Sideworld: Haunted Forests of England

Forests are beautiful, sometimes mysterious places. While most are the sort of places you can go for a long walk to admire nature and clear your head, some hide dark secrets in their sunlight dappled shadows. I covered those sorts of forests on this blog before, when I shared the stories of Epping Forest and the Rendlesham Incident, but those are far from being the only areas of haunted woodland in England. If, like myself, you are fascinated by eerie tales or are looking for a new haunted place to visit, the new documentary Sideworld: Haunted Forests of England is perfect for you.

The Plot

Director George Popov steps in as narrator, acting as our guide as this documentary leads us on an unforgettable journey into the depths of three of the most haunted forests in the UK:          

Wistmans Wood, Devon - looking like something straight out of a fairy tale, this forest is home to both benevolent and malevolent spirits. The most famous of these are the infamous bloodthirsty Wisht Hounds and their master, the Huntsman.    

Cannock Chase, Staffordshire - a beautiful forest hunted by sinister creatures, both natural and supernatural, including an unearthly Pigman that roams the forest, numerous UFO sightings, true crime and the dreaded Black-Eyed Children. 

Epping Forest, Essex - a personal favourite of mine. A place haunted by many, with links to the Krays and Dick Turpin. It's also home to the Drowning Pool, a sinister location with a tragic backstory, that has allegedly claimed the lives of many an unwary walker.

About the Documentary

You'll have to forgive me for not giving away more than I
already have, but I really want anyone who chooses to watch the documentary to be able to do so without any spoilers and hope they will enjoy it as much as I did. Since Sideworld was bought to us by Rubicon Films, I had high hopes for it before I'd even cosied up on my sofa and hit play. I've covered one of the studio's films on this blog once before, The Droving, which I very much enjoyed and highly recommend. 

Sideworld is hauntingly beautiful and atmospheric, a true pleasure to watch. 

Filmed on location, the forests are both enchanting and eerie. Thanks to the documentary's stunning cinematography, you really feel like you're there, slipping through the lush, shadowy woods to seek out the ghosts for yourself. It is beautifully filmed. Not only do the forests become as much a character in these stories as the people who feature in them, but by the end of the documentary you'll want to visit them for yourself. The film also features art by Todor Popov and other artists, helping to further illustrate the stories and unseen ghosts.

George Popov is an excellent narrator, bringing the haunting tales to life with the help of Suzie Frances Garton and William Poulter, who step in to read us the eyewitness accounts, doing a brilliant job at bringing them to life. I've never been a fan of dramatic re-enactments, finding them to be a bit cheesy, so I found the way Sideworld presented people's encounters in the forests quite refreshing. These stories are blended with the re-telling of historical events and some of the most chilling folklore I've ever had the pleasure to hear. It manages to be both suspenseful and educational, an exciting program to watch.

All in all, I found this documentary immensely enjoyable. 

Even more exciting, Haunted Forests of England is only the first project to come to us from Sideworld, with more planned in the future. Personally, I'm looking forward to seeing what they bring to us next.

Viewable on Amazon Prime, Google Play and Youtube Movies.

Director: George Popov

Producer: Jonathan Russell

Starring: Suzie Frances Garton, William Poulter

Featuring art by Todor Popov

Runtime: 1 hour and 9 minutes

Subtitles: English

Made by: Rubicon Films

The Droving; a Festival of Fear

The Droving

It's not a secret, I love Folk Horror with all my macabre little heart. Folklore itself is considered by some to just be a pretty collection of fairy tales and superstition, but when you really start to look into it, it will show you it's beautiful dark side. And I'm not alone in enjoying Folk Horror. Recent years have bought us a plethora of excellent books and films that delve into the darker side of older beliefs and stories.
Released on Amazon Prime this April, The Droving is a beautiful example of one of these films. It's bought to us by Rubicon Films, the same production company that bought us 2017's Hex, and is well worth a watch.



Plot
After returning home from a stint in the military, Martin is in search of his little sister, Megan, who has mysteriously gone missing. Looking for clues, he meets with a friend of his sisters, Tess. Through her he discovers that she and Megan were meant to meet up at a local festival, The Droving, but it was likely here that his sister went missing. Tess also tells him about a group of suspicious outsiders who have been visiting the festival and taking it a little too seriously. With not much else to go on, Martin heads out to find them and through them, finds out that a sinister ritual is going to be taking place. But what does this ritual have to do with Megan, what happened to her and, more importantly, what will become of Martin?



About the Film

A visually beautiful film, the shots of the vast Lake District countryside reveal its stark beauty, giving it a perfect lonely and isolated vibe. The soundtrack is haunting, but the movie doesn't rely on it for the whole runtime, instead relying on everyday background noises, silence and the actors themselves to slowly build up the tension to the point where you could cut it with a knife.
Speaking of the actors, a strong performance all round from all. The main character, Daniel Oldroyd as Martin, is pleasant and likeable, but with a cold edge to him. As an ex-soldier and interrogator for the British army, he's unafraid to take risks and go to great lengths to get the information he needs. He acts as our guide into this world of Folk Horror and we uncover the mystery alongside him, like an invisible side-kick. And we want Martin to succeed in avenging his sister, although an eye for an eye probably isn't something kind-hearted Meg would have approved of. His fellow actors play characters who are well rounded and individual, making them feel like real people. And none of them are quite what they seem.
The festival itself, The Droving, is glowing, full of light and warmth which belies it's more sinister side. It very much reminds me of the real-life traditional and pagan celebrations that we see throughout the year here in the UK, including Penrith's Winter Droving festival, which is where I assume it was filmed and takes some inspiration from.
All in all, The Droving is a treasure of a film, and a breath of fresh air when some movies have a nasty habit of taking a little too much inspiration from The Wicker Man. I heartily recommend it to all lovers of folklore and horror, but also to those new to the genre.

Viewable at: Amazon Prime

Director: George Popov
Writers: George Popov,  Johnathan Russell
Starring: Daniel Oldroyd, Suzie Fances Garton, Amy Tyger
Supporting Cast: Bobby Robertson, John Lawrence Risdon, John Love, Alexander King
Runtime: 1 hour and 20 minutes
Subtitles: English
Official Site
Facebook
Twitter


Have you already seen The Droving? Let me know what you think in the comments section below or by tagging me in a post on Twitter. If you haven't seen the movie yet, then don't forget you can view it on Amazon, and it's well worth a watch. So grab yourself a nice drink and some popcorn, and snuggle down for a movie night!

Horror in Isolation.

As the lockdown continues, so too does the risk of boredom. And at The Strangeways HQ we are completely against boredom. So, in the hopes of introducing you to something you've never seen before, I present to you a list of films and series to check out while you're in lockdown. 



Ravenous (1999)
It's the 1800's and Lieutenant Boyd has been sent/banished to Fort Spencer, a remote garrison at the snow-covered Sierra Nevada mountain range. Home to the militaries outcasts, this frozen place is where the army sends the people it would rather forget. Despite this, everything seems to be going fine for Boyd and his companion. That is until a snowstorm blows a mysterious stranger, Colqhoun, their way and everything rapidly spirals out of control.
An interesting take on the Wendigo legend, the best way to describe Ravenous is glorious, gleeful chaos; it's humour at it's darkest.
The most important thing about this movie it to double-check which one you're watching. If you watch the 2018 Ravenous instead of the 1999 Ravenous then you'll be stuck with zombies eating people instead of Robert Carlyle eating people, and nobody want that.
Format: Movie
Available: Amazon
Subtitles: n/a


Noroi: the curse (2005)
After a fire at his home, which seemingly killed his wife, our protagonist Kobayashi has vanished without a trace and at this point it's unknown whether he was responsible or not. As a famous paranormal investigator and documentary maker, Kobayashi was in the middle of filming a new documentary, investigating a series of strange events that have been taking place just before the tragic incident took place. The tapes he took leading up to the disaster help us retrace his steps, as the seemingly random paranormal events he was documenting are revealed to be linked and are the sign of something much more sinister and, ultimately, unstoppable.
Most found footage movies try to play themselves off as true stories, but few manage as well as Noroi. This gem of a horror movie is atmospheric, disturbing and its complex and fascinating plot will leave your skin crawling.
Format: Movie
Available: Shudder
Subtitles: yes

Lake Mungo (2008)
Lake Mungo documentary-style movie that follows the family of Alice, after her untimely death by drowning. As friends and family are interviewed, we get to know Alice through their memories. Meanwhile, her brother has set up video cameras in an attempt to catch signs of her spirit, after she starts to appear in the documentary footage and photos, seemingly to help bring some closure to the family. As filming continues and strange events occur, we soon discover there's a bigger mystery afoot. Is the ghost of Alice everything it seems? And what really led to the teenagers death? The truth is more shocking than you'd expect.
I'm not big on documentary horror movies, since there's so many bad ones out there since the genre became popular, but I will always recommend Lake Mungo. It's spooky and a little sad, and so well acted that you could believe that it's a real documentary.
Format: Movie
Available: Amazon
Subtitles: n/a

Marianne (2019)
Successful novelist Emma is forced to return to the hometown she left behind her at the behest of an old childhood friend, who's mother has become disturbingly obsessed with the horror novel Emma writes. To her utter dismay, she soon finds herself having to stay there due to the chaotic events that are unfolding in the small town, all of which are linked to Emma, her novels and the dark spirit that inspired them. As the lines between fact and fiction become blurred, the question is can the horror be stopped and, if it can, at what price?
Watching Marianne with my friends, I found myself doing something that I haven't done for a long time while watching a horror series. I was watching through my fingers. Even my friend M, usually distracted by his phone, couldn't tear himself away from the screen.
Format: Series
Available: Netflix
Subtitles: yes

As Above So Below (2014)
The film follows Archaeologist Scarlett and her cameraman as they descend into the darker areas of the Catacombs with a group of urban explorers. Their goal? Scarlett is frantically searching for the infamous philosophers stone. Her father spent his life in pursuit of the stone and, as a result of his obsession, was mocked and scorned by his fellow academics. His reputation ruined, he hung himself. Following her fathers notes, Scarlett has traced its hiding place to somewhere within the twisting depths of the ancient catacombs. Our heroine's mistake was believing that such a powerful object would be unguarded and easy to obtain. Her quest continues regardless and this mistake puts her life, and the lives of her companions, in danger.
Claustrophobic and incredibly creepy, As Above So Below is well-acted, with an engaging and original plot. It's also nice to see a film based in the Paris Catacombs, as there really aren't enough and it's an excellent location.
Format: Movie
Available: Netflix
Subtitles: some

Pulse (Kairo) (2001)
Atmospheric, eerie and, at the same time, oddly beautiful. This melancholy story follows two groups of characters as they deal with the lonely dead coming back to the land of the living via an increasingly popular website, the people around them vanishing into delicate clouds of ash and what this paranormal invasion means for mankind as a whole.
Since Hollywood went through a stage of churning out terrible reboots of Japanese horror movies, you may have heard of Pulse before. But you've probably heard of the remake, which was pretty awful, despite Wes Craven being involved. As the saying goes, if it ain't broke then don't fix it.
Format: Movie
Available: Amazon prime
Subtitles: yes.

Grave Encounters (2011)
For those of you who love watching ghost hunting shows, but have always wondered what it would be like if one went terribly wrong, this is the ideal movie for you. Presented as a found-footage documentary, it aims to explain what happened to the crew of Grave Encounters, a Ghost Adventures style television program that had to be cancelled after the entire crew disappeared mysteriously while filming at an abandoned mental asylum. The footage they filmed there is recovered, soon the whole horrific story of what happened that night reveals itself to the viewer and all we can do is watch as what should have been a simple ghost hunt turns into something much more sinister.
The acting is good, the plot interesting and the ghosts? They'll haunt your nightmares. There's also a sequel, but it's nowhere as good as its predecessor and is nothing to write home about.
Format: Movie
Available: Shudder
Subtitles: n/a

The Autopsy of Jane Doe (2016)
While it has a nicely sized cast, The Autopsy of Jane Doe spends most of its screen time focusing on just three of the characters. Tommy is the local coroner in his small town and Austin, his bored of the job son, often helps him out at the family business. Austin is planning to go out on a date with his girlfriend, but all that goes out the window when the local sheriff arrives at the mortuary with the body of an unknown woman. This is Jane Doe, a common nickname given to an unnamed female corpse. Found at the scene of a multiple homicide, Jane doesn't appear to have been involved at all and her cause of death is a mystery. As a result, the Sherrif needs Tommy and Austin to work through the night to solve this mystery. The autopsy begins, but Jane's corpse defies all logic. The situation only gets worse as our baffled duo find themselves trapped in the building due to a storm and terrifying activity starts to occur around the mortuary.
The Autopsy of Jane Doe was yet another pleasant surprise for me and my friends, during our attempts to find a terrible horror movie we instead found this wonderful one. This movie will keep you glued to the screen and you'll find yourself playing detective, trying to decipher what is going on from the clues that the movie gives you.
Format: Movie
Available: Amazon Prime
Subtitles: n/a

The Terror, (2018)
Based on the book of the same name, The Terror follows a semi-fictional account of the ill-fated Franklin Expedition. Tasked with finding the Northwest Passage, our heroes set sail for the Arctic in the HMS Erebus and HMS Terror. However, they soon find themselves stuck in the ice with no thaw in sight, thanks to freak weather conditions and the hubris of expedition leader Sir John Franklin. After his untimely death, his second in command Captain Francis Crozier is reluctantly forced to take command and save his crew. But if the threat of frostbite and the fear of scurvy and starvation wasn't bad enough, there's something ancient and angry out on the ice and it wants them dead, picking the crew off one by one. And so what should have been a one year voyage turns into a terrifying cat and mouse battle for survival.
Part horror, part tragedy, The Terror will keep you glued to the screen, worried for the welfare of your favourite character. And trust me, you'll have a favourite character. The acting is top-notch, the special effects are excellent and the attention to historical detail is out of this world. This series didn't get enough attention when it first came out, but I highly recommend it. And if you enjoy it, then don't forget to check out season two.

Format: Series
Available: Amazon Prime
Subtitles: some

Hellier (2019)
Make yourself comfortable, because you'll find yourself wanting to binge-watch this. Hellier is presented as a documentary, following a team of paranormal investigators as they receive and investigate an email from a man who claims to be under siege by mysterious creatures, at his home in rural Hellier, Kentucky. On arrival in Hellier, our characters discover that the man who emailed them doesn't seem to exist but something paranormal is going on. They soon find themselves sucked into a mystery that's even bigger than they could ever have imagined, unable to tear themselves away from it as they proceed to investigate, despite being in over their heads.
I discovered Hellier through Twitter and I was instantly hooked. Gentle but at the same time spine-chillingly creepy due to its realism, there's something about Hellier that gives me podcast vibes. Well paced, it keeps you on the edge of your seat. You want to know what happens next and will end up genuinely caring for the welfare of the characters.
Format: Series
Available: Amazon Prime
Subtitles: n/a


I hope my little list has given you some ideas to keep you entertained while everything is in chaos. If you have any movie suggestions for me or have found a new favourite movie/series thanks to this list, then let me know over at Twitter or in the comments below. Until then, stay safe, dear readers.