Reviewed by Melissa Garza
I’m one of the few who has not seen any of the Harry Potter films. I’ve caught glimpses before work when they’ve been on TV but for whatever reason I’ve never seen them. Still, I’m familiar with Daniel Radcliffe’s work on Broadway where he was brilliant as J. Pierpont Finch in How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying. He then displayed his versatility and comedic and intellectual abilities on Saturday Night Live and U.K.’s hit show Q.I.
After seeing his performances, I was very interested to see him as the lead in the horror film The Woman in Black. He not only did not disappoint but was rather impressive in his portrayal of Arthur Kipps.
The film starts as three young girls who are playing together suddenly become entranced. They say nothing but walk to a window and jump to their death.
Meanwhile, Kipps, an attorney, becomes a proud father of a beautiful baby boy. Sadly, his wife dies during child birth. A few years later, still somber mourning, he travels to a small island where he needs to help settle an estate of a woman who recently died.
The residents instantly show him disdain and are seemingly hiding a secret. He soon realizes that the secrecy is surrounding the ghost of a woman all dressed in black who haunts the home he’s living in. The scenes surrounding the paranormal activity are frightening as hell. They go completely old school with very little CGI. In one scene, he is outside and sees her in the window. He goes into the house and into the room to see where she is. He looks outside and the audience is now able to see the window where he is…only he’s not alone. She is standing right beside him and doesn’t know it.
Soon it is revealed that the woman was a mother who lost her child. Mourning and vengeful, she possesses children taking over their mind and forcing them to kill themselves.
The pace and plot remind me of the original The Wicker Man (1973) and the villagers are reminiscent of those in the anthology The Monster Club (1981) from the short The Ghouls. The movie borrowed the best elements from movies of the past and put each to good use. The build-up of the movie and the tense horrifying scenes that easily pull the viewer in are similar to those that were in The Changeling (1980).
With all these similarities people may think that The Woman in Black isn’t worth their time. Not true. When a filmmaker appreciates storytelling and the classic techniques used by horror the end result is nearly always positive. Such is the case here. Some who are not accustomed to the great films of the 70s and early 80s may think this has a slow start. Even to those, I must say the payoff is worth it. Also, at the conclusion, pay close attention – there is more than meets the eye.
Radcliffe did an amazing job in the lead. I can’t wait to see his future productions as both a comedic and dramatic actor.
Overall Rating: 7.5/10