On paper, The Woman In Black appears to have all the ingredients necessary for a chilling ghost story: eerie music, the classic haunted house setting, and most importantly, many moments that will have the audience jumping out of their seats.
Aside from these fleeting moments of excitement however, there’s frankly very little to engage with in director James Watkins’ latest film. Based on both Susan Hill’s novel and the famously terrifying stage production of the same name, the story centres on the experiences of Arthur Kipps, a widowed solicitor.
Kipps, played by Daniel Radcliffe, is dispatched to a small and gloomy town to settle the estate of the recently deceased Mrs Drablow of Eel Marsh House. However, upon his arrival, it becomes clear that the residents of the town are extremely suspicious of his presence there. Noticing their bizarre behaviour, Kipps quickly begins to realise that there is a dark history to both the house and its former owner. Moreover, he begins witnessing an apparition of a woman dressed entirely in black, an omen that strikes inexplicable fear in the hearts of the locals. Intrigued by these strange events, Kipps takes it upon himself to uncover the truth behind the mysterious woman in black.
To its credit, the film is beautifully shot from the very first scene; in particular, the dimly lit settings of Eel Marsh House are successful in evoking an atmosphere riddled with tension. As a result, we as an audience are constantly on edge, waiting for the jumpy moments we know are lurking just around the corner.
However, it seems that Watkins places too much emphasis on creating these masterfully crafted shocks, unfortunately leaving little space for interesting dialogue. Subsequently, there is a distinct lack of character development in the film, and barely any plot advancement. Indeed, an attempt to rid the town of the woman in black is introduced and then hastily wrapped up, all within the last 10 minutes of screen time.
Radcliffe himself is also a little bit disappointing. Finally free from the Harry Potter franchise he was part of for over 10 years, Radcliffe should have given this new role his all. However, he is rather restrained in his acting, maintaining the same melancholic, weary expression throughout the film, and showing no fear whatsoever when coming face-to-face with horrifying ghosts; perhaps a little unrealistic. The rest of the cast are also fairly mediocre, although the elderly Daily couple (Ciarán Hinds and Janet McTeer) acted their roles as parents distraught by the loss of their young son very convincingly.
Finally, if grisly horror is your thing, then you should probably give this one a miss. It makes you jump, yes, but that’s about as far as it goes. Unfortunately, you know the horror just isn’t up to scratch when the most disconcerting part of the movie is simply seeing Radcliffe without his trademark Harry Potter scar.
6/10