Worth a watch but TWIB Veterans may be disappointed

Rating: 6/10 (28 February 2012)

My interest in TWIB was stirred when a friend suggested I watch his recently acquired copy of the 1989 TV Movie of this famous Ghost story based on the work of Susan Hill. Having chosen to start watching said copy at sometime past 11 at night I could not believe what I was witnessing. It was simply a masterpiece in storytelling, with a dark foreboding atmosphere, a gloomy and wild setting and a chillingly horrific spectre. In short all the elements of your classic Ghost story were present and after "That" scene (which was frankly heart-stopping) and with images of "That" face and "Those" eyes, plenty of uneasy nights followed with more than necessary rooms constantly lit around my house.
Needless to say I readily purchased a copy of the Book and was delighted to see that essentially the film had stayed true to the book albeit with a slightly different ending (although the same sentiment)and the odd cosmetic character change here and there.
Fast-forward 3 years to 2012, and this latest production supported by that stalwart of British Horror, Hammer and with an adapted screenplay by Jane Goldman. It is fair to say that with my previous experience of this story I have followed this film's development with some relish and could not have had more anticipation if I'd tried. Unfortunately, perhaps that was my downfall.....
I'm a firm advocate of the old adage "If it ain't broken, don't fix it" and for me this new version just tries to be too innovative. Far too many iconic scenes are either completely removed (The Drablow funeral, Spider's tangle with the Marshes, anyone?) or changed beyond recognition (The child's bedroom scenes). Both the book and '89 film gradually built the appearance of the actual Woman in Black with slow snatched glimpses/descriptions that led the reader/viewer to almost be able to feel the evil, not too much seen, just fleeting, haunting and dramatically unsettling images. This new version just reveals too much too early and frankly the whole suspenseful atmosphere just does not feel as genuine as the previous incarnations of this story. That is even before we begin to mention the less than convincing special-effects in use here. Low budget or not, as an avid horror fan, I have seen much more convincing Ghosts created on far smaller budgets. It seems that using heavy doses of black mascara on a real actress as they did 20 odd years ago would have been a much wiser choice.
And now the ending.... Ah, oh dear... What on Earth were you thinking Hammer? In the book - The ending WORKS. in the 1989 version, the amended ending - WORKS! Why, why, why change it for a mish-mash ending used 1,000 times before in almost every other Horror film out there????
It would be unfair to say that TWIB 2012 is a poor film. Far from it. It is still a good story, well recreated period scenes, relatively engrossing and Radcliffe is unrecognisable from his HP days. Honestly, you could think he'd been Potter 15 years ago, such is the drastic change of image. He also turns in a good performance and Ciaran Hinds, as ever is absorbing and masterful in his role.
But that's the problem Hammer and Goldman have combined to give a GOOD Ghost story that offers nothing new. The Book and 1989 version are GREAT and amongst the finest examples of their genres within their respected media. That is quite simply the difference. Now to try to track down a couple of tickets for the stage play to complete the set...