Directed by: George Richmond
Written by: Joe Hill
Other cast: Ed Stoppard, Russell Tovey, Joanna Vanderham, Paul Kaye, Greg Wise, Sebastian Dunn, Kenneth Collard, Duncan Pow, Issac Andrews, Luke Brandon Field, Melanie Gray, Annabel Riley
Release date: 17 October 2013
Genre: Psychological Thriller
Running time: 90 min
Having recovered from a shattering emotional breakdown, college professor Ben Marshall relocates to the countryside with his wife and young son, hoping for a fresh start. He has a teaching job lined up and a new home to move into; things finally look to be going Ben’s way. Until, that is, he starts to feel that something isn’t quite right in the house. Finding himself plagued by spectral visions, Ben becomes obsessed with uncovering the truth behind a local mystery that appears to be putting the lives of his family in danger.
Story Description
Blackwood is an intense supernatural thriller starring Ed Stoppard as the charismatic history professor Ben Marshall who relocates with his wife Rachel played by Sophia Myles and eight year old son Harry (Isaac Andrews) to Blackwood, a large house near a remote country village.
Strange things begin to happen as Ben sees visions of a masked boy. Convinced some misfortune has befallen a young woman, Eve, and her son, who mysteriously disappeared earlier that year, he begins his own investigation. All fingers point to Eve’s troubled war veteran husband Jack played by Russell Tovey. But whilst Ben becomes increasingly obsessed with the past, his unhinged behaviour begins to take its toll on his marriage and family, not helped by the predatory presence of old friend Dominic, played by Greg Wise and his beautiful girlfriend Jessica played by Joanna Vanderham.
Sophia’s Role
Sophia plays Rachel Marshall – the wife of Professor Ben Marshall and mother to eight year old Harry.
Trivia
Norney Grange is used as the setting for the Blackwood house. This house has previously been used in films such as Shadowlands and Wimbledon.
A rear living room still displays wallpaper left over from Richard Attenborough’s Shadowlands – the owners of the house liked it so production staff left it as it was
Quotes from Reviews
Michael Blyth
Delivering good old-fashioned scares alongside a host of innovative ideas, this atmospheric chiller from newcomer Adam Wimpenny is a smart revision of the traditional English ghost story. With a compelling family drama at its core, the supernatural horrors of Blackwood are handled with an intelligence that maintains credibility as it twists and turns its way to a startling conclusion.
The Gay UK
As his wife Rachel, Sophia Myles is warmly feminine, concerned for her husband and fiercely protective of her son Harry
The Movie Waffler (Benjamin Poole)
Sophia Myles plays Ben’s wife, Rachel, with subdued energy
One of the film’s strengths is the subtle drawing of the two couples’ duplicitous affiliations, all stolen glances and delicately unspoken suspicions.