zondag 18 augustus 2013

The Woman in Black (2012)

Genre : Horror
Country : UK

Cast :
Daniel Radcliffe : Arthur Kipps
Ciarán Hinds : Daily
Janet McTeer : Mrs. Daily

Director :
James Watkins

Summary
In London, lawyer Arthur Kipps still grieves the death of his beloved wife Stella on the delivery of their son Joseph four years ago. His employer gives him a last chance to keep his job, and he is assigned to travel to the remote village of Cryphin Gifford to examine the documentation of the Eel Marsh House that belonged to the recently deceased Mrs. Drablow. Arthur befriends Daily on the train and the man offers a ride to him to the Gifford Arms inn. Arthur has a cold reception and the owner of the inn tells that he did not receive the request of reservation and there is no available room. The next morning, Arthur meets solicitor Jerome who advises him to return to London. However, Arthur goes to the isolated manor and soon he finds that Eel Marsh House is haunted by the vengeful ghost of a woman dressed in black. He also learns that the woman lost her son drowned in the marsh and she seeks revenge, taking the children of the scared locals.

My opinion
Professor Dumbledore wasn't able to save Harry this time. But I must admit that this ex-magician threw of his wizard robe with panache and passed the test with flying colors. After 5 minutes, I really didn't see him as the Harry anymore.

I don't think this movie should be categorized as a horror, but more as an old-fashioned ghost story like they were made in earlier years. It's more something like "The Changeling" and consorts. All the classic elements are reflected in this film: the lugubrious face watching from an attic window, the rocking chair, the wet footprints, the toys that start playing on their own, the footsteps in the attic, the candles blowing out suddenly, the long dark corridor and the shadows. All this placed in an "Addams Family"-stylish old building with miles of thick layers of dust and cobwebs. The ideal setting for a classic haunted house like at the fancy-fair.

The complete story is put together nicely .. and yes I would have moved away from that village already a long time. The funny thing in such movies is that even though the protagonist realizes that he's dealing with spirits, he always closes a door as a defense.

It was a pretty exciting movie with some scare moments in it. Not the I-jump-almost-to-the-ceiling moments, but surely there were some damn-I-almost-choked-in-my-chips moments.

Ok, the ending was predictable. It was obvious that Arthur would join his wife in the afterlife together with his son. But I rather had seen it the other way so he could break the curse.
All in all, I am huge fan of such horror films and this shows again that a horror or scary movie can be great, even without the gallons of blood flowing around.