Blackwood - Have you ever seen a ghost/supernatural film?

If the answer is ‘yes’ then you might as well not read this review and not bother watching ‘Blackwood.’ Don’t get me wrong – it’s not bad.  It’s one and only problem is that it’s so unoriginal that if you’ve even seen one previous supernatural/ghost story then you’ve basically seen this story (and quite possibly done better).

A teacher moves his family into an old creepy house, largely against their wishes.  Once there, spooky things start to happen.  Every quarter of an hour you’ll catch sight of a reflection that wasn’t there, or a shadow in night which disappears upon investigation.  If that sounds scary to you, maybe you will get something out of it.  Personally, I grew out of thinking that was in any way spooky when I was about ten.

The acting is nothing to write home about.  That’s not a criticism of the actors.  They’re good enough, as I’ve seen them in other things.  However, they just go through the motions and you can see every vague sub-plot coming a mile off.

It’s a British film and, in typical British style, it’s low budget.  I know it’s a bit unfair to expect a Brit-funded film to compete with Hollywood blockbusters when it comes to special effects, so I can’t be too harsh on ‘Blackwood’ for not even trying.  Don’t expect hordes of monsters or vast action sequences interspersed with the story.

It’s a ‘slow burner.’ Possibly too slow for its own good.  Basically, if you think that a door shutting on its own is scary, then you might like this.  Otherwise, just watch one of your many other horror/ghost story DVDs that you probably already own.  It’s better.

Now move along... nothing to see here.

4/10 You can watch this film while you're doing the ironing (you'll still get the general gist of it)