Posts tagged The Woman in Black

Daniel Radcliffe will always be Harry Potter. That’s just the way it is. Whether he’s lawyering up in old-timey England or hanging dong on stage, the fact is that he’ll never REALLY be anything else. Which is why, watching The Woman in Black, you can’t help thinking “Why doesn’t he just Incendio that bitch?” for most the film. It definitely would have made things more interesting. It’s also why I’m gonna just refer to Radcliffe’s character as Harry for this whole thing.

The Woman in Black is about Harry Potter (under the alias Arthur Kipps), a London lawyer sent to some small town in the English countryside (which I’m not arsed looking up) to sell the spooky house of a late client. During his stay it becomes clear that there’s something weird going on, with unexplained deaths and passive-aggressive locals.

As far as ghost horrors go, it’s fairly standard. There are jumps aplenty, with sparse music and uncomfortably close camera angles all lending to the spookiness. Spooky, in fact, is something the film does very well. From start to finish it builds a sense of unease, with plenty of hair raising moments to keep you on the edge of your seat.

This is a good thing, because there isn’t much else going on. The story is fairly straightforward, but typically unimaginative, and doesn’t really develop at all. The end of the film leaves us with the impression that there was an awful lot going on for absolutely no reason. The plot itself isn’t bad, it’s just ok. Also typical is the concept of a person becoming a vengeful spirit with no other explanation than they have serious rage issues. Which does kind of explain why the world of films has such a big problem with ghosts.

As far as acting goes, the film is nearly entirely Radcliffe. Harry spends a lot of time investigating the house and finding spooky corners for something to give the audience a fright. His performance is fine, but is delivered in essentially the exact same way as his previous eight films. And to be honest, Harry Potter without magic is seriously f**king boring. Roger Allam plays Mr. Bentley, Harry’s friend and supporting roll. He is the only other character to take any kind of focus, and he plays his part well. However apart from these two, everyone else in the film is basically an extra.

Director James Watkins does a good job in making this mediocre ghost film a decent spook-out, and there’s plenty in it to scare you. Apart from that though, don’t go in expecting to be blown away. You could probably save yourself some money and rent any other ghost film for the same experience.

The Woman in Black is both enjoyable and totally forgettable. While not the worst ghost film I’ve seen by any means, there are probably better things in the cinema at the moment. 

- Rob Ferris, 22/02/2012