Highly Overrated But Still Good

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

Blistering performances.

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

This a terrific chiller set in the moody English countryside (with a real "Hound of the Baskervilles" atmosphere) where a family, whose father suffers from emotional problems, settles into a large estate apparently haunted by the ghosts of the groundskeeper's family. However, nothing is as it seems in this extremely well-written, intricate, and devious plot that makes terrific use a "red herring" technique to lead the audience astray and to set them up for an explosive ending and a finely wrought denouement in which every haunting clue of the preceding 75% of the film is quickly explained in a haunting twist and which turns the basic haunted house motif on its head.I went into this expecting an average horror flick, based up the description I read on the back of the DVD case in the video store. That description does not do it justice. The film starts off slowly as what seems to be a basic supernatural mystery as the father, a film-maker who makes history documentaries, researches the background behind the apparitions appearing in his house that only he can see. The suspense maintains a steady, but slow pace in the first 75% of the film, gradually climbing, so gradually that I started to doze off once or twice, guessing that the ending would be what I thought it would be. I was seriously wrong. Suddenly, the father realizes the tragic truth of the situation and rushes to save his family. Then everything becomes clear very quickly to him and the audience and one revelation after another springs up combining into a mind-boggling ending.I recommend this film very highly. It is worth viewing, even if you are not a fan of the genre, just to see how great films, not to mention great stories should be written. This is one of the best suspense/supernatural mystery films I have seen come out of England in a long time.

Very clever film with high satisfaction towards the end. Ghost story with an intelligent twist. All film making departments working well together. It takes the classic bump in the night idea and transports it to another level. The supporting cast are great. The end might be a slight stretch for some but I realized this and moved on. I was thoroughly entertained and enthralled, and only after the credits rolled did I perceive any faults or possible improvements that the film could have achieved. The cinematography, editing, sound and music are all perfect in this.If it was low budget it did not show. I recommend this if you like metaphysical themes and wish to have your mind stimulated.

Clever premonition concept.First thing I noticed was the line, "But where are you going to stay?", followed by the title, Blackwood. Then the incredibly snappy editing. It really sucks you into what seems like a simple story.But the editing creates a problem - the snappiness destroys the jump-scares. The first hour has maybe ten, and none of them worked for me mostly because they don't allow time for a lull before the scare.And there was one jump-scare at 11 min - guy looks at the face of a grandfather clock, then the camera pans as he looks down at the inside, and as he stands the camera pans up with him to show ... his wife. Good variation on the closing-door jump-scare, but she was standing too far away from the camera.Everything else I liked, but overall it's not really a horror - more psychological thriller with false promise of the supernatural. Although the premonitions are nicely reflected back in the end sequence, psycho killer is not what I was hoping for. Plus Brit horror is so short on trashy sex and gore.ps. Nice to see Dennis Penis has found God. And one-earner families will still do anything to get an unaffordable mortgage in cider country. Ooo rrr!

Wonderful production, beautiful locations. The whole film was executed to such a high standard. Great cast too, especially Sophia Myles. I liked the level of suspense, and the tension wasn't too overwhelming or distracting from the plot. Just the right level to be a traditional ghost story without being too shocking. There's twists to the plot, just what you would expect, but all placed very well in the storyline to not be cliché.A testament to a low budget British film, however I feel there is further to go and possibly a break away from this genre. Overall I really enjoyed the film and hope to see more from Wimpenny and co.