It's taken a few years for The Fallow Field to finally get a release, something that must have frustrated director Leigh Dovey no end, especially as he saw all manner of British abomination hitting the shelves. But the film is finally out, thanks to Monster Pictures, and horror fans can finally see if the film is worthy of the attention it has had.

Shot on a micro budget, the film shifts from sub-genre to sub-genre, playing with the idea that it might be a hardcore horror torture movie at one point before going in a very different direction. Steve Garry is Matt, an amnesiac who's unexplained disappearances (and infidelities) are causing his marriage to collapse and the police to sniff around. Plagued by vague recollections, he finds himself out in the countryside, where he encounters less than friendly farmer Calham (Michael Dacre), who seems to know him already. Attacked and kidnapped by the farmer, Matt is forced to watch as a woman is tortured and murdered. But just as you think the film is taking one direction, it shifts gear by revealing that these murder victims – including Matt – are brought back to life after being buried in a field, with no memory of what has happened. Sensing that Matt might be a kindred spirit, Calham tries to draw him into his sadistic games of abuse and murder...

The Fallow Field has a lot of good stuff going for it. The twisting plot, the mix of very British rural horror and the supernatural, and some genuinely moody imagery, particularly during the night scenes. Dovey clearly has an affinity with creepy horror, and Calham is a satisfyingly rounded monster, one moment cold and savage, the next whiney and desperate.

Unfortunately, the film is let down by some rather poor supporting performances - the curse of low budget British movies, sadly - and iffy dialogue (one victim never stops talking, trotting out a frankly unconvincing back story in a blatant but unsuccessful – and unnecessary - attempt to flesh his character out), and rather uneven pacing. The film sometimes plods, and could perhaps benefit from a tighter edit.

However, there is much of interest here, and Dovey certainly shows himself to be capable of creating an original story and atmospheric imagery. The soundtrack is effectively dark and unsettling, the plot twists fascinating and the central idea an original one. If The Fallow Field is not quite a classic, it's certainly worth checking out, and there's enough going on here to suggest that the director could do great things within the genre. Fingers crossed.

LES DE MONZE

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