Wake Wood

Wake Wood is a 2009 British horror film by recently refinanced "Hammer Films" starring Aiden Gillen, Eva Birthistle, and Timothy Spall. It tells the story of a couple who, after losing their daughter to a crazed dog, learn that the small English town of Wake Wood, to which they moved, brims with pagan magic. After the death of one of the locals, an opportunity arises to revive their daughter, Alice, for three days. The ritual works and the parents are overjoyed, but something is very wrong with their returned daughter.

Tropes used in Wake Wood include:

• Campbell Country
• Chekhov's Gun: The windmills.
• Chekhov's Skill: Patrick's ability to perform C-sections.
• Closed Circle: Those who perform the resurrection spell are bound to the town and unable to go beyond its borders. What this means for the living is unclear, but is particularly painful to the dead, at least until they're brought back inside.
• Enfant Terrible: Alice following her resurrection.
• Genre Blindness: Patrick and Louise are given very specific rules about resurrecting their daughter which they willfully violate at every turn. Then there's the act of a husband and wife holding one another, sobbing with relief that the nightmare is finally over while standing directly on top of the shallow grave of the unstoppable undead abomination they just finished burying seconds before.
• Hey, It's That Guy!: You'd think someone as smart as Littlefinger would know better than to get mixed up with the likes of Wormtail.
• Kick the Dog: No animal that crosses Alice's path remains unscathed.
• Our Zombies Are Different: A very intriguing example. Those who have been dead for less than a year will return to life exactly as they were for three days. They may show confusion and agitation by the third day but can easily be calmed by a special talisman/restraint and will return to the earth willingly. Those who have been dead longer appear normal but gradually grow homicidal. They possess superhuman strength, the ability to disrupt electricity, and are immune to the talismans.
• Town with a Dark Secret: Subverted. The villagers give every indication of being an evil small-town cult. It turns out they really do just want to help people see their dead loved ones again while doing their best to ensure the dead don't come back wrong.