Review: The Woman in Black

The Woman in Black is the first period piece from the re-launched Hammer Films. Since news of the project first broke, I’ve been wondering if this film was designed for Hammer Horror fans or the Harry Potter crowd.

Thankfully, The Woman in Black is a solid film that is well shot, well acted, and delivers enough scares to keep the average moviegoer entertained. While the movie delivers on its promise to tell a classical ghost story, it misses its chance for greatness by not having a standout scene or scare.

Daniel Radcliffe plays lawyer Arthur Kipps in his first post-Harry Potter role. Arthur’s wife died during child birth and he’s having a tough time coping. With his career on the line, he has one last chance to prove his commitment to his law firm. The task seems simple enough: Arthur has to sort out paperwork from a recently deceased client, but things don’t go as smoothly when he encounters a ghostly woman in black.

The Woman in Black is based on the popular novel and stageplay. The story is relatively straight forward and follows Arthur throughout the entire film. There’s no doubting that this is Daniel Radcliffe’s movie and his performance will make or break the film. From the beginning, we know that he’s grieving from the loss of his wife and does a great job of carrying that sadness throughout the film. One interesting segment in particular involves Radcliffe investigating the house with absolutely no dialogue for 10-15 minutes straight. He’s able to carry that scene and the entire film with ease, and I quickly stopped thinking of him as Harry Potter while watching the movie.

In terms of scares, the first half of the film contains mostly fake scares, such as a loud noise or animal flying across the screen. These types of scares get the audience to jump, but it is mostly by surprise and not because they are seeing anything terrifying. Near the second half of the film, however, there are legitimate scares created by more interaction with the woman in black.

Director James Watkins does a great job with the film. It is beautifully shot and Watkins takes his time building tension. The movie successfully creates an uneasy atmosphere and very effectively makes you feel that you’re in that time period. It is rare that we see period horror films and even more rare that they are well executed. For classic horror fans, this really feels like it could fit in as a classic Hammer movie. The only thing it’s missing is a busty bar maid and I could easily have seen Peter Cushing playing Arthur Kipps.

My main issue with the movie is that it doesn’t have a stand out scare or scene that really sets it apart from other ghost stories. Ask any horror fan what the most memorable scene is from a popular horror film, and they will be able to shout out an answer, such the shower scene in Psycho, pea soup in The Exorcist, or an axe to the door in The Shining. However, I can’t really pick a standout scene for The Woman in Black. It is a well executed film, but it doesn’t really do anything to set itself apart from what we’ve seen in the past.

The Woman in Black plays it safe, but Daniel Radcliffe and James Watkins elevate this film beyond what it could have been in other creative hands. While the film doesn’t go to extremes that will please every type of horror fan, this is a good looking, well crafted classical ghost story that will appeal to both Hammer Horror fans and the casual moviegoer.

Film Score: 3.5/5