Having signed on to the eagerly anticipated reboot of The Crow, filmmaker Corin Hardy has an original horror of his own released first, in the form of the chilling, Irish-set The Hallow. Though abiding to the tropes of the genre, working as something of a throwback to classic horror – with an affectionate nod by way of Ray Harryhausen and animatronic-led productions – what comes with that is a distinct lack of innovation and identity, as a feature that offers very little we haven’t seen countless times before.
Adam Hitchens (Joseph Mawle), his wife Clare (Bojana Novakovic) and their young child have recently moved from the city to the more isolated, tranquil environment of the Irish countryside, where they have become the target of their disgruntled neighbours, who believe in folklore, and feel that Adam’s work in the forest is trespassing on the land of fabled, demonic creatures – who will seek revenge if they feel threatened.
The narrative is set up in masterful fashion, with a compelling opening act. The pair are made to appear so vulnerable – they’re new to the area, blissfully uninformed, real outsiders made to feel as though they’re invading a small, close-knit community – the sort where the music is turned off and the necks of the locals wind towards the entrance if you dare step foot in the nearby pub. Then there’s the baby, which proves to be persistently effective to this tale, always present, adding an intensity to scenes that on the surface are somewhat innocuous. Just having the infant there can bring out the protective nature within the viewer, which breeds a paranoia or sorts, informing the narrative and adding to the suspense of the piece.
Hardy’s inclination for naturalism in the opening stages works well too, as he heightens the monotonous nature of the couple’s life, voyeuristically watching them as they partake in unexciting events such as cooking pasta – but it all helps in normalising and humanising, ensuring that the viewer is on board, investing in them – which is essential when things start to go bump in the night. Regrettably, by the time we reach that point, a sense of tedium begins to sweep over proceedings, as the further we progress the more generic this title becomes, ultimately transpiring in a substandard home invasion movie.
Part of the problem is that we see too much, and while the budgetary limitations do not affect the impressive effects, sometimes less is so much more, and perhaps leaving a little more to our imaginations would be beneficial. The second we see the antagonists the less scary they become, and the film heads slowly downhill from there on – in a similar vein to the likes of Signs (2002), for instance. Whereas if you take a feature like The Blair Witch Project (1999), it just goes to show that the unknown can be the very scariest horror device of them all.
Nonetheless, there remains enough to be admired in this film, and while some horror aficionados may revel in the traditionalism of it all, others may be left wishing for a more creative, unique offering from the genre. But whatever your take, it’s fair to assume we can agree on two things – that dogs always know what’s up, so listen to them and take notice. And secondly, we do not see nearly enough of Michael Smiley in this film, if there even is such a thing.
