‘Evil lives here’
Hollow is a 2021 British horror film about a woman suffering from Alzheimer’s disease whilst a serial killer roams the countryside. Formerly known as Wyvern Hill
Directed by Jonathan Zaurin – making his feature directorial debut – from a screenplay written by Keith Temple, the stars Pat Garrett, Pete Bird, Ellie Jeffreys and Ben Manning (The Snarling).
A series of gruesome killings is shaking Herefordshire. Meanwhile, Beth, a mother in her sixties is showing signs of early Alzheimer’s disease. Worried, her daughter Jess and son-in-law Connor, try to find a way to help her. Together they purchase an old house on Wyvern Hill so that she can move in with them and be looked after.
However, her symptoms and a slow loss of reality render Beth unable to realize that something has moved in with her, observing her every move and preparing in the darkness of Wyvern Hill…
Reviews:
“Kudos to the effects people and to the prop design as well. A scene at the end that shows the full extent of the serial killer’s exploits throughout was excellently done. If you’re sick of watching indie films that look slapped together with minimal thought, definitely check out Hollow.” 3.5/5 Mother of Movies
“Wyvern Hill looks stunning. The aforementioned use of colour; the juxtaposition in visual styles, as diametrically opposite as day and night; to the appearance of the “killer’; everything on show in this film belies its low-budget nature. The other key to the film’s success is Pat Garrett. Without her nuanced performance, none of Wyvern Hill would work.” 4.5/5 Nerdly
” …while Wyvern Hill plays out like the nastiest of slasher films, just strip away the genre elements, and it also has much in common with Florian Zeller’s The Father (2020) – an insider’s hallucinatory account of the existential panic that accompanies the loss of memory and the dissolution of identity. It is ultimately for the viewer to decide just how much of the film’s atrocities is actually taking place, and how much is a mere puppet show staged for and by an increasingly infantilised mind.” Projected Figures
Director Jonathan Zaurin’s statement:
“The film is a huge mix of influence, in fact, it’s quite funny because it’s not always conscious. Keith doesn’t have a particular history with horror but I have been a huge fan since I can remember and it was important to me that I injected as much of what I love into this film as possible.
The result is a weird mix of melodrama, heightened horror with ultra-violent bouts of gore and a very creepy unsettling atmosphere (and of course a touch of humour). What’s funny is that I edited an essay about Argento shortly after shooting Wyvern Hill for Arrow Video and all these influences just sort of got revealed to me by the essay. It’s not that I wasn’t aware of these influences, it’s just that I wasn’t aware to what extent they leaked into the film, from Argento to Bava (father and son) with a touch of Wes Craven, a lot of Carpenter and flashes of Tobe Hooper and a heavy influence from the 90s scene of music video and their elliptic edits.”
Release:
On May 17, Devilworks released Hollow On-Demand (VOD). Rent or buy via Amazon Prime
Cast and characters:
Pat Garrett … Beth
Pete Bird … Connor
Ellie Jeffreys … Jess
Ben Manning … Morris
Ayvianna Snow … Young Beth
Pablo Raybould … Frank
Keith Temple … Ken
Simon Blood DeVay … TV Presenter
Michael Coombes … Mr Punch
Nathan Cole … First Victim
Emily Lane … Alison
Clova Perez-Corral … Sally
Rees Matthews … Second Victim
Lewis Booton … Alan
Alan Birch … Cab Driver
Technical details:
113 minutes
Trailer:
