Dead Wood (2007)

No dear dedicated review reader, you have not read the title wrong and neither have we changed the name of the site to LoveWesterns.com.
Dead Wood is a brand spanking new British independent horror movie unsurprisingly set in some ooky spooky woods where all is not what it seems.

Dead Wood transposes one of the most traditional of all horror movie plot lines to our fair isle as a bunch of friends set off on a camping trip to some deep dark woods in the British countryside.
Ominous omens, creepy deserted cars and a giant swarm of angry bees fail to tip the team off that they should travel no further. And it is not until a mysterious girl appears round their camp fire that people start disappearing and the real horror begins.


Dead Wood takes its cues from the J Horror genre opting for a refreshing slow build full of unsettling moments rather than the soggy gore ridden path trodden by most other modern horrors.

The special effects when they are used are clever, subtle and effective and extremely good for an independent picture without big bucks behind it.

Sadly the influence and similarities to horror classics Blair Witch and Evil Dead are very apparent

in the plot and style and at times I wished the movie would shake the shackles of slasher clichés and find it’s own voices.

The cast of new comers put in some solid performances especially Emily Juniper as Larri who proves to be much more than the stereotypical giggling beguiling girlfriend character she starts off as.

The true achievement here is that of first time feature makers David Bryant, Sebastian Smith and Richard Stiles who are credited for not only writing and directing the movie but also producing, editing and cinematography along with I’m sure many other things.

Dead Wood is flawed, however with so few British horror films becoming successful, let alone coming out in the first place, the trio of monster movie makers should be encouraged.

Rule Britannia and let’s hope that Dead Wood ushers in a whole new age of great British horror.

Movie Rating: ★★☆☆☆ 

Additional film information: Dead Wood (2007)

Trailer:

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Alex Humphrey

Alex studied film at the University of Kent and went on to work for Universal Pictures in their Post Room gaining an inside look at the movie industry from the very bottom. Constantly writing reviews in everything from local magazines to Hip Hop sites Alex honed his critical skills even spending a brief period as a restaurant critic. Read more

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