The Hallow (2015)

The Hallow: Directed by Corin Hardy. With Joseph Mawle, Bojana Novakovic, Michael McElhatton, Michael Smiley. A family who moved into a remote mill house in Ireland finds themselves in a fight for survival with demonic creatures living in the woods.

“Regardless of how overused the basic plot, executed with very hit and miss success on film, is, u0026#39;The Hallowu0026#39; did have a good deal of potential. The idea was actually a good one, the title was to the point and attention grabbing and Joseph Mawle is always worth watching. So expectations were hardly low for u0026#39;The Hallowu0026#39;, and actually did think this could be a decent film. Of course too there was apprehension, considering the standard of a lot of horror films seen recently not highly rated or divisively to negatively reviewed that turned out to be that bad.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eA decent film u0026#39;The Hallowu0026#39; turned out to be, and it is something of a relief to be saying this. Not a great film, with it running out of steam too soon and the quality set up so well before being lost. u0026#39;The Hallowu0026#39; was quite good though for two thirds of the duration and while it didnu0026#39;t quite meet its potential it hardly wastes it either. Which pleased me having grown tired of the many potential wastes cropping up in my recent viewings and fearing somewhat that u0026#39;The Hallowu0026#39; would fare the same.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eWill start with the good things. u0026#39;The Hallowu0026#39; doesnu0026#39;t look too bad visually, itu0026#39;s stylishly and atmospherically shot, has scenery that is pretty and atmospheric, has suitably eerie lighting, has editing that is cohesive and the effects at least didnu0026#39;t look shoe-string budget (certainly when compared to those from other films seen recently). It is hauntingly and not too intrusively scored and the direction has focus and momentum.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThere is tension and suspense and a lot of genuine creepiness in particularly the middle act. That it is so in more than one way makes the execution fairly clever and fresh which is remarkable considering that the idea is hardly new. u0026#39;The Hallowu0026#39; starts well but itu0026#39;s the middle act where it shines most where there are scenes that do unnerve. The creatures looked good and they did pose a formidable threat, would have liked to see them more though. The characters didnu0026#39;t bore or annoy me, while not exactly rich in character development there have been films that have done far worse regarding motivations and behaviours. Joseph Mawle commands the film well, standing out of an above average cast.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eSo it is unfortunate that the final act was such a significant step down in quality, to the extent that it was hard to believe it was the same film. The suspense and creepiness dissipates and confusion and silliness replaces them, both to an excessive degree. It becomes muddled, from too much being left vague or unexplained, and ridiculous.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eMomentum sags badly particularly at this point, actually think that the pace was imperfect throughout but it was really only in some very uneventful stretches and some choppy storytelling that it did become bothersome. The dialogue is pretty weak, while the ending completely fails to make sense. Not many film endings recently have had me scratching my head, u0026#39;The Hallowu0026#39; did that with me.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eIn conclusion, decent but let down by the inferior final third. 6/10 Bethany Cox”