The Hallow (2015)

Annnd once again we're checking out a folk horror film (trust me, I have no end of them to talk about.) Only this time, it's also a monster movie! Set in an Irish village surrounded by spooky forests that are said to be inhabited by strange, fungal monsters, The Hallow is chiefly concerned with the destruction of our natural environment, though in the guise of a rather good critter film of the Gremlins variety, complete with little creepy-crawly mushroom people that are as adorably dumb looking as they are terrifying when glimpsed briefly moving under the dim moonlight. It takes a European approach to this thoroughly American sub-genre and succeeds for the most part, although not without a few niggling issues. For a change, let's list those first:

I don't like the way the protagonist basically gets 'bitten' by a monster (via spike through the eyeball, which itself is kind of a visual motif throughout the film which I found very unnerving) and begins transforming into what looks more like Pinnochio than a fungal bipedal monster ala the 'clickers' in The Last of Us. I guess it just feels silly because it feels like a mixture of vampirism, werewolves, The Santa Claus starring Tim Allen, and Spiderman, and for a film that often takes itself deadly seriously, this bit of screenwriting autopilot feels out of place. Maybe it's just the design of the monsters that look almost cute in their hideousness as we see them progressively closer up of the course of the film, but I found some of the horror elements really lose their effectiveness over time, at least until the ending of the film, especially once it becomes all about family and the themes get a bit muddled.

But that doesn't matter because this isn't just a straight-up, folk horror monster mash that we have here. No, sir: this is a bonafide Grimm's fairy tale: something dark and violent, with a clear moral and imagery of little goblins snatching babies from their cribs in the forest, and what makes it work so well is how natural it all feels. The characters are easy to love and root for; they have depth and chemistry with one another. When the locals begin breaking into their house, even if it's simply to 'warn' them of impending doom as they claim, you understand this young family's anger and total rejection of what they have to say. Even though it is a horror film and we know that the locals will be proven right in the end, it's written so that the leads don't feel like morons when they make fateful decisions, and by the end we also understand acutely why the townsfolk are so desperate to get them out and away from this place before something horrible occurs.

It even bothers to dig in deep with its fungal fascination, and offer subtle explanations for the mechanics of what is happening. Sure it's nonsense, but it's evidence of the care with which the story was treated. This all culminates in a very creepy ending that manipulates the audience's expectations expertly with a combo of sad folk music, hypnotic imagery of deforestation, and a final jump scare that recalls Krampus (though here, it's nowhere near as seamless) For a modern attempt at a monster movie, I was very impressed.

I thought performances were strong across the board, but especially from the two leads and the spooky neighbor whose daughter disappeared years earlier. The lead, though his transformation leaves him looking like a grotesque monster not unlike the lead of District 9 once the film is nearly over, never lets the makeup and effects overtake the human qualities in his performance, and he comes across as incredibly torn and tortured, although the actress playing his wife nearly bests him in a few scenes. The other, more technical aspects, like the mostly-practical effects, the focus on neatly composed, nearly unparalleled horror imagery centered around nature, and relatively tight pacing and direction make this a film that feels like a b-movie taken deadly serious and somehow working wonders against all odds. If you enjoy monster movies, woodsy horror films, and fairy tales, then this film should be just what the witch-doctor ordered.