Corin Hardy’s The Woods begins production, Joseph Mawle to star

Last Updated on July 22, 2021

Word is coming in that principal photography the creature feature, THE WOODS, will begin in Ireland this month. This is be the directorial debut of Corin Hardy. Written by Hardy and Olga Barreneche, the film stars Joseph Mawle (“Game of Thrones”; pictured above), and Bojana Novakovic (Rake). The story revolves around a London-based conservationist who squares off against a horde of ancient creatures.

Here’s an expanded synopsis:

Fraught economic pressures force Adam Hitchens, a London based conservationist, to take a job surveying an Irish forest. He hopes the move to a mill house deep in the idyllic countryside will be a breath of fresh air for his wife Clare, their young baby son Finn and dog Iggy.

Not everyone approves of their arrival however. A farmer with strong beliefs in local tradition and folklore warns of danger if Adam does not stop unsettling the ancient, sacred forests with his tests and assessments. When someone or something breaks into the house at night with the apparent intention of harming their child, the worried couple believes the locals are taking it a step further, intent on driving them away.

But after the police aren’t able to catch the elusive intruders, events take a turn for the unexplainable and terrifying when the millhouse comes under attack. Stranded in the middle of nowhere and surrounded by darkness, Adam and Clare must fight to protect their child and themselves and survive the invasion of horrific, vicious beings that emerge from deep within the sacred woods surrounding their smallholding.

Occupant Entertainment’s Joe Neurauter and Felipe Marino are producers. Fantastic Films is the Irish co-producer and financing comes from Prescience, Hyperion Media Group and the Irish Film Board, with Paul Brett, Tim Smith and James Swarbrick executive producing for Prescience, Michael Mailis for Hyperion and Will Clarke for Altitude Film Sales. Altitude has international and will debut the first footage in Cannes. WME and ICM are handling domestic rights.

Bojana Novakovic