"Don't go chasing shadows, Arthur!"

Rating: 9/10 (9 May 2014)

Daniel Radcliffe gives a memorable performance as Arthur Kipps, a London solicitor (attorney) and widowed father of a 4-year-old boy who is on thin ice with his firm due to non-productivity because of grief over his wife's passing. He is given one final chance to prove his value to the firm and keep his job: Go to the remote village of Crythin Gifford and settle the probate affairs of the rambling, secluded mansion of Eel Marsh House, whose tenants recently died. He soon discovers and becomes immersed in the macabre secrets of the house and village in this carefully told story.
THE WOMAN in BLACK is the sort of thing I didn't think could still be done these days, a Gothic horror story about a haunted house with a clever, original plot and mythos, disturbing images but no schlocky gore for its own sake, and above all, genuinely frightening qualities. The question of whether or not Kipps will keep his job adds to the suspense. The cinematography is first-rate, with bleakly striking views of the English countryside and village. The early 1900s time period is captured most convincingly. Excellent acting by everyone else as well, particularly the various child actors and Ciarán Hinds as local resident Sam Daily. Finally, a beautifully unexpected ending.