Creepy, dark, and beautiful

Rating: 8/10 (12 February 2012)

First, I must say that I have not read the book so I don't know whether the film adaptation follows it or not. All in all this movie surpassed my expectations. Initially I was worried about Daniel Radcliffe carrying a movie and if he could strip himself of his Harry Potter shell. I was pleasantly surprised.
Daniel Radcliffe plays a young lawyer who is brought to an old manor house by his firm to organize the legal papers of a deceased client. Once there he encounters many things that seem out of the ordinary and strange things begin to happen. I will not disclose anything further for that might give away some of the plot.
This movie uses some elements that have been lost in more recent horror films. It makes use of the dark, almost colorless, lighting as well as superb music that sets the tone for the film. The woman in black also avoids tasteless gore and nudity, but instead relies on subtlety and the viewers own imagination. Also, it is fairly light in dialogue. This movie prefers to tell its story with the use of music and images which, in my opinion, is incredibly affective.
As far as critiques, I only have a few. I wish that the film would have expanded on the background story a little more or used more flashbacks. Also, I would have liked a more solid climax in the story. However, as I said, I have not read the book so I do not know whether they were just following that.
Bottom line, this is Gothic horror at its best. It is a true horror FILM rather than trashy shock nonsense. Definitely creepy and worth a watch.