Review of The Woman in Black (2012) by Halfwelshman — 25 Feb 2012

The Woman is Black is a good old-fashioned Gothic horror story, with plenty of scares and an effective chilling atmosphere throughout. Appropriately enough for a Gothic horror, The Woman in Black was made by Hammer Film Productions, and while the company may never again see the same success it enjoyed in the 60s and 70s, its nice to see that it's still making films, some of which are rather good.

The film, in the very capable hands of director James Watkins (who, after making Eden Lake 4 years ago, appears to be steadily working his way through the horror sub-genres) and writer Jane Goldman (adapting Susan Hill's novel) is a great example of well-defined, engaging storytelling.

Daniel Radcliffe, playing Lawyer and widower Arthur Kipps is decent enough, if not exceptional, but at least he's beginning to distance himself from Harry Potter, and Ciaran Hinds is a reliable talent as always, bringing a sense of gravitas to his role as landowner Sam Daily.

While the scares are plentiful, they never degrade to the lazy extremes of much modern Hollywood horror - it's not gory, it's not sadistic, and while you are made to jump out of your seat on numerous occasions, it's often when you least expect it.

You'll be bracing yourself for a scare, and then it doesn't come, or it comes just as you've let down your guard, and sometimes just before you think it's going to happen, and there's an art to that. The imagery is also incredibly frightening, from the creepiest haunted house in the world that the majority of the story takes place in, to the huge number of nightmarish "children's toys" the filmmakers have managed to appropriate (it's quite disturbing to find out that they weren't made for the film, but lent by a collector of antique toys - what kind of a sick Edwardian parent would give those to a child?), to the appearance of the eponymous Woman in Black herself (portrayed by Liz White with the assistance of heavy makeup and a bit of CGI trickery).

The film doesn't just look scary but sounds scary too - you'll definitely have a shiver running up your spine the next time you hear a wooden creak (perhaps from a rocking chair moving of its own accord) that's for certain.

A nod should also be given to the film's production designers - everything from the village of Crythin Gifford, to Eel Marsh House, to the costumes look authentically Edwardian, and ground the film's supernatural events in some semblance of reality.

The film is not quite flawless, however - the eerie mood and unrelenting tension maintained throughout the film is completely lost in a rather embarrassing, melodramatic finale, which is a little annoying, as if not for these last ten minutes or so, the film could have been a modern horror classic.

Even with its unsatisfying conclusion, however, The Woman in Black is an effectively chilling, atmospheric and well-written film that will likely stay on your mind whenever you turn out the lights, as all good ghost stories should.