Well Deserved Praise

not horrible nor great

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

This a terrific chiller set in the moody English countryside (with a real "Hound of the Baskervilles" atmosphere) where a family, whose father suffers from emotional problems, settles into a large estate apparently haunted by the ghosts of the groundskeeper's family. However, nothing is as it seems in this extremely well-written, intricate, and devious plot that makes terrific use a "red herring" technique to lead the audience astray and to set them up for an explosive ending and a finely wrought denouement in which every haunting clue of the preceding 75% of the film is quickly explained in a haunting twist and which turns the basic haunted house motif on its head.I went into this expecting an average horror flick, based up the description I read on the back of the DVD case in the video store. That description does not do it justice. The film starts off slowly as what seems to be a basic supernatural mystery as the father, a film-maker who makes history documentaries, researches the background behind the apparitions appearing in his house that only he can see. The suspense maintains a steady, but slow pace in the first 75% of the film, gradually climbing, so gradually that I started to doze off once or twice, guessing that the ending would be what I thought it would be. I was seriously wrong. Suddenly, the father realizes the tragic truth of the situation and rushes to save his family. Then everything becomes clear very quickly to him and the audience and one revelation after another springs up combining into a mind-boggling ending.I recommend this film very highly. It is worth viewing, even if you are not a fan of the genre, just to see how great films, not to mention great stories should be written. This is one of the best suspense/supernatural mystery films I have seen come out of England in a long time.

Very well crafted and confidently told, Blackwood is a little treat of film. Telling the story of a family with issues relocating to a new house to start over, it may have a familiar ring to it but as the film slowly unravels it takes delight in going off in unexpected directions, this is a film that likes to toy with what the audience has come to expect of these types of films. Writing too much about it would spoil the fun but if you like twisty-turny plotting and shock endings you won't be disappointed. With a strong cast of British actors, not usually seen in this type of genre, the material feels elevated above some of the other films around like this. Sophia Myles who recently popped up Kicking robo-butt in transformers gives a confident, feisty performance and Ed Stoppard as the flawed hero walks the fine line of leaving the audience wondering if we should be rooting for, or booing this complex man. Nicely shot on an old school anamorphic look it definitely has the feel of a 70's movie and the retro leanings come through.

I expected this film to be good but not THIS good. It is a phenomenal thriller - this film had me on the edge of my seat and I am a hard person to please. Plot twists and unexpected turns are typical of Adam Wimpenny's shorts but this is really stand out for me - J.S. Hill, the writer must be commended on the script. I'd love to say more but it wouldn't be fair if you haven't see this movie yet.In terms of the actors the cast was great, Sophia Myles is very convincing and I was extremely impressed by the quality of the acting by Isaac Andrews, given he is so young. Russell Tovey was also very good in a very different role or him, nice to see the other side to his comedy roles.If this was the first feature film by Hill and Wimpenny, I can't wait to see what they do next!

Seen this last night at the London Film Festival. It was the first night they ever showed it to the public and I feel honored to have seen it first. The child actor from the movie was sitting two feet away-so cute! Anyways this movie took an original twist on the whole family-moves-into- house-sh*t-goes-down type of movie and I liked it a lot. I was sad that the dad dies :( I really thought he would get to the house just in time to stop all the bad things from happening. Superb quality. I can't wait to see more from these people, though I couldn't help but notice the entire cast was white. Maybe mix it up a bit?