Surprisingly good

Rating: 8/10 (23 April 2012)

I walked into this movie having read many reviews on IMDb, thinking that I was going to get bored half-way through a badly written clichéd film starring Daniel Radcliffe, whom I expected to show promising things and hopefully move onto something much better.
But what I saw was a very traditional Gothic horror story with a very tight and flowing script, a very fine ensemble cast without exception, wonderful photography and period costumes. Daniel Radcliffe carries the film admirably. I didn't notice the score and that's a great compliment as it fits perfectly into the movie. And was it tense? There was hardly a moment that I wasn't gripping the seats.
I think the only weakness is that they succumbed to modern horror-genre stereotypes in terms of the "make-a-person jump" sound effects. I would be curious to see whether the movie would have worked without them, because the mood was set so well I thought that the scares were unnecessary.
And while the ending is terrific, the epilogue is a bit of a let-down.
But don't miss it at the cinema!