Wasted Potential

Rating: 6/10 (8 September 2013)

Overall I had a hard time fully enjoying The Woman in Black. Its atmosphere is fantastic, its set design and cinematography are lovely, the acting is solid, but the experience is brought down by few major flaws. Among them being a fairly well-tread story and some disappointing shots.
To start, what The Woman in Black does extremely well is immersing you completely in its deliciously drab universe. The old mansion where Daniel Radcliffe's Arthur Kipps spends the majority of the film is dressed expertly with creepy antiques and a large helping of cobwebs and dust. The way the house is filmed as well serves to bring it to life in a big way.
However, the life is taken right out of it when every single suspenseful shot and every spooky sequence is ended with an entirely predictable jump scare. When you know exactly what (and when) something is coming for you, there's not much left to really scare you. Moments of very clunky and expository dialogue can take you out of the experience as well.
So I guess if you're in the mood for a beautifully filmed ghost movie, give The Woman in Black a try. Just don't go in expecting anything ground breaking or particularly scary.