The world needs more horror films like The Woman in Black. Not only is the film’s love for old-fashioned storytelling amiss in countless modern genre ventures, but so is its skillfulness in conjuring up scares. Director James Watkins (Eden Lake) and writer Jane Goldman‘s (Kick-Ass, Stardust) adaptation of the 1983 story is like a great ghost story you’d get at a campfire, if you had true pros telling it and not some moronic camp counselor.
In the vein of those campfire stories, the tale of The Woman in Black is as simple as they come. Arthur Kipps (Daniel Radcliffe), widower and father of a young child, must travel to one of the most hellish locations on earth: Northern England. At least the film makes a case for the 19th Century town we see. When Kipps arrives, he’s treated as an unwanted outcast, except by his soon-to-be-sidekick Daily, played by the fantastic Ciarán Hinds.
Kipps, a lawyer, has traveled to this small town to settle some unfinished legal business at the Eel Marsh house. If you’ve put one and two together by now — which isn’t extremely difficult to do in this case — the locals disdain for Kipps and his business at the house are related. As legend goes, a “woman in black” haunts the house. If anyone was to enter the house and see her, a local town child would die. Instead of coming right out and telling Kipps this, the locals mostly stick to angry and cautious glares.
That’s the setup, and the film takes its time effectively establishing the events to come. Once the haunted house tricks begin, Watkins’ film doesn’t settle for loud bangs and gore, even though his previous film Eden Lake relied quite heavily on the latter. What makes The Woman in Black function as a memorable piece of horror is its use of images, sound, and some striking production design. The gothic atmosphere oozes with dread and terror, not blood and guts. There’s a few expected jump scares here and there, but Watkins ditches those tactics early on.
Admittedly, The Woman in Black takes a few minutes to truly take hold, and not due to the pace. At first, Radcliffe’s presence doesn’t hold much weight. Playing a lawyer, a father, and a widower isn’t generally a role suited for someone this young-looking. Suspension of disbelief is required there, but Radcliffe does manage to overcome this quibble and give a fine performance by the end.
It will be a surprise and a shame if The Woman in Black doesn’t hold a spot in future Halloween marathons. This is a film for true fans of the genre. Watkins has crafted a chilling, extremely fun horror movie and I hope he gives us more like it in the future.
The Woman in Black is now in wide release.