The Woman in Black
2012
***
Director: James Watkins
Cast: Daniel Radcliffe, Ciarán Hinds, Janet McTeer, Liz White, Roger Allam, Tim McMullan, Jessica Raine, Shaun Dooley, Mary Stockley
In the early 20th century, a widowed father and attorney Arthur Kipps travels from London to Crythin Gifford to sort out the sale of the remote Eel Marsh House. Once there, he discovers an extremely inhospitable community and an estate which appears to be haunted. James Watkins follows up the contemporary chills of Eden Lake with an old-fashioned ghost story which was produced by Hammer Films. Jane Goldman's script, loosely based on Susan Hill's 1982 novella, is skeletal. If Kipps just asked outright why everybody is so hostile, the film would be about an hour shorter. Nevertheless, with his deliberately slow pacing Watkins creates a scary and atmospheric but slightly monotonous gothic horror story with a rather anticlimactic ending. Daniel Radcliffe is good in his first post-Harry Potter starring role, although it is questionable whether a 22-year-old should play this part. Followed by The Woman in Black 2: Angel of Death, which features a new cast and director.
