The Hallow Review

Ah horror. A genre I love that has certainly seen its ups and downs, but in recent years has really seen something of a renaissance. Especially when it comes to lower budget horror. Filmmakers seems to have become more inventive and the genre seems to be producing a much wider variety of films covering a wide array of subjects from monsters to psychos to ghosts to lately, even witches. One of the latest indie horror flicks I have really dug is out now on Blu-ray and DVD, The Hallow.

Adam (Joseph Mawle), a British conservationist, his wife, Clare (Bojana Novakovic), and baby son Finn, move to a new home outside a remote Irish village surrounded by a large forest. Upon their first night in their new home strange things immediately start to happen. At first it is noises and smashed windows but soon they start finding strange vines growing everywhere, even inside their car engine, making fleeing their home impossible. Strange creatures living within the woods seem to be after something from them and even Adam finds himself affected by the strange growths all around them. Now it may be up to Clare to find a way to save herself and her baby from a mysterious evil.

The Hallow borrows from many other horror films, as many films do, but does so with a unique edge in the feel to the movie and to the arc of the story. There are hints of films like Mama, Splinter, The Woods, and others but The Hallow, filmed on location in Ireland, feels authentic and once the action starts, is very unnerving. The creatures are very cool and well executed and it really did keep me guessing as to where it was going to go. The whole film has a dark, slick look to it that looks much more polished than its budget should allow. And the cast are all excellent, something that is all too rare in indie horror. The Hallow is a great fright flick with cool effects and a great story bound to entertain for horror fans. And Shout! Factory was kind enough to include an entertaining commentary, great making of and many behind the scenes featurettes and galleries. Highly recommended.