Not entirely perfect, but very atmospheric and genuinely scary

Rating: 8/10 (19 February 2012)

There are a few assets that drew me into seeing The Woman in Black in the first place. One was to see if Daniel Radcliffe had grown as an actor and whether he would acquit himself well in a cast-against type sort of role. And there is also the support cast, Ciaran Hinds, Janet McTeer, Roger Allam and Shaun Dooley are quite a cast don't you think, and especially that I loved the book, the 1989 TV version and stage play so much. I went to see The Woman in Black a few days ago with my 3 sisters, but I wanted to think about in depth what I thought about the film before writing about it. It was a film that I still can't get out of my head and even just yesterday my sisters and I were having this big discussion about what we liked and comparing it to its other mediums.
Regarding this 2012 film, all of us thought it was very good. It wasn't perfect, no, and it has received and perhaps continue to receive inevitable comparisons to the book which has many engrossing and telling chapters, the stage play which is the most chilling thing I've seen on stage since seeing The Mousetrap and especially the TV version which I regard very highly for its atmosphere and unforgettable conclusion. On its own though, it is a very solid and worthy film and adaptation. For one thing, The Woman in Black is very handsomely mounted. The Victorian period is very evocative in detail with beautifully tailored costumes and meticulous-looking scenery and settings and genuinely effective in atmosphere with the dark old house, spooky sea fog, foreboding marsh and faces at the window. The camera work is also very good with the close-up shock cuts particularly good, and the lighting is dark and atmospheric while never being too dark you can't see what's going on.
The music score I also took to, there is a haunting and hypnotic quality to it that suits the film's tone very well. Likewise with the sound effects mostly, the sudden loud noises and the starting quiet and crescendoing contributed much to the best scares of the film, though the earlier ones were a little obvious and predictable and had the audience laughing rather than biting their nails. Dialogue-wise, it is solid, staying loyal to the period generally and it kept me engaged with Arthur's predicaments and the mystery of The Woman in Black. After my viewing of the film I did have some questions such as why the Woman in Black still took revenge even when the body of her son was returned, but having the discussion with my sisters really helped.
When it comes to the story, it is a timeless one with a chilling atmosphere. The Woman in Black(2012) does a much better-than-expected job with adapting it in a short running time, a vast majority of scares are very atmospheric advantaged by the purposefully glacial pace, more the making-you jump kind than the gory kind, with the Woman in Black gliding down the corridor, the screech at the window, the hanging and the brief glimpse of the woman in black in the creaking rocking chair faring the best of them. Of the children's deaths, the most effective was that of the Fisher Girls, especially in a choreographic sense, just look at how perfectly in time their walking is and how their eyes absolutely make you believe they are in a trance. McTeer's "momentary mental instability" scenes were also very intense and heart-breaking.
Only two scenes weren't so good for me, other from one or two earlier predictable jump scares. One was the death of Lucy, while tragic in circumstance it was clumsily staged and lacked the magnetic quality the choreography of the very first scene did. The other scene, and I think the biggest let down of the film, was the ending. In a sense it was grim but there was also something uplifting and bittersweet to it, for me it juxtaposed too much with the film's overall tone and it was nowhere near as satisfying or as memorable as the conclusion of the 1989 version.
I also think two scenes from the book could have been added, making the film even better, Alice Drablow's funeral which introduced us to the Woman in Black and was one of the book's more telling scenes, and the Whistling scene which is the single creepiest and atmospheric scene of the book, just how it is written is enough to make your heart go in your mouth. This film was fine enough without them, it's just that I was wondering how incredible those two scenes would have been if they were included. The characters engage, Arthur Kipps is likable enough, but I found the Dailys and Woman in Black the film's most interesting characters, Sam Daily is so sympathetic and the Woman in Black is evil incarnate even evoking fear in the scenes she doesn't feature in.
The acting is very good. Daniel Radcliffe while I initially had reservations of whether he was too young for the role acquits himself quite nicely as Arthur, a role that is very cast-against- type, showing melancholy, sensitivity and genuine fright throughout, and this is in the facial expressions alone. Ciaran Hinds is excellent as Sam, and Janet McTeer gives a very moving performance. Roger Allam, Tim McMullan and Shaun Dooley are good in small roles, but other than Hinds and McTeer I was most impressed by Liz White as Jennett/Woman in Black, in a role that is so evil and so omnipresent whether in scenes where she's featured or where she is talked about or in thought White is absolutely terrifying.
All in all, a very good film, not perfect but atmospheric, scary and more than stands its own even if the book, TV version and stage play are superior. 7.5/10 Bethany Cox