Classic Gothic Ghost Story

Rating: 8/10 (3 February 2012)

Hammer Films returns to classic Gothic Horror with a ghostly tale of revenge and regret. The film is based on a book by Susan Hill written in 1983 about a ghost that only appears just before a child dies. Hammer Films is best known for their beloved Gothic Horror classics from the 1960s and 70s with such titles as The Horror of Dracula and The Evil of Frankenstein. Hammer Studios churned out numerous classics before having to close up shop in the 1980's. The film studio returned last year with Let Me In, the remake of Swedish film Let the Right One In. The Woman in Black has that Gothic Hammer feel that fans of the classics will love. It delivers lots of thrills and scares with loads of atmosphere. This movie is in no way a remake of the 1988 TV movie version of the same story. The film is dark and scary and reminded me most of one of my favorite Ghost storiesThe Changeling. Daniel Radcliffe is fresh from filming the hugely successful series, Harry Potter. He plays a much more serious role in this film as Athur Kipp, a young widowed Father and Lawyer. His employer sends him to a small English village to complete the task of sorting through an estate left by a woman who lived in an old haunted mansion on a remote island. The townspeople do not welcome him except for one eccentric couple. No one is willing to take him out to the abandoned house for fear of the evil on the Island, but he does eventually find a ride out to the house. As soon as he arrives at the Mansion, the Ghost appears and starts to cause serious problems for the small village. The only way to solve these problems is to unravel the mystery of why the Ghost appears and how to make her at peace. The Woman in Black is essentially a classic Ghost story in a haunted Gothic Mansion. The set design of the house is very realistic and detailed giving the film loads of atmosphere and character. The story is gripping and tragic with one of the scariest ghosts ever put on screen. This movie would be the perfect choice to introduce a non-horror friend to the Genre. It is beautifully shot and has the goods to deliver the scares. Seeing that Gothic movies, ghost stories in particular, are one of my favorite types of Horror movies, I thoroughly enjoyed this film and am looking forward to what Hammer will be releasing next.