The Woman in Black (James Watkins, 2012) Review

Hey, did you know that Hammer Studios (or whatever...Hammer...whatever) made another horror film? Why did I even ask that? It seems that when this film came out, everyone but me wanted to see it. For some reason, people like films that use jump scares in the trailers because we all know that jump scares are an amazing creation (just for the record, I'm joking...they're terrible) but I finally got a look at it. So how was it? Let's find out.

Lawyer Arthur Kipps (Daniel Radcliffe) mourns the death of his beloved wife Stella (Sophie Stuckey). His employer gives him a chance to keep his job by investigating a deserted house known as Eel Marsh House (probably because it's surrounded by marsh...) which was owned by Mrs. Drablow (Alisa Khazanova) who has recently died. Arthur recieves many warnings to return to London from the villagers due to the stories of the house and, after some horrible circumstances occur, he learns of a vengeful spirit who takes the form of a woman who wears all black. Now Arthur must learn how to rid the house of the ghost and keep himself alive in the process.

Let's be honest, you only watched this film because of Daniel Radcliffe. Most of you probably didn't realise this was a Hammer film (that actually blew my mind, I very much enjoyed their other films like Dracula: Prince of Darkness). Now, with that in mind, I was expecting proper horror. You know, psychological horror that play with your mind that takes it's time. While there is a bit of that, a far bit of it comes down to jump scares. Jump scares = the lowest form of horror known to man. STOP IT!......STOP IT!

Really, that's my only gripe. The lack of proper horror (doesn't mean it's not scary) doesn't dampen the rest of the film. Daniel Radcliffe is pretty good but still can't escape from the whole 'OH MY GOD IT'S HARRY POTTER' thing. The best bit about the film is the Woman in Black. She is the most unforgiving, horrible thing...and that's fantastic. One of the most chilling characters I've ever seen in a film. They did a very good job with that.

The Woman In Black is a pretty good attempt at trying to bring in PROPER horror (well...more so than most 'horror' films). Don't watch films like Paranormal Activity, watch this instead. The acting is really good, the characters have depth and there are more sincere scares rather than just pure jump scares. There's actual story in this film. Sure it's not perfect but it's better than most horror films you get nowadays. Not the best but no where near the worst.

Verdict:
7.5/10
A pretty good horror film that focuses more on story and character rather than getting a few shocks.