Still grieving the death of nine-year-old Alice - their only child - at the jaws of a crazed dog, vet Patrick and pharmacist Louise relocate to the remote town of Wake Wood where they learn of a pagan ritual that will allow them three more days with Alice. The couple find the idea disturbing and exciting in equal measure, but once they agree terms with Arthur, the village's leader, a far bigger question looms - what will they do when it's time for Alice to go back?Wake Wood is the third film to release on home video from the resurrected Hammer Films studio. Honestly, I haven't seen The Resident or Let Me In yet, but this certainly looks to be the most in line with the classic Hammer horrors and British horror of the 60's and 70's. The setting is contemporary, but only at the surface. At it's core, Wake Wood is another story of a cloistered English community steeped in ritual, superstition, and good old fashioned magic. The first films that came to mind while watching Wake Wood were things like The Wicker Man, The Stepford Wives (not English, but certainly more of the "town with a secret" type), and even the most recent take from Edgar Wright in Hot Fuzz. Wake Wood delivers something that those films don't, and that is actual supernatural menace.
Wake Wood is a town, as I mentioned above, with secrets. When a pair of grieving parents move into this idyllic country town, they learn that they can get their lost daughter back to say goodbye for three days if they follow a highly prescribed ritual. As a parent, I can imagine the drive that might lead one to go to this length, however, the gusto with which these parents attack things like acquiring very personal trinkets from their interred daughter seems a bit off. Unfortunately for them, the ritual requires a number of commitments that they are unwilling to make, and low and behold, things don't go exactly to plan.
Darling little Alice is a bit odd. Patrick and Louise don't see it, because all they see is their lovely daughter having fun and being exactly who they remember. The residents of Wake Wood are less convinced and attempt to confront the blissed out parents to no avail. All of this is done is an effectively subdued manner, with Timothy Spall (Harry Potter, Still Crazy, and a fucking terrible Winston Churchill impression in The King's Speech) providing the gravitas and leadership as the town's elder and ritual master. The film is very dark, and the kid is very creepy.
There is a lot to like about the film. The tail end of Wake Wood is pretty gooey, with gore splattered all over the damned place (pun intended). Many of these effects are practical, and those are very well done, however there is a regrettable amount of CG blood, which dampens my enthusiasm momentarily whenever it makes an appearance. The ultimate selling point of Wake Wood is the atmosphere, which director David Keating has recreated from those classic British horrors of the past, and done very well, given the setting. I can easily recommend Wake Wood to those readers who enjoy a good haunted town film.
The Disc:
Dark Sky Films has released Wake Wood in its original 2.35:1 aspect ratio, which automatically makes it an upgrade over the 1.78:1 open matte version released in the UK. That is enough to recommend this version of the film. The image and sound quality are also very good, with the audio being a bit more impressive for its immersive sound design. The image is certainly high definition, but the is nothing particularly remarkable about it. Colors are muted, as I presume was the intention, and detail levels are relatively high.
Wake Wood on Blu-ray is all about the film, and few extras have been provided. First up, there are about 20 minutes of deleted scenes, presented in one continuous reel. These scenes were deleted with good reason. Most of them seriously undermine the wonderful creepy atmosphere of the film by using humor to lighten the mood. It really just comes off as hammy, and the film would have lost a lot by their inclusion. The only other extras are a few trailers, including the trailer for Wake Wood, Hatchet 2, and, a surprise to me, Norwegian Ninja(!). Let's hope that this means Norwegian Ninja gets a domestic Blu-ray release through Dark Sky, I would love that!
Dark Sky Films' Blu-ray of Wake Wood is a great watch, and a lot of creepy fun. The gore is good, the kid is creepy as all fuck, and the atmosphere is thick. The disc is relatively light on context, but I'll forgive it for the quality presentation of the film. Recommended.