Definitely an eye peeker film....

Rating: 9/10 (11 February 2012)

OK so I am a HUGE fan of all things horror, and thriller. This genre of film doesn't usually scare me, I just appreciate it.
When the trailers and reports on this film first began coming out I paid very little attention as I wanted to be surprised. With it's Gothic house and creepy looking locations I was hooked right away. Plus it has Daniel Radcliff in it so I was excited to see him as something other then Harry. I have a 1 yr old so going to movies to see anything besides children's films can be difficult. And so i made my first mistake. I went to see this BY MYSELF. NOT SMART. I went during a weekday and was the only one in the theater, again NOT GOOD. But because i didn't know much about this film I expected it would be a creepy little ghost story and have some moments of AUUGH to it. It opens with 3 little girls playing in an attic. Tea party with a cracked porcelain doll. Took me a moment to realize it was also a Period film. NO CLUE it was set in the 1800's. So after they slowly go out a window it flashes back to Arthur's memory of his wife. You realize she has died and he is left alone with a child. In order to pay his bills and keep his job he is leaving to go take care of the final paperwork for his law firms client who has died. Fast forward to a creepy village where all the weirdos seem to live. They see him coming and as if he carried the plague run inside and lock their doors and hide their kids. I was confused at first until he got to THE HOUSE> (It was about this point that a couple walked into the theater quietly and since i have fantastic peripheral vision i noticed movement and almost jumped out of my skin! They went to the very back of the theater. ) So there we were watching as Arthur first sees the EEL MARSH house. HOLY MOLY! What a mansion by the sea. Although it was very fabulous one time it is now basically in shambles. My thoughts, who the heck walks into a place like that anyway? NOT ME! So he goes inside and low and behold the place is filled with the creepiest decorations ever. The set designers really went all out on this with chandeliers made of antlers and creepy pictures on the wall. AND DO NOT GET ME STARTED ON THE SCARY TOYS IN THE NURSERY! THE CLOWN DOLL MADE ME WANT TO RUN Things begins to happen quickly and like most ghost stores he goes in search of the bumps in the night. Again, WHY GO RUNNING AFTER IT? The Camera-work was fantastic. It really sucks you into the moments, as he does things like if Arthur is rounding a corner it switches to basically his point of view so the viewer is thrust into the rooms and around dark corners first when only seconds ago the creepy sound was or the ghostly hand. (At this point that other couple has decided to leave. I heard the girl back there begging to leave, that she couldn't take the intensity any more. I too at this point was ready to just say get me the heck outta dodge and run. SO instead I zipped my coat basically up to my eyeballs and hunkered down in my seat as they slowly creeped out of the theater, only to leave me alone and shaking in the darkness. BAM! The Woman in Black just hung herself and I almost peed my pants. SCREW THAT ROCKING CHAIR IM OUT!) Yeah lets not even talk about the child who drank lye, and the one who lights the place on fire, or the creepy lady who has her "twins" sitting at the dinner table while she carves pictures into her table. Again, this film does not have tons of dialogue, it does not have blood flying all over or a man carving people up with a machete. What it has are REAL ELEMENTS OF ACTIVITY that scare you to death. If you are scared of the dark, do not be an idiot like me and sit through this all alone. If you hate clowns, creepy dolls, and even creepier children, again do not go see it alone because it has all of that. OH AND DID I MENTION THE WOMAN IN BLACK?> OH Lord those eyes. By the end i was so freaked out that the credits came up and I had missed a lot of things hiding in my coat. I could barely get up to leave. I finally made a dash for it and ran out of the theater and down to the concession stand where people looked at me like I was insane. However, that being said, the film was done brilliantly! Again the set design, props used, camera work, locations, editing, AND the acting really made this film feel like an amusement park ride. You not only had to guess what was around the corner you had to go and LOOK. Or be like me and hide. I would recommend this film even if you do not scare easily or get creeped out because it is just done well with no extra tricks or CGI, it was refreshing to have a film tell an entire story using only things most people grow up afraid of. The dark, and things that go bump in the night. Next time I see this will be in my own home so i can snuggle my own dog and hide under my blankets instead.
PS- THE DOG LIVES! all I'm gonna say for you animal lovers out there.