The Power of Silence

Rating: Null/10 (8 February 2012)

I recently developed a list of qualities a good haunted house should have.
Leaving visitors with an unnerving sense of "something is not quite right here" was one of them.
The film adaptation of "The Woman In Black" has this unnerving quality.
Horror isn't, as most reviews on this movie will agree, the use of gore and violent death, but the anticipation built from not being able to define what it is that doesn't feel right at the moment.
A majority of this movie isolates you, which is a key component to building that feeling of uneasy anticipation.
Coupled with isolation, the film also harnesses the power of silence -- a power so deafening that at the appropriate moments, even the faintest of sounds jolts you into a state of paranoia.
In addition, this film makes great use of background action and imagery. While you generally pay attention to the foreground, there are moments where images and action in the background (if you are paying attention) can freak you out (a la the famous ghost boy in the background of a scene in "Three Men and a Baby") If you prefer your horror movies to affect you on a mental and visceral level than a visual level, then this is the movie for you.
If you prefer slasher films, don't even bother.