The Hallow. Here we have yet another film where the trailers make the film seem better than what it actually is, which is obviously disappointing as there is nothing worse than seeing a film that looks promising only to be let down. Now, I know the trailers for films are usually pieced together in a way to entice audiences to watch them (unless it's a film that people KNOW they want to watch regardless), but the point still stands...the trailer for The Hallow is better than the overall film.
However, with that being said, the film (at least for me) wasn't a complete waste of time (I only said the trailer was better than the film...not that the film completely reeked) and it is watchable, but only just.
The film has a good enough premise and plays on the Irish folklore of faeries/banshees ("baby-stealers") with the film-makers giving it a pretty good dark & grim feeling, and I'll admit that some of the atmosphere within the film is very nice. The unfortunate thing is The Hallow never got much better after the first initial 30 minutes or so. It never got any worse, but it didn't exactly take off either.
I'm actually surprised reading reviews that stated the movie was fast-paced as I found it to be anything but fast-paced and it got pretty slow in parts. There were moments where it moved a long at a decent enough pace with some good tension to accompany it, but to say the film was "fast-paced" is a bit much I feel.
I definitely wouldn't say that The Hallow is one of the best British/Irish horror movies as there are much better (28 Days Later, Hellraiser, The Descent just to name a few), but it's also definitely not as bad as some people make it out to be.
If you're a fan of (or open to watching) British horror films - low-budget or not - then I'd say that The Hallow is worth a shot. Just keep an open mind and don't put too much expectation into it.
However, with that being said, the film (at least for me) wasn't a complete waste of time (I only said the trailer was better than the film...not that the film completely reeked) and it is watchable, but only just.
The film has a good enough premise and plays on the Irish folklore of faeries/banshees ("baby-stealers") with the film-makers giving it a pretty good dark & grim feeling, and I'll admit that some of the atmosphere within the film is very nice. The unfortunate thing is The Hallow never got much better after the first initial 30 minutes or so. It never got any worse, but it didn't exactly take off either.
I'm actually surprised reading reviews that stated the movie was fast-paced as I found it to be anything but fast-paced and it got pretty slow in parts. There were moments where it moved a long at a decent enough pace with some good tension to accompany it, but to say the film was "fast-paced" is a bit much I feel.
I definitely wouldn't say that The Hallow is one of the best British/Irish horror movies as there are much better (28 Days Later, Hellraiser, The Descent just to name a few), but it's also definitely not as bad as some people make it out to be.
If you're a fan of (or open to watching) British horror films - low-budget or not - then I'd say that The Hallow is worth a shot. Just keep an open mind and don't put too much expectation into it.