Some genuine atmosphere, but there are some problems

Rating: Null/10 (1 April 2015)

I was curious to see what the new Hammer film production company would do making a horror movie for the 21st century, so that's why I sat down to watch "The Woman In Black". After seeing it, my feelings are kind of mixed. First, the good things in the movie. The LOOK of the movie is great; you can really feel the cold and dark environment the characters are in, and the sets and special effects are very good. In part due to this, director James Watkins also manages to build a genuinely eerie feeling throughout. He also gets good performances out of his cast - you can believe the movie's characters are living and breathing people.
However, the movie also has some shortcomings. For starters, the movie throughout presents a level of horror that's kind of light. It's generally with people thinking they are seeing or hearing things, and it doesn't progress more than that. That's a fine way to start a horror movie, but I eventually got a little impatient - I wanted some stronger shocks eventually. Another problem is that the movie is somewhat slow and drawn out. There's enough material for an hour long "Twilight Zone" episode, but there's not enough story here for a feature film. While I was never bored, I could clearly see that the movie was often spinning its wheels.
In the end, the movie is overall okay. It definitely has some good stuff, but it also has some issues that clearly should have been worked on before filming started. Wait until it comes on cable during a slow weekend.