The Woman in Black

I hadn't seen such an impressive and mysterious horror in a long time since Amenábar's film The Others, and I have to say that this one really pleased me. It's actually nothing groundbreaking, but it's pleasant to see someone successfully returning to the foundations of the genre. The film doesn't experiment and sticks to proven filmmaking techniques, Watkins' direction is reliable and precise even in the details. The director knows when to use a jump scare and when to let the camera capture impressive images of gloomy nature and interiors marked by human malice. I didn't have a problem with anything about the film and nothing got in the way or stood out or annoyed me. Even the ending, which may have disappointed some viewers, fits into the thinking of the late Victorian era and similarly toned literary stories. When you think about it, everyone ends up where they belong. Overall impression: 90%. (05/04/2017)

James Watkins completely flipped the script when he went from aggressive teenagers to a classic art nouveau ghost story. Yet he definitely reached the heights of his reputation set by his first film because it washes over the viewer with such vigor that I wondered where the hell the man had been all these years when everyone was crying about the genre's decline. It's quite a cool thing to scare audiences so predictably yet with the kind of cheekiness and implacability in which little children die, and the mystery unravels rapidly. Meanwhile, the film maintains deliberate British detachment and slight distance. It's only kept from perfection by the miscast Radcliffe who - nothing against his performance - just hasn't grown up enough for such a role yet. Otherwise, I give a deep bow to the director. 4 ½. (09/03/2012)

Very pleasantly surprised. The beginning is boring gibberish during which snappy lines referencing Potter spring to mind, but the atmosphere thickens, mud starts flying, dead children start appearing... the shocking moments are very, very effective. Danny acts well, the fact is that he isn’t old enough to play the father, but at least he has the balls to shake off that magician’s cape, I’m sure his erstwhile fans will certainly go to see his films in any case. And a superb ending, even if a little predictable. (01/03/2012)

The fog thickens, the water rises, dead faces peek out from behind bushes, and the sound of a rocking chair brings back goosebumps, from memories in places we don't even talk about. Daniel Radcliffe gives a very captivating performance, and in anticipation of all his critics, I had to smile from the beginning that he portrays Arthur in a manner not even vaguely reminiscent of Harry. Although it never lets up with its train rides to places full of ghosts, don't go expecting to see Nearly Headless Nick. As long as an unfamiliar silhouette turns in the background, everything is pleasantly chilling, but when a face appears in the window or a mark is left on the glass, my stomach shrinks to unpleasantly small dimensions. The Woman in Black is limited most by a relatively clichéd plot premise that faces a tough choice in the end: whether to give you a happy ending, which could be considered trite, or to intensify the organ music and face the risk of overdoing it. The viewer must see for themselves how it turns out, but the film as a whole, thanks to truly unexpectedly impressive moments and the feeling of "if you go back into that house, I'll turn it off right away," convincingly stands its ground. (15/03/2012)

It had an oppressive atmosphere at times, the right tones, the breathless quality horror movies ought to create, but unfortunately it always sort of dissolved into the unknown, so you had no idea if you were really scared or just telling yourself you were scared. It really irritated me that dear Arthur didn't ask any questions – they send him home, strange things happen, but then he doesn't even think to ask why, what, how, when? It had a mystery to it, but to my infinite disappointment it remained unsolved. I haven't read the book, but the whole movie seemed like this, not completely thought out. Harry – er, I mean, Arthur – gave sort of a good performance, but it didn’t strike me as any kind of tour de force. Even so, I feel like he squeezed what he could out of it; after all, in my opinion he’s just not that great an actor... But back to the film itself, and its ending, which didn't work: first they swam in the mud, then got a pat on the back from a train; it seemed pretty self-serving, especially the diving in the mud – was that just so they could cram another screaming scene into the film? If the mystery had been unraveled more and if I had known whether I was actually scared or just fooling myself... I would have given it a higher rating. (25/07/2012)