Blackwood

Blackwood is a supernatural horror/haunted house film in the vein of The Others, What Lies beneath and the Orphanage. If you like hard horror this may not be for you but if you're big on mood, atmosphere and things that go bump in the night you won't be disappointed. Set in the Wales/Bristol/Cotsworld region the film capitalises on what The UK has in spades; brooding sky's, panoramic moorlands, eerie woods and old houses that you know are harbouring dark secrets behind their closed doors. I've watched a bunch of good paranormal movies from the states recently, especially the Blumhouse movies but although they do have some good scares they never have the right sorts of locations to give you a chill as they can't escape things being too contemporary and suburban. This film is more of a classic grown up ghost story that understands the rules that fear begins in the mind. If you're looking for a film that's a bit different to the other summer fare give it a look in. Great twist too.

I was surprised by some of the other reviews for this film, 10 out of 10? I was expecting a classic which had been gathering dust unloved, suddenly discovered and released to an adoring public, prompting review hysteria! I thought, wow! 'Bladerunner' IMDb rated 8.3, 'Citizen Kane' 8.5, 'Unforgiven' 8.3, this must be quite an undiscovered gem. It isn't.

Now, I don't claim to know much about the creative process of writing an original screenplay, but I'm pretty sure that the word 'original' is just about as important as 'screenplay'. This crazy-pa-moves-family-to spooky-house has been done, well lets say with no pun intended, to death.

I cannot understand why, essentially having really original takes on this theme, I'm looking at you, 'The Shining' and 'The Others', which took the idea in completely different and original directions, we need something like this which lacks any originality. The characters are written in 2 dimensions to such an extent that long before the end you simply couldn't care less what happens to them. But it doesn't stop the clichés coming thick and fast. Not only is this not a '10 out of 10' lost classic, it is derivative and lazy. It desperately needed rewrites from someone with something original to add to the genre. I felt conned.

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.

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.

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.