A murderous landlord draws down a gypsy curse on his nearest and dearest, and only the intervention of a veteran werewolf-hunter can save the day.
The trigger event for this story comes in a brilliant set-piece, with a static camera simply overlooking a group of horsemen storming an encampment. My eye kept getting drawn here and there in an action sequence that looked completely natural but must have been choreographed with precision. The camera-work and design is superb throughout, making great play of a misty, autumnal landscape, and the editing keeps cutting forward through intelligently shortened scenes. The music is cello, violin, piano, with rumbling drums - ominous and haunting.
There is some pretty chunky gore from real effects, and then an impressive mix of real and CGI in an autopsy, so the bloodhounds in the audience will be happy. Otherwise, the style is of grim realism but doesn't offer much more than the Hammer mode of '60s gothic: a nasty lord, his cowed villagers, a curse, a predator in the shadows, and hints of romantic salvation from the square-jawed hero.
The prologue links up with WWI, but then we're taken back in time to a place I found hard to locate - especially the talk (none in French accents) of 'the settlement,' which suggests colonialism, and various details of Anglo-Irish influence, when landlords literally had to fortify their mansions against their own tenantry. The disconnect isn't improved by the fact the enforcers who appear early on have no part to play in the development of the plot.
The performances are good, but the characterisation ain't that elaborate, which means the lead actress is underused until the climax, when her thinly drawn character is called upon to bear whatever symbolism and meaning the story hopes to convey. The effort to go beyond Hammer lies in the reference to Judas's thirty pieces of silver, which brings on the theme of betrayal. In the climax this is actually converted into action, but it's quite abrupt, and confusing when overlaid on a theme of sacrifice - I didn't come away satisfied, but can't say more without spoilers.
I think I'd have preferred if the prologue and epilogue were ditched, with emphasis redirected on to the mother's difficulty in maintaining her integrity while being complicit in the fateful murders. Maybe that way the climax could have been made more coherent.
Overall: High style, middling effect.
The trigger event for this story comes in a brilliant set-piece, with a static camera simply overlooking a group of horsemen storming an encampment. My eye kept getting drawn here and there in an action sequence that looked completely natural but must have been choreographed with precision. The camera-work and design is superb throughout, making great play of a misty, autumnal landscape, and the editing keeps cutting forward through intelligently shortened scenes. The music is cello, violin, piano, with rumbling drums - ominous and haunting.
There is some pretty chunky gore from real effects, and then an impressive mix of real and CGI in an autopsy, so the bloodhounds in the audience will be happy. Otherwise, the style is of grim realism but doesn't offer much more than the Hammer mode of '60s gothic: a nasty lord, his cowed villagers, a curse, a predator in the shadows, and hints of romantic salvation from the square-jawed hero.
The prologue links up with WWI, but then we're taken back in time to a place I found hard to locate - especially the talk (none in French accents) of 'the settlement,' which suggests colonialism, and various details of Anglo-Irish influence, when landlords literally had to fortify their mansions against their own tenantry. The disconnect isn't improved by the fact the enforcers who appear early on have no part to play in the development of the plot.
The performances are good, but the characterisation ain't that elaborate, which means the lead actress is underused until the climax, when her thinly drawn character is called upon to bear whatever symbolism and meaning the story hopes to convey. The effort to go beyond Hammer lies in the reference to Judas's thirty pieces of silver, which brings on the theme of betrayal. In the climax this is actually converted into action, but it's quite abrupt, and confusing when overlaid on a theme of sacrifice - I didn't come away satisfied, but can't say more without spoilers.
I think I'd have preferred if the prologue and epilogue were ditched, with emphasis redirected on to the mother's difficulty in maintaining her integrity while being complicit in the fateful murders. Maybe that way the climax could have been made more coherent.
Overall: High style, middling effect.