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The Woman in Black
Actors: Daniel Radcliffe, Ciarán Hinds
Director: James Watkins

1hr 35min

Fans of classically structured haunted house/ghost stories will relish the skillfully unnerving chain of events in The Woman in Black, whether or not they're fans of Harry Potter. The good new is that Daniel Radcliffe leav... more »es Harry behind for good in his first post-Potter role. Radcliffe plays Arthur Kipps, a young solicitor tasked with resolving the affairs of a recently deceased woman and her brooding estate in the gloom of the remote Victorian England-era village of Crythin Gifford. The mood is melancholic all around, starting with Kipps himself, who lost his wife to childbirth a few years earlier. His employer has had just about enough of his moping about and gives him the assignment as a last resort to save his job. When he arrives in the small village, the icy response he receives does not bode well for successful completion of his mission. All the townspeople want him gone, and possibly for good reason. Many of their children have died mysteriously gruesome deaths that they blame on the titular black-clad woman whose own child was tragically sucked to his death in the muck surrounding her seaside mansion. This new stranger who wants to unearth the deadly secrets trapped in the decrepit old house is a threat they cannot abide, and sure enough the deaths keep on coming as he delves deeper into the dark recesses of the house and the history of its ghostly occupant. There are scares aplenty in The Woman in Black, and they come from a genuineness that relies on creep-outs rather than gross-outs. Faces in windows, apparitions barely there, slow-building moodiness that suddenly erupts into a silent scream (or sometimes not so silent) make for an extremely effective and often terribly unnerving atmosphere of dread. The movie comes with several impressive pedigrees as well. It's based on a popular novel published in the early '80s, which was also adapted into a long-running hit play. The movie additionally resurrects the Hammer Films brand, an esteemed British production company that churned out moody and distinctive horror films and exploitive psycho-thrillers for decades in the mid 20th century. Indeed, the presence of Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee seems to lurk around every dusty, cobwebbed corner in The Woman in Black, right behind the slamming doors and only just glimpsed in the flickering candlelight. Radcliffe is perfect for the role of a heartbroken man whose rationality is stretched to the point of no return by the things he may or may not be seeing. Several strong supporting performances add to the gravitas, especially Ciarán Hinds as a kindred soul and father figure to Kipps, and perhaps the only other rational man in Crythin Gifford. But then rationality has almost nothing to do with the disquieting spirit of this authentically enigmatic, finely understated and efficiently chilling return to classic horror. --Ted Fry

Movie Details

Actors: Daniel Radcliffe, Ciarán Hinds
Director: James Watkins
Studio: CBS Films
Format: DVD
Run Time: 1hr 35min
Number of Discs: 1
SwapaDVD Credits: 1
Total Copies: 1
Members Wishing: 0

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Member Movie Reviews

Dartha H. (dartha)
Reviewed on 3/28/2016...

"Daniel Radcliffe leaves Harry behind"
Nope. He just left his glasses.

1 of 2 member(s) found this review helpful.

William J. (billystan3) from AUBURN, NY
Reviewed on 1/29/2015...

I really wasn't expecting a lot out of this film and boy was I surprised. Daniel Radcilffe has made a very successful transition for Harry Potter to his role in this film. He has become the refined adult actor that he was meant to be very successfully.
He has very quietly but forcefully left Harry Potter behind and made big strides with his role in this movie. Some people have misjudged this film. My son won't even watch it because he "Cant stand that accent." I've heard some bizarre reasons for not watching a movie but that one is right up there with the best.
Give this film a shot you may, like myself be very pleasantly surprised.
41/2 out of five.

1 of 1 member(s) found this review helpful.

Amber M. from MORROW, GA
Reviewed on 10/3/2013...

This is a pretty good horror film. Nothing earth-shaking, but the effects are great and there were some parts that genuinely had me scared. The characters were nicely fleshed out and I really grew to care about what happened to several of them. From what I know of the time period the historical details were handled well, and that house was both impressive and spooky, as it was intended to be. Daniel Radcliffe did a great job with his role. I enjoyed this movie and will happily watch it again.

4 of 4 member(s) found this review helpful.