After watching The Woman in Black, one thing is abundantly clear: There is nothing scarier on this planet than children’s toys and dolls. This horror movie is based on a 1983 novel, which was also adapted into a long-running West End play. The film is director James Watkins’ first major motion picture and is also notable for being the first post-Harry Potter movie to star the now-adult Daniel Radcliffe. It is now memorable to me as being the movie that caused me to get no sleep the night after I saw it.
The Woman in Black tells the story of a widowed English lawyer at the turn of the 20th century who leaves his young son in London to travel north to deal with a client’s estate. In a small village on the northern coast he finds angry villagers, a dilapidated and isolated mansion filled with shadows and creepy toys, and, of course, the woman herself. Except this is not a woman, but a ghost who heralds the horrible deaths of children. The film follows the lawyer Arthur Kipps, played by Radcliffe, as he discovers the mystery behind this ghost and must face her head-on. The film also, thankfully, had an actual plot, with themes of grief, loss and parental love.
The question I’ve gotten the most about this film has been, “Is it good?” Because this is a horror film, I interpret that question to mean “Is it scary?” Yes, yes it is. The film expertly combines a period ghost story with the more modern elements introduced to the genre by Japanese horror films– the A-list of horror. Though there were some cheap shocks and surprises in the movie, like crows suddenly flying from the fireplace causing the whole theatre to jump, the bulk of the scares were subtle and done through shadow, color, or old-fashioned camera techniques. All of this combined to make one scary movie– the kind that makes me bring my flashlight to the bathroom because my hallway is dark.
The second question I have been asked is, “How is Daniel Radcliffe?” Since the world really only knows him as Harry Potter, it was weird at first to see him in a new role. It was jarring, especially since he was playing an adult with a young son. But luckily, Radcliffe is an amazing actor. It took almost no time for my brain to adjust and no longer see him as Harry or even as “Dan Rad,” but as Arthur Kipps from London. He had the intensity and stoic fear necessary for a horror film, but he also had the subtle emotions of a widower and loving father. However, there was a major but most likely accidental Harry Potter reference in the last scene of the film that caused my whole theater to break into laughter when it was pointed out.
Though the ending was not completely satisfying, The Woman in Black is a great horror film, full of scares and thrills that kept me watching from behind my hands and later sleeping with my light on.
–Aliza Weinberger
