birdman The young English director Adam Wimpenny is not well known to a wide audience, but his work is worth paying much more attention, because he has a clear talent and is able to turn any, even the most ordinary story into an exciting attraction, intriguing from beginning to end. Wimpenny began his career on his native television, where he became one of the creators of a rather intriguing documentary crime series “Real scammers”. Developing various ideas for small screens, the director did not forget about his own growth, in his spare time shooting short projects on a variety of topics. And some of them received some attention at specialized shows and local festivals. Adam Wimpenney realized that he could develop his work in a variety of directions and finally decided to conquer the full meter. Realizing that no one in England will give him a multi-million dollar budget, the director decided to focus on the genre of horror, because lately it is not necessary to have a lot of money and famous star performers to shoot a really worthwhile horror film. Surprisingly, Wimpenny himself did not answer for the script of the tape, but trusted his long-time comrade J. S. Hill, with whom they had already worked together on the intriguing short film “Wailing”, in which it was about the most ordinary things that we deal with every day, and which can cause a number of tragic events, which we had not even thought about before. Thus, their subsequent joint work under the title "Blackwood" aroused genuine interest among connoisseurs of extraordinary author's cinema. Well, to support Wimpenney in his work volunteered not the latest actors of our time, Sophia Miles, known to us on the Gothic action movie "Other World 2: Evolution" and the TV series "Doctor Who", as well as Ed Stoppard, at one time starred in the Roman Polanski in "Pianist". Of course, Blackwood did not become an event in its genre and did not allow the crew members to rise to a new stage of popularity, but nevertheless their tape looks like a glossy, trivialized classic English horror. Such stories we have seen more than once, but if they are still able to produce the desired effect, then you can get acquainted with them better.
So, the plot of the film introduces us to a young history professor Ben Marshall (Stoppard), who, along with his wife Rachel (Miles) and young son Harry (Isaac Andrews), moves to a new place of residence in connection with the acquisition of a new position at one of the prestigious universities in England. The Marshall family will, of course, live in an ancient mansion remote from civilization, which has been empty for quite a long time. When Ben arrived, he immediately felt that something was wrong with the house. He begins to be tormented by doubts and anxieties about the choice of their place of residence and the history associated with it. On the first night, the professor is overcome by visions in which a boy comes to him in an owl mask and with a knife. Deciding that this is the tricks of his son Harry, Ben punishes the boy, although in his heart he realizes that he is clearly not involved in the mental disorder of his father. The main character is desperately trying to pull himself together and finally understand the situation. It seems to him that a tragedy has occurred at Blackwood estate, affecting the lives of the new owners of the house even years after the incident. Ben realizes that his family's happiness is at risk and conducts his own investigation to uncover the secrets of his home. And, as it seems to him, the sinister phenomena in Blackwood are somehow involved in the local forester Jack (Russell Tovey) and the priest Patrick (Paul Kay), clearly keeping some secrets that the public, in their opinion, should not know.
Adam Wimpenney in collaboration with screenwriter J. S. Hill created a surprisingly pleasant horror in the best British traditions. Prepare for the fact that you will be fascinated by such must-have components as gloomy autumn forest, impenetrable fog, huge size dilapidated mansion, as well as inhospitable locals who are in no hurry to go into contact with newcomers. The narrative in the picture develops gradually, without sharp changes and sagging moments. The creators of Blackwood felt that they first need to reveal the characters in detail in order to show what drives them and what results their aspirations can lead to. Terrifying moments in the picture are not so much, but they all boast an effective effect. Adam Wimpenney tried to minimize the number of tired clichés and practically did not use such techniques as a sharp noise after a long lull and the notorious reflections in the mirror. Blackwood is primarily frightening with a gradually inflated suspense and secret, with each subsequent minute coming together and representing a quite tangible threat. So it is safe to say that Adam Wimpenney created a classic English horror game that tries to break the templates and gives us some truly unique episodes shot in the best traditions of Shyamalan. The film really plays with us, like a sophisticated scammer and does not open its cards until the very end. What started out as a banal ghost story later turns into something extraordinary. Moreover, even a spectator who knows a lot about horrors is unlikely to predict what Wimpenny and Hill prepared for them. But do not assume that the creators of “Blackwood” gave their plot at the mercy of surprise in favor of logic. The narrative is a whole, organic work in which all the details are in their places and nothing falls out of the common mosaic, delighting us with the fact that horror is still able to surprise. And not marginal, but staged methods.
Separately, I want to note the wonderful acting of Ed Stoppard, who became the perfect embodiment of Professor Ben Marshall. The actor got quite a difficult task to play a person who is in a state of constant stress. Because of this, his promising career at Oxford was completely ruined, and his wife and son constantly feel his negative energy, and therefore their lives cannot be called happy. To the credit of Rachel, Ben’s wife, she tries to support him in every possible way, but he simply cannot restrain his impulses when an obsession comes to his head and he is ready to sacrifice everything for her. Even the peace of his young son, who needs only one thing from his father: love. Stoppard in all colors revealed to us the madness of his hero, but it is still impossible to call him a madman. Professor Marshall, of course, is confused and haunted, but is he really sick? Perhaps he had opportunities that could change his whole life? These are very difficult questions, the answers to which lie in the "Blackwood" itself. I highly recommend it as a status horror.
8 out of 10