Wake Wood

I have very mixed feelings about this. It's a decent folk horror overall, the premise isn't entirely original but I really like the way it was presented. Turning a corpse into a cocoon like that, it was definitely a striking image. The problem with the movie is that as soon as the credits rolled and I saw the director and writer were both dudes, I was like "Of course". While I could get into more objective issues with the movie, it's treatment of female characters is deeply uncomfortable. For those who aren't Irish - we only recently legalised any form of abortion, and have a sordid history of mother and baby homes and abuses of young mothers. The reason I think this is important is hard to get into without spoiling the movie, but if you watch it(and I'm not expressly recommending you don't, just warning), there is definitely a "pattern" with the deaths in terms of gender, and you'll notice that by the end. I think this is a good exercise in how these things can work their way unconsciously into filmmaking. I'm not sure if the director & writer were trying to make a point about the presentation of women in horror, but it didn't feel very self aware to me. I think what really hooked me with this movie was the sense of mystery to the resurrection process and the town in general, and I don't feel like they expanded on that. Not much is explained in an attempt to have it seem more mysterious, but the problem is. There was so much opportunity to explore a more true folk horror element to this - we're Irish for goodness sake, we have such delights the Arp-Luachra - which IMO the better but equally uncomfortable - in a more self aware fashion- Fréwaka. Fréwaka's world building just seemed better, somehow. Everything in this movie felt a little out of nowhere? In Fréwaka, the village felt like a character, in that terrifying culty fashion. There was a surreal, dreamlike vibe to it. With it's presumably lower budget, Wake Wood tries to be more gritty, but it never hits the same. I was really interested in this movie because people said it really "stuck the landing of the ending", and I'm just curious why people think that? yes it ends on a very creepy note. But the missing context doesn't make it seem like better horror, it just makes it seem creepy and uncomfortable in a potentially misogynistic kind of way. I just feel like given the very traumatic subject matter of this, there needed to be an air of consideration and exploration of themes that just wasn't quite there. There's never any real "Why" to anything happening. Everything just seems like a setup for a slasher final act instead of something potentially far more interesting. There's too much suspension in disbelief too - why do the parents seem to shoulder so much narrative blame? Does nobody in the town have the ability to background check? A dead kid would be reported on, especially one in that fashion. Even though we're meant to empathise with the parents, there's a degree of blame assigned to them that doesn't sit right with me. it doesn't feel like poetic justice or anything in that typical horror way when things go wrong, like "aha! And THAT'S why you got to obey the rules when temporarily resurrecting your dead child!" there's just an element of okay??? I guess. If they knew something like this could happen, why didn't they mention it? Do you think the parents would have gone through with it in that case? A better writer, I feel, would have let the parents know the potential consequences, and have them do it anyway. Dangle it in front of them as a risk, but not a guarantee. That way, they shoulder a lot more blame than the creepy necromancer cult that Exists Somehow. Again, going back to Fréwaka, it's building off established Irish folklore to some degree - it's own take on it to be sure - but we don't have to ask as many questions. Oh, Fairies can be like that yeah. It refers back to a history of folklore and horror tropes that help frame it's narrative. It knows where it comes from. Does Wake Wood? if it does, it doesn't do a good job of telegraphing it anymore than it makes me feel like it respects it's female characters. Speaking of which - I do find it interesting that the central "witch" role is embodied by a male character. This COULD have been an interesting reversal in terms of horror tropes. . . but why did he have a british accent? There's another character with a northern Irish accent. I was glad for the diversity in accents, but the problem is that they were running with the idea that they were all locals who grew up there and were "in on it". It was just one of many little things that took me out of it? But anyway - the ultimate result of that is that it takes yet more power away from the female characters. In folklore, women often possess some kind of "power" that puts them on a more equal footing with men. In some cultures - like old Norse with the Seidkonna - magic is often seen as a more "feminine" quality. In Ireland we more popular have druids rather than witch-like figures - was this guy meant to be some kind of druid? Who knows. But the most obvious character that comes to mind here is the Morrigan, who deals with battle, death and sovereignty. In the Táin, Cú Chullain has to learn to show respect to her as a metaphor for the land, because thousand year old texts were woker than modern horror movies I guess. Aíne, queen of the munster fairies has an origin story that involves biting off the ear of the man who assaulted her. My point is that there's not a shortage of powerful women in Irish folklore that has little to do with them having sacred birthing canals. if you want a good Irish folk horror set in a creepy small town, watch Fréwaka. It just feels like it has a lot more substance. If you want more of that sort of thing and have a reasonably high tolerance for poor treatment of female characters, this is still worth a watch. I'm willing to see different readings on how this movie treats gender, and am bemused nobody else has discussed this online. Overall, a decentish folk horror that could have done with more time in the oven(pardon the pun if you've watched it until the end). Rating is really a place holder, I might give it a 3 but I think it's current score is too high.

Decent pet cemetery vibe, some pacing issues here and there, not great cinematography wise, but good story and a decent watch.

I usually don’t write reviews but, this was one of the best movies I’ve seen, and, finally someone knows how to make a film with a great ending!!! Loved it!

This gave me similar-ish vibes to silent hill, but not as well done eerily… some parts I questioned if it was necessary to the plot or if they were trying to fill time? I did enjoy it in the end and thought it was an interesting, unique storyline. The ending did fall flat for me though.

Aww! A touching and depressing story. Innocence from the child coming back with only a few days to spend time with them. And the family was that desperate to go through extremes. Also, the poor animal and it’s eye looking to the side. I have a soft spot for the helpless and disabled. The fact that she said “It’s OK” at the end. That line is ALWAYS in a movie! Glad I watched this!