The Woman In Black film review

By: Raj-Kabir Birk

The horror-genre is littered with stories of the haunted house, from the 1963 classic The Haunting to the more recent Insidious and Paranormal Activity, but rarely is the English country-side seen as it is in James Watkins The Woman in Black. Based on the 1983 Susan Hill novel of the same name, the film follows Arthur Kipps (Daniel Radcliffe), a lawyer and widowed father, as he tries to save his job by taking an assignment in rural England. Upon his arrival, he finds the towns-people avoiding him and reticent to aid in his investigation into the finances of the deceased Alice Drablow. It becomes clearer that they arent protecting themselves, but their children from a presence that haunts the town. The mystery deepens as Arthur reaches the Drablow estate; an isolated embankment of barren forests and a graveyard surrounded by endless marshes. Daniel Radcliffe turns in a mature performance as the bewildered lawyer trapped in the middle of an eerie tale of suicidal children. In only his second featurefilm outside of the realm of Hogwarts, Radcliffe manages to make the audience forget his past of wizardry and mischief as he announces himself as an actor growing in stature and confidence. His piercing blue eyes and pale complexion makes him suitable for such a role, and he doesnt look out of place when walking down a dark corridor wielding an axe as opposed to a wand. Why Radcliffe chose such a role as his first after the final chapter in his Harry Potter legacy isnt clear, but he demonstrates the ability to go beyond his years as he portrays a father whose wife died in child-birth. With director James Watkins (Eden Lake) at the helm, we are given a visually-striking period film that provides thematic relevance and entertaining scares. Retaining the mysterious nature of the novel, and its subsequent adaptations of plays, radio broadcasts, and a TV-movie, the film manages to create an effective atmosphere of foreboding. Watkins uses the darkness and prominent contrasts to present his titular character; an elderly woman veiled in black, whom bears a striking resemblance to the antagonist in James Wans Insidious. Appearing in shadows, mirrors, and windows, her frights are aided by the lively toys that dominate the house. Marco Beltrami, best known for scoring the Scream series, uses his endless experience to supplement Watkins direction to great effect. Nominated twice for an Academy Award for the western 3:10 to Yuma and war film The Hurt Locker respectively, Beltrami sets the tone, and allows the setting to solidify its supernatural, mysterious nature. Writer Jane Goldman takes a break from her frequent collaborations with Kick-Ass director Matthew Vaughn and gives the story a subtle progression, including a thirtyminute period with no spoken word save the shrieks of ghosts and gasps of a perturbed Radcliffe. But as the film progresses, it starts to fall short in the scope of story-telling. In trying to make the audience uncertain and intrigued, Watkins and Goldman manages to make them confused and dispassionate. The films final flourish doesnt do justice to the labored build-up, and the compulsory horror-film twist isnt one that will be long remembered. In the end, The Woman in Black manages to scare, but also succumbs to the short-comings of the subgenre. Old-fashioned and lacking the common exploitive nature of modern horror thrills, it is a refreshing break from teen-slashers and demonic possession that dominate the current trend. It is a decent entry into the long list of haunted-house-horrors, but one that will be better known for Daniel Radcliffes emancipation than for James Watkins shrieks and squeals.