This is what a ghost story is all about – a classic things-that-go-bump-in-the-night-tale
in an age where the horror stories of Hollywood’s past are quickly fading. The no
longer pubescent Danielle Radcliffe gives a convincing performance, played to
the beat of ever spooky moment.
There are a lot of cool things about this movie. Except
for perhaps the first moment you see him, not once do flashes of Harry Potter
appear shadowing Radcliffe’s performance. He’s moved on, and will have a bright
future. The second cool thing is that The
Woman in Black is concocted out of the classic elements: a deserted
mansion, superstition, love, a curious protagonist, a barking dog and creepy
music.
The imagery is fantastic; every shot has a purpose, and you’ll find your
eyes wandering, looking for what’s around the corner.
This is a literary horror fest that is sometimes
predictable, (horror stories a lot of times are because they need certain stereotypes
to make them successful) but the mystery and lure of a lonely mansion on an abandoned
rock and a town petrified by what it holds makes The Woman in Black a chilling, yet intriguing piece of art.
Hammer Films has been resurrected from its fame from
the 1950’s, 60’s and 70’s; its most notable titles being Dracula, Frankenstein and The
Return of Frankenstein. In 2010 Hammer Films made Let Me In based off of the Swedish vampire movie Let The Right One In, but it didn’t do
as hot as its predecessor.
However, that was a movie based off a movie. Let’s
try a movie based off of a book – Susan Hill’s 1983 thriller of the same title.
A television movie and play were also based off the book.
We start with the lawyer Arthur Kipps (Radcliffe)
who must travel from to a small village to try to sell the gloomy Eel Marsh
estate. His wife died during childbirth, and now he’s struggling to pay the
bills for him and his son.
Apparently word has spread on just what he’s going
to be doing, and the town isn’t happy about it. Fortunately he meets Samuel Daily
(Ciarán Hinds) who’s skeptical to superstition. His wife (Janet McTeer) isn’t
though. She believes her son died year’s earlier by forces living in the
mansion.
“If we open the door to superstition, where does
that lead? It’s just chasing shadows,” said Mr. Daily.
Of course, bound by his duty to his son, Kipps stays
in the mansion (or tries to) until he completes his tasks.
The movie was a little shaky on the mystery of the
house, and the movie would have been stronger had there been some deeper
connection. The Woman in Black ranks
high on the creepiness scale though. Radcliffe
does a wonderful dance with the
curse, candle in hand looking behind every corner.
And what would be a good ghost story without those
moments of, “Seriously are you stupid? Don’t go in there.”
The
Woman in Black is just the cliché of the horror genre
needed.
