British Council Logo UK Films Database
Project Detail

Wake Wood

Synopsis

The village of Wake Wood in rural Ireland has preserved a tradition which enables its inhabitants to bring a person back from the dead for three days, one year after their death, in order to say a final farewell to their loved ones, before they make their final journey to the spirit world.

Patrick and Louise Daly have come to Wake Wood to take over the veterinary practice. They are relocating from the city to recover from the tragic death of their daughter. The couple can’t have another child. They discover the ritual.

Patrick and Louise ask if the villagers might bring their child back. The villagers agree to help but remind them that they can only have her back for three days and then she must return to the world of the dead. Patrick and Louise accept the rules, but when their child returns, they decide to keep her and break their agreement. The couple pay a terrible price for this transgression.
Visit Film Website

Details

Year
2011
Type of project
Features
Running time
92 mins
Format
35mm
Director
David Keating
Producer
Brendan McCarthy, John McDonnell,
Co-Producer
Magnus Paulsson
Executive Producer
Simon Oakes, Marc Schipper
Editor
Tim Murrell, Dermot Diskin
Screenwriter
David Keating, Brendan McCarthy
Director of Photography
Chris Maris
Production Designer
John Hand
Composer
Michael Convertino
Principal cast
Aidan Gillen, Eva Birthistle, Timothy Spall, Ruth McCabe

Genre

Action Horror Drama Fantasy Sci-Fi

Categories

Fiction

Production Status

Complete

Production Company

Hammer, part of Exclusive Media Group

52 Haymarket
London
SW1Y 4RP
UK
Tel: +44 (0)20 3002 9510

Fantastic Films Ltd

28 Vernon Avenue
Clontarf
Dublin 3
Ireland
Fax: +353 1 853 1892

Vertigo Films

The Big Room Studios
77 Fortess Road
London
NW5 1AG
UK
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7428 7555
Fax: +44 (0) 20 7485 9713

Sales Company

Exclusive films International

52 Haymarket
London
SW1Y 4RP
UK
Tel: +44 (0)20 3002 9510
Fax: +44 (0)20 3002 9519

Page updates

This page was last updated on 12th May 2025. Please let us know if we need to make any amendments or request edit access by clicking below.

Suggest amendments

See also

You may also be interested in other relevant projects in the database.

A Night in Porto A Night in Porto

Director: Antonio Sequeira, Anastasiia Vorotniuk

Year: 2026

Two former lovers unexpectedly reunite on a Christmas night in Porto. Their encounter sparks a reflective journey into whether life offers second chances at happiness.

Comedy Drama Romance Woman Director
A young girl with the lights of an amusement arcade behind her Amusement

Director: Stephanie Zari

Year: 2026

With the clock ticking on her trip to the amusements, a downbeat ten year old girl needs to act quickly to make her funds count and win her dream prize, but she hasn’t contended with the self-appointed king of the amusements and his attempts to thwart her simple plan.

Adventure Children’s Comedy Drama Woman Director
A young man, sits alone in a cafe, deep in thought. A bouquet of disregarded roses in front of him. The Game

Director: Blaize Mott

Year: 2026

Donald, a lonely young man desperate to improve his dating life, hires a manipulative pick-up artist, Charles, to teach him how to meet and attract women. Over the course of one night in London, Donald is pulled into a world of performance, pressure and control, where confidence becomes coercion and desire begins to blur with power. What began as a harmless lesson on love transforms into a night where the methods he is instructed to use to achieve his goal are far darker than he could have ever imagined.

Drama Thriller