The Woman In Black- Review
Horror is a genre I'm pretty funny about. Psychological horrors I can deal with calmly and don't require me a foot off the seat, horrors with supernatural elements and entities that we all know aren't true, do scare me. Getting talked into watching this movie was pretty funny but I didn't quite object either and I'm glad I didn't because this was a really well constructed film directed by James Watkins and features the talents of Daniel Radcliffe, Ciarán Hinds Janet McTeer and Liz White.
Set between 1889 and 1916, mysterious events begin to occur in a town full of secrets, more so regularly when a lawyer arrives to sort out a deceased person's affairs and finds himself to be involved in the wrath of unfinished business.
The performances: I was really impressed with Daniel Radcliffe as Arthur Kipps, our protagonist. I haven't seen much of his filmography aside from the Harry Potter series so it was refreshing to see him in something else that I was equally engaged in and entertained by. I'll admit, he isn't my favourite or one of my favourite actors but he really fit the bill for this role and the fact that it was in a period horror film too also further impresses me.
Ciarán Hinds played the role of Sam Daily, a landowner who befriends and welcomes Arthur into the village. I have seen a few of his roles in other films and too, am impressed with his acting here. He has appeared in a few other periodical films such as Jason and the Argonauts (2000) and Jane Eyre so he's no stranger to adapting to a timeline and executing it well.
Janet McTeer as the role of Elizabeth Daily, Sam's wife, was another ominous being who I felt a little frightened of. She was important to the story and how her own story impacted the lives of others without her knowledge. Still somewhat connected to her child, she leaves messages behind for Arthur to discover, much to the horror of Sam who encourages her to stop as he brushes it off as hysteria. Granted, she didn't receive much film time but in the time that she had, she used it well.
Liz White plays the role of the woman in black. Now, a good movie knows how to utilise verbal and non-verbal acting. This movie does just that with this role in particular. Speech only becomes apparent in letter-reading, as for the rest of it, it comes out in screams and shrieks (which are terrifying by the way). I didn't even have to properly see her face or have to know whether she was saying anything to be disturbed. Every time I saw her, I sunk a little further into the bed and my breathing became hitched.
The Cons: So I do have some issues with this film, but fortunately nothing major. At times I saw opportunities for a good scare but found that it would either disappoint by not happening or fall short. However, this film has more suspense which speaks for the horror elements and perhaps was the general aim all along.
The cinematography was so crisp and the colours appearing throughout the film did have that age effect. What a marvellous job done by Tim Maurice-Jones. Also, I've read a few reviews stating that this film was boring, hardly frightening or dragged on- they're wrong. It's a good old-fashioned ghost story and if I'm honest, period horror films makes me more frightened than these heart-stopping, nasty-faced horrors of the 21st century (but I'm still scared either way). This film also reminds me of how much I don't like dolls either.
If you're going to watch this, prepare for a good story and keep your headphone volume to a suitable level, you'll thank me later (even as I watched this on TV). Depending on your ideas of horror, it is a bit of a personal choice of whether you take up this film or not but I wasn't disappointed and it did the job.
Score: 7/10.