The Hallow, film review: Corin Hardy's horror movie is visually striking but loses the plot

(15) Corin Hardy, 96 mins. Starring: Bojana Novakovic, Joseph Mawle, Michael Smiley

'The Hallow' is a visually striking horror set deep in a rural Irish community

Too much fungus creeps over Corin Hardy's horror film, which is set deep in a rural Irish community and follows the misadventures of Adam (Joseph Mawle), a London-based conservationist who moves to the area with his wife and baby child to conduct research in the forest.

The grim-faced locals regard these woods as a sacred but threatening place. They are full of arboreal creepy-crawlies that prey on outsiders – and seem to have an appetite for children. Visually, the film is striking. It is as if the forest has come to life in a malevolent way.

The "bad fairies" lurking within have the ability to stretch their roots and branches round car engines and baby's cots. The problem is that the plotting gets lost amid all the foliage.