Adam Hitchens, a British conservationist specializing in plant and fungal life, his wife Claire, and baby son Finn travel to a remote Irish village surrounded by a large forest.

While exploring the forest with Finn, Adam stumbles upon an animal carcass with a strange fungal substance that has burst open the body.

Adam takes a sample and returns home with Finn while Claire has an encounter with a local called Colm Donnelly who seems unhappy that the family has moved in.

Later, Adam spots strange movement in the woods and Claire is puzzled by the fact that the windows of the house are all covered in iron bars.

The next day Adam and Finn arrive in town to replace the broken window, when they are treated coldly by the villagers who repeat the legend of The Hallow.

Continuing this theme of realism, Hardy focused on giving the narrative a more rational, scientific base than the traditional magic-based fable.

van Broekhuizen credited his work on a Dutch film in which he shot complex nighttime scenes in a forest as the reason why he was hired for The Hallow.

Although a fan of old-school "man in a rubber suit" effects, Hardy took advantage of modern technology to augment the look of the creatures.

In order to make the creatures more unsettling, their limbs were extended using practical effects, as Hardy believed a full-CGI monster would not be scary.

[4] The effects were inspired in part by the 2001 version of Planet of the Apes, which Hardy said "mixed those gritty real environments with the slick performance capture to blur the lines".

The site's consensus reads: "Drenched in dark atmosphere and bolstered with some real emotion underneath all the chills, The Hallow suggests a wonderfully horrifying future for director Corin Hardy.

[12] Geoff Berkshire of Variety wrote, "It takes time for The Hallow to get rolling, but once it reaches a bang-up final act, genre fans could walk out clamoring for a sequel.

"[13] David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter wrote, "As first films go, this one is visually energized, dynamically paced and discerning in its cine-literate references.

"[14] Michael Roffman of Consequence of Sound rated it C− and wrote, "Despite a number of supremely original sequences – one of which involves a car trunk, another a cavernous dwelling – they’re all carried out rather predictably, cinching any warranted tension within seconds.

"[15] Fred Topel of Bloody Disgusting rated it 4/5 stars and called for sequels to revisit the film's mythology, which he praised.