The Woman In Black ☆☆☆

The Woman In Black is not terrifying, but it is scary. I slept well after seeing it, so well in fact I slept through my alarm. I am also terrible at watching horror or suspense so for the hardcore thrill seekers this perhaps will not be your cup of tea.

The story follows Arthur Kipps, a young widower who has a son and bills to pay, so takes a job for his law firm to help sell an old mansion on the East Coast of England. When he arrives it is clear the townsfolk don't want him, trying to be as unfriendly as possible, or even as co-operative as they can with regards to the documents required by the law firm. However with work to do young Kipps travels to the mansion, where he sees a mysterious figure of a woman in black in the grounds. Then the children of the village start dying. Not only dying, but committing suicide.

That's all I'll say plot wise in case, like me, you have not read the book or seen the play. I have heard the play is the most frightening thing to experience, and seeing as I had to use my cardigan as a pseudo-cushion I can imagine it wouldn't be a pleasant experience.

The film is typical of a ghost story, you pretty much know how they are going to scare you, and yet the build up of tension in the atmosphere in both the movie and the cinema caused me to jump out of my skin more than once. The scenery is gloomy and misty, the marshlands just vast fields of despair, and Kipps is a man half dead already so he fits into this horrific world of child death whilst actively trying to save the village.

Kipps is played by Daniel Radcliffe who I have to say does rather well, I agree with Claudia Winkleman's recent review that it does take about 20 minutes to get used to him as a widowed solicitor who has a four year old son. But after those 20 minutes I began to appreciate his acting talents more than I ever have through the eight Potter movies. The trust between him and his four year old co-star Misha Handley is so real, it was wise of the casting people to choose a kid who is actually Radcliffe's godson. Misha is also adorable.

The support of Ciaran Hinds is impeccable, he is a grounded actor who has the gravitas to lend to Radcliffe who has not quite got to his best acting standard I feel. He is the man who doesn't believe in ghosts, and yet his wife is 'possessed' by the spirit of her son (a wonderful performance by Janet McTeer).
The rest of the villagers are the usual fare, scared and angry, but fine perfomances all round.

I enjoyed this film, it was a proper ghost story. Although people may complain the book is far scarier, the play more so, this was plenty scary for me. I jumped fewer times than I thought I would, but had to steady my breathing a couple of times and got the giggles from being so nervous about what was going to happen. It is a sad story too, and reminded me a lot of The Others which was released in 2001.

The Others is a traditional ghost story as well, a haunted house in the middle of nowhere, a frightened parent and children as the victims, with a tragic twist. If you have seen The Others and liked it I would recommend The Woman In Black. However if you felt it was tame or there was not enough story, don't watch this film. Stories like these rely on not all the population being desensitised of their fear factor, and I still have a healthy fear of dark alleys and odd lights glinting in mirrors.

One last thing, the toys are terrifying.