FANGORIA will host a free screening of Hammer Films’ WAKE WOOD, the new supernatural thriller starring GAME OF THRONES’ Aidan Gillen, THE CHILDREN’s Eva Birthistle and SWEENEY TODD’S Timothy Spall. The special event, set for Tuesday, June 21 at 7 p.m., will be held at New York City’s Cinema Village (22 East 12th Street, off University Place). The film’s co-writer/director, David Keating, will be attending the show for a Q&A, and you can also expect some cool door prizes. See below for more details and pics.

The Fango WAKE WOOD screening will be a free show; to obtain tickets, send an e-mail to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . You must list “WAKE WOOD” as your subject line. Offer is good for you and one guest. Plus tell us your full name and whether you want to be added to the FANGORIA newsletter list so we can inform you about future Fango screenings and events. Names will be checked at the door. Offer is first come, first served, and we will confirm your rsvp. Seating is not guaranteed, however. This advance preview is sponsored by MPI/Dark Sky Films, who will release WAKE WOOD to DVD and Blu-ray on July 5.

WAKE WOOD tells the story of Patrick and Louise Daley (Gillen and Birthistle), whose 9-year-old daughter, Alice (Ella Connolly), is killed in a horrific dog attack. To escape their grief, the devastated young parents move to the remote rural Irish community of Wake Wood (the movie was shot on location in County Donegal, Ireland). Sensing Patrick and Louise’s loss, the strange people of Wake Wood introduce the couple to a bizarre pagan ritual that will bring Alice back from the grave—for three days only. The Daleys find the idea disturbing and exciting in equal measure, but once they agree to terms with Arthur, the village’s mysterious leader, a far bigger question looms: What will they do when it’s time for Alice to leave them forever?

WAKE WOOD represents the latest effort from the revitalized Hammer company, who recently produced THE RESIDENT and the much-praised LET ME IN. Critic Philip French of The Guardian (UK) said WAKE WOOD is “both touching and scary.” Sky Movies’ Tim Evans noted, “Cinematographer Chris Maris has a keen eye while [screenwriter] Brendan McCarthy’s dark narrative makes this a worthy frontrunner in Hammer’s return to the horror fray.”

David Edwards of the Daily Mirror and Nigel Floyd of Time Out London also pointed out a connection to the Hammer of yore. Edwards wrote, “Thoroughly unsettling from start to finish, WAKE WOOD will please horror fans with its muted palette, ominously creepy atmosphere and neat nods to the best of ’70s British horror,” while Floyd praised, “For all its pre-Christian paganism, demon child imagery, blood and guts, David Keating’s rural horror movie is at heart an involving portrait of a young couple struggling to come to terms with the death of a daughter.” We’ll give Fango editor Chris Alexander the last word: “[WAKE WOOD] is a nightmarish story of loss, emotional madness and pagan horror that is quiet, frightening, disturbing and ultimately unlike any horror film made today…but not yesterday. It’s vintage Hammer from shuddery stem to bloody stern.”

See FANGORIA #305, on sale in June, for a WAKE WOOD preview and watch for more articles on this site. See you at the show!

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