Movie Review: 'The Woman in Black' not a good horror outing
Submitted by admin on Mon, 02/06/2012 - 12:43pm
I'm afraid that I haven't got a lot to say about the horror film "The Woman in Black," currently on display at the Fandango Galaxy movie house in Carson City. I read the book on which it is based years ago and only recall that the Lady in question was not very happy.
So watching the dour film I was a little lost as Arthur Kipps (Daniel Redcliff of "Harry Potter" fame) set off on his lawyerly duty to evaluate a mansion now in disrepair. His firm is to wind up the estate and depending on how well he does Kipps may keep his job.
He meets Sam Daily (Ciarán Hinds) on the train from London and the two strike up a friendship. Kipps grabs a raide with Keckwick (Daniel Cerqueira) who warns him that the tide covers the road to Eel Marsh House, the estate in question.
There Kipps runs into all kinds of creepy things (but few of the usual scare shocks horror films usually employ). Kipps wades through tones of papers and photos and has his encounters with things.
The whole thing moves along creepily with Kipps walking as if he were a dummy, plodding along to any event. If Radcliffe is going to get out of the Harry Potter stuff, he's going to have to learn to move a little faster.
I'll avoid plot lines and too much revelation as this is a horror film and you are supposed to be shocked and horrified and I'd hate to rob you of that pleasure. Most of the movie is shot in somber darkness so that the few sunny moments are welcome.
For me the whole thing is a muddy mess, not much makes sense, but in a horror movie why should it? The ending is ethereal enough with things working out in heaven.
This is rated PG-13, not exactly a film you would want to take a date to (teens excepted, this might be a good one to snuggle up on).
Not much fun and not a lot of horror. Radcliffe has his work ahead cut out for him. The dive in the muck scene is a dirty mess.
--- Sam Bauman
Cast
• Daniel Radcliffe as Arthur Kipps, a young lawyer.
• Ciarán Hinds as Sam Daily, a local landowner.
• Janet McTeer as Mrs. Daily, Daily's wife.
• Sophie Stuckey as Stella Kipps.
• Misha Handley as Joseph Kipps, Arthur's son.
• Liz White as Jennet Humfrye, a woman who returned after death as a menacing spectre known as The Woman in Black.
• Daniel Cerqueira as Keckwick, a local villager who takes Arthur to Eel Marsh House as he knows the timing of the tides well.
• Tim McMullan as Mr Jerome, the local agent of Kipps's firm.
• Aoife Doherty as Lucy Jerome, daughter of Mr & Mrs Jerome.
• Roger Allam as Mr Bentley, Kipps's employer.
• Victor McGuire as Gerald Hardy.
• Alexia Osborne as Victoria Hardy, daughter of Gerald Hardy.
• David Burke as PC Collins.
• Ashley Foster as Nathaniel, the Woman in Black's son.
Directed by James Watkins
Produced by Richard Jackson
Simon Oakes
Brian Oliver
Screenplay by Jane Goldman
Based on The Woman in Black by
Susan Hill
Music by Marco Beltrami
Cinematography Tim Maurice-Jones
Editing by Jon Harris (United States) Release date(s) 3 February 2012 (United States)
Running time 95 minutes
