The Woman in Black

Viewers might find goose bumps on their arms and hair sticking up on their necks, but The Woman in Black doesn’t get under the skin.

This old-fashioned British psychological thriller is noteworthy because it’s produced by venerable Hammer Films, which was responsible for dozens of imported low-budget horror flicks during its heyday in 1960s and was recently bought and revived.

Also, it marks the first post-Harry Potter starring role for Daniel Radcliffe, who offers a solid turn as the audience’s eyes and ears into an early 20th century haunted house with a mysterious past.

Radcliffe plays Arthur Kipps, a fledgling young lawyer based in London whose latest job is to handle the rural Eel Marsh estate. But when he arrives in the nearby small town, strange things begin to happen and the locals try to chase him away.

It turns out the house is haunted by a family from its past, including a mother still grieving over the loss of her young son, which doesn’t deter the resilient Kipps. He finds an ally in a local landowner (Ciaran Hinds), whose family has experienced part of a string of mysterious deaths that might be linked to the abandoned estate.

The film offers up some of the usual scare tactics in the genre, with most of the action taking place at night or in the fog, and most of the frights generated by images suddenly jumping out of the shadows, each one punctuated by some variety of musical crescendo. There are some genuine chills along the way, but the repetitive cheap thrills tend to suffocate the more intriguing mystery at the core of the story, which was adapted from a novel by Susan Hill.

Radcliffe carries the film, often in the unique scenario of acting by himself, wandering dark corridors to investigate strange noises or otherwise reacting to various apparitions. He demonstrates the sort of subtle range that should help to diversify his repertoire quickly.

Director James Watkins (Eden Lake), despite using some annoying visual gimmicks to generate quick shocks, smartly turns the house into perhaps the most central character in the film, allowing the audience become more engaged in its gothic history.

The Woman in Black doesn’t have much in the way of blood and gore, but opts for an unsettling atmospheric approach to generate suspense. It’s unfortunate that the genuine sense of dread is only lukewarm.

 

Rated PG-13, 95 minutes.