"Sometimes dead is better. If only Patrick and Louise had the loveable Jud Crandall as a neighbour, maybe they wouldn't have got themselves into such a fine mess when their daughter, Alice (Ella Connolly), is attacked by a dog and killed. Struggling to get over her death, they relocate to the small town of Wake Wood where they stumble on a group of townsfolk performing Pagan rituals. Before you can say, "It's that damn road!", the whippersnapper is back for three days and refuses to play dead...
Although Wake Wood borrows from every film of its kind, and is not a classic by any means, it benefits from a spooky atmosphere enhanced by some fine performances (especially Timothy Spall's Arthur). The plot too is engaging with some nice twists and turns, even if the supposedly sinister child is anything but, with her less than subtle behaviour almost ruining the final third (don't get me started on the raincoat).
With visuals creating a superbly menacing and threatening location, adopting the look of Hammer horror from yesteryear, an intriguing what-would-you-do premise, some nasty shocks and decent blood-shed, not to mention a terror far from contemporary these days, Wake Wood is a refreshingly pleasant fable that doesn't deserve to stay buried. There may be dead cows, but at least there isn't a Paxcow to ruin David Keating's impressive offering." DW
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