WOKEN (2023)

3 stars

101 Films. Digital. 25th May.

A panicked woman runs to a cliff edge – the wind is blowing and it is stormy. She jumps. The same woman – Anna (Erin Kellyman) asleep – she awakens and is breathing heavily. A nightmare? Helen (Maxine Peake) is there to reassure her and calms her down. It is blowing a gale outside. Anna is pregnant and says she doesn’t know Helen. She had a fall and has been unconscious for two weeks, and has lost her memory (or has she?).

Helen gets a book of photos – with shots of them together but she still can’t recall. James comes in the room – apparently Anna’s husband, but she doesn’t recognise him either and becomes understandably agitated.

They are on a remote island. Later Anna manages to come down for a meal – and meets Peter (Corrado Invernizzi), Helen’s husband, who for some reason has a handgun.

There is clearly something odd going on here. The local doctor comes over and she doesn’t know him either. Going out for a walk. We see an old sign with the wording ‘Restricted Area’.

When Anna spots (bizarrely) a swan pedalo boat coming ashore Helen sounds the alarm as Anna rushes to greet them – only to find the man and woman are infected and zombie like. Helen and James shoot them dead and run to the beach with gas masks on desperately making sure they hadn’t touched Anna. Panic sets in – has she has been exposed… What is going on?

Something has happened on the mainland, hence why they are in this remote loaction – much is made of the bleak landscape which is well shot by Richard Kendrick. The film is buoyed by a good lead performance by Kellyman, with her expressive face capturing the fear and anguish of her character and she is well supported by the ever reliable Peake.

The script by director Alan Friel (with Rebecca Pollock who wrote the first draft), works for the most part with some good unexpected twists though you will likely suss out the central idea before it gets to the finale. The filmmakers deliver a disappointingly pat ending.

Steve Kirkham