Black Shuck

Young and eager Detective Sergeant Grenard is sent to a backwater village by the Norfolk coast to investigate the death of a local man. He is prejudiced against country folk and their readiness to accept what he perceives as irrational ideas. The victim’s widow tells Grenard she suspects her husband’s killer to be a demonic hound. The gruesome wounds on the body do nothing to refute the notion but Grenard is looking for a human culprit. He hopes to engage the aid of beautiful local Anna. She advises him to keep an open mind but when another man dies, this time of heart failure, Grenard is determined to discover a connection. Soon afterwards, a father and two young children die in a horrific car accident. Even though no satisfying explanation can be found, Grenard vehemently refuses to consider paranormal activity as a cause. Not until the DS himself sees Black Shuck in action is he forced to accept the truth. He and Anna, meanwhile, have become close. She suggests that Grenard try finding out all he can in the regional archives. This gradually leads him to discover that he has family ties to the village, dating back to the 16th century when Shuck last killed – but will this fact help to solve the mystery or stop the slaughter? The film presents an uncomplicated and sensible storyline, which leaves no questions open regarding cause and effect. It also offers numerous opportunities for various bloody deaths, essential for a horror film. Yet it is more than a ‘slasher’. It has a variety of atmospheric shots, underlined by beautiful music and stunning scenery, as well as historically accurate material; it also fulfils its main purpose of giving a quintessential English legend a deserving and worthy place on the silver screen. The script is entirely original with the exception of a speech copied from Andrew Fleming’s 1577 account of the Bungay church incident involving a sighting of Black Shuck.