Bob's Quick Look: The Woman in Black (2012)

In this film, based on the novel by Susan Hill, Daniel Radcliffe stars as a young lawyer who finds himself entangled in the conflict between a small England village and a vengeful ghost.

 *Spoiler Alert* Arthur Kipps is assigned by his law firm to oversee the sale of a large manor in a small English village. Right from the start he is met with cold shoulders and recommendations that he return home and drop the sale. But being determined to accomplish his task, and keep his job, Kipps moves ahead with the paperwork. While he is there, several of the children in the village die of seemingly self-inflicted ailments (such as drinking lye) which Kipps is blamed for. In his research, Kipps finds out the lady of the house had a sister who hanged herself after her son, who was under the care of the lady of the house, drowned in the marsh while his aunt and uncle did nothing to save him. Since that time, anytime a person enters the house, one of the children in the village sees the ghost and takes their own life. Kipps’ task quickly goes from a real estate venture to personal mystery to ghost hunting. To say this is your basic ghost story is both true and missing the point. Sure, some who see the movie are going to point out that there are elements similar to “The Ring” and “The Blair Witch Project” (story wise, not style.) But focusing on this aspect of the film draws too much attention away from what makes a movie good or bad. When I saw “Titanic,” for example, I was able to point out numerous similarities to “The Posieden Adventure” and “The Towering Inferno,” but I didn’t let that get in the way of my viewing the film for story, acting, and ambiance. The first scene of the film does an excellent job of pulling the viewer in, and it never lets us go. The film has a tension all the way through that keeps us alert, yet does not fully prepare us for the frightening moments of the film. The story is well written and well executed on screen (I am looking forward now to reading the book.) The ambiance was beautifully chilling and set the mood very well for the piece. It was also nice to see Daniel Radcliffe branch away from his Harry Potter character, and he does a nice job in his role as Kipps. A nice little winter break from all the films cramming it in to try to win an Oscar, this film will satisfy fans horror fans and moviegoers who are willing to give it a fair chance.