The Woman In Black Review

Solicitor Arthur Kipps (Daniel Radcliffe) is assigned to handle the estate of Alice Drablow, who owned an English manor known as the Eel Marsh House, where she had lived with her husband, son Nathaniel, and sister Jennet Humfrye. However, upon arriving to the town in which the house is located he finds the locals hilariously inhospitable, they tell him there are no rooms in which he can take in a deserted inn, and even so far as to put his luggage on a horse and carriage and spend him back to the train station. While it all seems a bit silly, it certainly heightens intrigue, and the cast are all quite good as the scared and grieving townsfolk, particular the eerie young children (cliches work for a reason). The bleak old time English scenery also, adds a lot to the macabre feel of the film.

Audiences discover whats happening quite early in the film, with children's deaths abound in the small town to which Kipps has arrived, the link to The Woman In Black becomes painfully clear, although the promise of how things will unfold is the saving grace of this early reveal.

Kipps stays surprisingly composed throughout the film, despite the fact he is being haunted by The Woman in Black, and that he has had many sleepless nights. More of a sense of urgency might have benefited his plight, and I wish he would have stopped apologising to other characters about his worn appearance when even after running into a downpour and in other instance a fire within the film, afterwards he looked completely fine. It is hard to tell if this is the fault of Radcliffe or the writing, although he does seem too young for the part. The flaw becomes most apparent when Kipps spends all night of Eel March House, and experiences a number of traditional ghostly apparition encounter, including locked doors opening up themselves, a rocking chair moving, wind-up toys starting, and a whole bunch of candles going out etc.

While audiences become aware of The Woman In Black's story midway through the film, thanks to letters of hers that Kipp finds at Eel Marsh House (which are chillingly narrated by Liz White), the ending is still unexpected, although the idea of it is somewhat ruined by cliched sentimentality.

Rating 3/5