Movie Review: “The Woman in Black”

It’s been a tough time for Hammer. The iconic production company has, of course, been behind some of the most famous horror films ever (The Curse of Frankenstein, Dracula, The Mummy etc) but from the ’70s, they completely lost their stride. They emerged from hibernation in the previous decade but none of their releases (The Resident, Let Me In) managed to rake in the dough. Hence, one can say that they must be looking at The Woman In Black and its reception & returns while holding their breath.

When you are introduced to the world as Harry Potter, and spend more than a decade omnipresent in pop culture essaying that persona, then what do you do once said persona’s time ends? It’s a question that has faced many straight-faced leads of blockbuster franchises (Mark Hamill, Elijah Wood etc.) and, again, one can say that it’s a hard obstacle to overcome (refer to names in earlier parentheses – and their careers). Which is why even Daniel Radcliffe (and his parents) (and his agents) must also be looking at The Woman In Black‘s performance with shifty eyes.

With so much baggage as it walks in through the door, how does The Woman in Black hold up? Quite well, as it turns out.

The film, based on Susan P. Hill’s novel of the same name, is set in the Edwardian era. Daniel Radcliffe plays Arthur Kipps, a young solicitor who is a widower with a four-year old son. He is haunted by his visions of his deceased wife and is facing problems at his firm because his work is subpar. As an ultimatum, he is told to travel to north-east England and handle the estate of Alice Drablow, who lived with her husband, son and sister in Eel Marsh House (the haunted mansion of the story). However, successfully handling the estate turns out to be the least of his worries when he discovers that the village is being terrorized by the ghost of a vengeful woman. Faced with no choice (he can’t afford to lose his job), Kipps doesn’t pay heed to the warnings and hostility of the locals and instead sets out to solve the case of The Woman In Black.

So, yes. If you were looking for an avant-garde scream-train, you are looking up the wrong film. The Woman Is Black is as traditional a horror story as it can get. The story uses stereotypes and archetypes of the genre with gleeful rampancy. A protagonist haunted by his past, the haunted mansion, a ghost on a quest for revenge, a subplot involving botched parentage, unfriendly locals…it’s all there and I don’t see that as a bad thing. I found the film enjoyable because of the clichés it employed, not despite them. It’s a throw-back that’s effective because of how adeptly it is done.

Also, it is spooky. There were multiple bits in The Woman In Black where I was very, very creeped out. I even shouted during one particularly sudden scare (it would be cruel – and stupid – to spoil it). Although I thought the film relied on jump scares a wee bit too much, it doesn’t skimp out on atmosphere, dread and tension and it doesn’t resort to gore – which makes it two big positives to one small negative.

The film achieves its spookiness because multiple aspects of the production just work. One of them is Tim Maurice-Jones’ cinematography. Granted, he has to make a remote village in Edwardian-era England look off-kilter (nothing that’s not been done before) but that doesn’t take away from his achievement. The Production Design (Kave Quinn), Art Direction (Paul Ghirardani) and the Set Decoration (Niamh Coulter) are extremely well done. The mansion is a thing of beauty in and of itself. Marco Beltrami’s score is suitably haunting. Jane Goldman’s screenplay is peppy, keeps proceedings moving fast and spaces out the Important Revelations nicely. James Watkins isn’t new to the genre, which may be why his direction is assured. He seems to be under no delusions about what kind of film he is making and it shows.

That the cast is on their A-game doesn’t hurt the film one bit. The Edwardian-era setting be damned, I did find it a little hard to swallow 22-year old Daniel Radcliffe as a widowed father of a four-year old. That quibble aside, he does play the Everyman Character effortlessly and conveys the earnestness and helplessness of Kipps’ circumstances adroitly. Ciarán Hinds and Janet McTeer are the standouts from the supporting cast. McTeer in particular makes a sizable impact in the two big scenes she has.

I had a lot of fun with The Woman In Black. I jumped in fright, and then laughed at myself for jumping in fright. That the film accomplishes what it set out to do so well is also clear in the fact that I can’t think of many major complaints about it. Sure, it may be formula and there may be nothing beneath the surface…but if the formula is so entertaining and the surface so attractive, who’s complaining?

(3/4)

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Photo Credit: Hammer Film Productions