Directed by:
James WatkinsScreenplay:
Jane GoldmanCinematography:
Tim Maurice-JonesComposer:
Marco BeltramiCast:
Daniel Radcliffe, Ciarán Hinds, Janet McTeer, Liz White, Roger Allam, Sophie Stuckey, Shaun Dooley, David Burke, Jessica Raine, Mary Stockley, Alisa Khazanova (more)VOD (2)
Plots(1)
The tale of Arthur Kipps (Daniel Radcliffe), a lawyer who is forced to leave his young son and travel to a remote village to attend to the affairs of the recently deceased owner of Eel Marsh House. Working alone in the old mansion, Kipps begins to uncover the town’s tragic and tortured secrets and his fears escalate when he discovers that local children have been disappearing under mysterious circumstances. When those closest to him become threatened by the vengeful woman in black, Kipps must find a way to break the cycle of terror. (Momentum Pictures)
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Reviews (13)
A simple horror story in the beautiful settings of an English seaside village. I didn’t mind the lack of originality and the simplicity of the plot (Hammer has never made intellectual and sophisticated films), what I did mind, though, is that in such beautiful setting, all the film can do to generate fear is to use cheap jump-scares that follow the template of “show anything” + “raise the volume”. Visually, I enjoyed it very much, both the haunted house and the village, but the fear hardly shows up at all. One look at the woman in black in the more than 20 year-old TV adaptation made me tremble in terror a lot more than all those jump-scares put together. Daniel Radcliffe delivers a decent performance. The climax was disappointing, just like a couple of very unconvincing scenes (the lady with the dogs, the bird in the boarding house). I’m giving it 7/10. I liked The Woman in Black, but unfortunately, with all the aforementioned reservations. I expected something great, but it doesn’t come close to that.
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The Woman in Black is technically very well made. The environment, atmosphere, a shroud of mystery – everything works. But the screenplay doesn’t bring anything new. And the jump scares rely more on sound effects than image and editing inventiveness. Daniel Radcliffe looks too young to be the father he plays, but his performance is flawless. Ciarán Hinds gives the film some dignity. The young Harry Potter fans who haven't yet seen a hundred similar movies will be satisfied.
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A film folk haunting novel that perfectly exploits the conventions of Gothic horror and the Victorian aesthetics of ghost stories (the author of the book, Susan Hill, is an expert on them). Watkins chose the ultimate digital look, which is sometimes gorgeous (color contrasts and delicate work with light in neat interiors), and sometimes very artificial and implausible (especially the modified exteriors). The atmosphere is nice, and blaming it for its predictability is nonsense - the film is a de facto stylistic exercise with clear rules that need to be followed. The inclination to have cheap jump scares bothered me a bit, but those long walks with a candle darkened house are dense. In addition, Radcliffe acting like a lost frightened puppy can believed without difficulty. Pleasantly old-fashioned, from the veil to the ankle boots.
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An honest old-fashioned horror film with an atmosphere as thick as the fog that envelops everything and haunts everyone in it. No grossness, just suspense, not so many scares that its excessive, and lots and lots of impressive scenes - the one with the carriage pulling is clearly the best. Perhaps only Daniel Radcliffe seemed too young for the lead role - if his son were a few years younger, it would have been more natural and believable.
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Very pleasantly surprised. The beginning is boring gibberish during which snappy lines referencing Potter spring to mind, but the atmosphere thickens, mud starts flying, dead children start appearing... the shocking moments are very, very effective. Danny acts well, the fact is that he isn’t old enough to play the father, but at least he has the balls to shake off that magician’s cape, I’m sure his erstwhile fans will certainly go to see his films in any case. And a superb ending, even if a little predictable.
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