The 1983 Susan Hill novel, “The Woman in Black” spawned a 1987 play, a 1989 television movie, and in 2012 a feature horror film. Young director James Watkins sets up a chilling tale that proves the genre of Horror is alive and well in the present day.
“The Woman in Black” begins in a completely creepy way as three young girls playing with disturbing looking porcelain dolls simultaneously turn and stare into the room at something off camera. The girls then emotionlessly walk to the bedroom window and jump to their deaths. Two minutes in and your heart is pounding like a native’s bongo.
In present day London (the setting is sometime in the early 1900’s) a young lawyer Arthur Kipps (Daniel Radcliffe) is preparing to visit an old estate to examine papers left by the deceased owner. Kipps lives with his four-year-old son Joseph and a nanny (Jessica Raine.) Kipps’ wife died in childbirth and when Joseph shows Arthur a drawing he made of the family, Arthur notices he is making a sad face in each picture the child drew. Joseph explains it’s because he is always sad.
Arthur arrives at the desolate mansion and begins seeing ghostly apparitions, including a woman dressed in black. Piece by piece, Arthur begins to unravel the dark and sinister mysteries enshrouded within the walls of the home.
For a horror film, ambiance is everything. The constant fog of London, coupled with the empty mansion (equipped with a family cemetery on the grounds) makes “The Woman in Black” a truly magnificent gem. The movie is filled with eerie chills throughout, including one particularly terrifying sequence where Arthur is running through the house at night, holding an axe, and searching for the cause of an unknown sound. I had goose bumps for twenty consecutive minutes and was literally praying for Arthur to stop looking around and wait until the sun came up. Lucky for horror fans, he doesn’t and the result is one of the scariest scenes I have ever watched in a movie.
At just twenty-four, Daniel Radcliffe is a shoe in for stardom. All grown up from his “Harry Potter” days, Radcliffe’s demeanor and facial expressions of fright put the viewer smack dab in the middle of the haunted house and the horrifying ordeals Arthur is encountering. Arthur attempts to maintain his steadfast logical thinking, despite the ghoulish visions he is having. The mystery is pieced together with the help of friend Samuel (Ciaran Hinds) and his wife Elisabeth (Janet Mc Teer), a couple who also suffered tragedy when their young son drowned under mysterious circumstances. As if not creepy enough, Elisabeth claims that the deceased son communicates through her – and then terrifies Arthur at the dinner table by having an “episode.”
Another facet often overlooked in horror films is the complete lack of a plot. Thankfully, “The Woman in Black” puts together an actual story to go along with the on-screen chills and frights in a way similar to the “Silent Hill” video game series. You can actually comprehend what is happening and why, and it’s done in a completely plausible way. It’s obvious the story was written before the scares were put in, unlike many current horror films where the scares come first and a terribly inefficient plot is added as an afterthought. It takes a traditional haunted house style approach and then blends its own unique character.
“The Woman in Black” is a great horror film and would defiantly be worth owning for your collection. I actually got additional chills just writing this review. Pop it in and dim the lights, and get ready for a genuine frightening. I bet you’ll never look at a rocking chair the same way again.
by – Matt Christopher
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