI, which adds to the believability and saves the budget.

Wake Wood is dark, damp and dreary just as it should be. Nevertheless, it is slightly stifled by a filmed for TV look. That aside, with a small budget director David Keating keeps the blood flowing and the pace going.  It benefits from plausibility and atmosphere with an on location shoot. There's plenty of shadows, eerie music, sharp editing and a grounded screen-play (by Brendan McCarthy) to keep you watching with a grin that Hammer may have a place in this century.

With elements of  Don't Look Now, Case 39, Carrie, The Wicker Man and Pet Cemetery to name a few you could argue it's all be done before and better. However, Wake Wood's great ending debatably leaves you thinking sometimes less is more.

I watched this film a few weeks ago and i found it to be a very good horror film. i found it to be a very gripping sort of film with some nice views of the Irish countryside. It is about a young couple whose daughter is torn to death by an angry Alsatian not very far from their home. To get over the terrible loss of their daughter they decide to start a new life in Ireland in a small village called Wake Wood. Soon after they arrive there the girl's mother Louise finds that the local villagers are involved in some rather unusual behaviour. I found this film to be very entertaining throughout, with a very good storyline. I thought that the young girl's parents Patrick (Aidan Gillen) and Louise (Eva Birthistle) were very good actors too. I would definitely recommend this film: 6/10

On briefly reading the reviews here, I was a little disappointed at so many negative words for what for me is one of the best horror films I have seen in quite some time. Each to their own I suppose, that's what opinions are there for after all!

Made on a low budget and set in either the north or south of Ireland (hard to decipher which!), 'Wake Wood' is the tale of a recently bereaved couple who relocate to this remote outpost to overcome their grief. As luck would have it - the locals led by a sinister and menacing Timothy Spall just happen to have pagan powers to resurrect the dead for three days. Some people have all the luck!

This is a great wee story with all the trademarks of what made Hammer films so spellbinding in the first place. A remote location, strange locals, an abundance of gloomy weather and of course blood and guts aplenty. The tale twists and weaves, there's a number of interesting plot twists and fantastic performances all round especially from Spall who puts more proof in the pudding he is one of the most versatile British actors around. Debutant Ella Connolly playing the couple's tragic daughter is superb as well.

The script is original something difficult to muster in the horror genre nowadays. There is every chance 'Wake Wood' will end up becoming a cult classic in the same vein as 'The Wicker Man. Here's hoping it does because on first viewing it certainly deserves such an accolade.