The Hallow Movie Review

For things that go bump, and many other sound effects, in the night, Ireland has come up with “The Hallow”, making its Canadian premiere at Montreal’s Fantasia International Film Festival.

A small family, a couple and their baby, move into a rural part of Ireland. Hailing from England, they are not much appreciated by the odd townsfolk. Then again, from the looks of these villagers, anyone would have been despised by them. Despite a neighbor’s warnings to avoid going into the woods, the gentleman still goes through with it. Evidently, like in any horror movie, those warnings were not for nothing, as sinister creatures have been lurking in the dark depths of these woods, and now they’re after the family.

“The Hallow” brings its fair share of jumps and some decent special effects. The creatures, when stalking in numbers, can seem intimidating at times. One particular scene where the couple’s car has broken down (obviously) is interesting and another involving an attic door and a creature’s hand as well. In addition to the creatures, there also seems to be some sort of infectious substance that spreads around on non-organic and non-organic materials, adding to the stress of being chased by hellacious creatures.

However, the storyline is very typical and has been seen numerous times before. The creatures and the way they creep up on the main characters reminds a lot of “Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark”, which is not a movie I was very fond of.

All in all, “The Hallow” is worth seeing once for its special effects and few jumps. Do not go into it expecting the horror movie of the year; as you will be disappointed. A decent little flick from Ireland deserving 3.5 stars out of 5.