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The Woman In Black

A hugely satisfying horror that will have sensitive souls weeping with fear.

Released in cinemas 10th February 2012.

This reworking of Susan Hills' classic novel is turned into an atmospheric chiller that delights with old-fashioned scares. Director James Watkins (Eden Lake) and writer Jane Goldman (X-Men: First Class, Kick-Ass) do the revived Hammer proud with a stunning film that chills the blood.

Daniel Radcliffe plays Arthur Kipps, a young lawyer sent to an unfriendly village to sort out the affairs of a deceased woman. With the remote mansion cut off by the tide of foggy marshes, Arthur is confronted with dreadful family secrets and the unforgiving presence of a vengeful apparition.

In one of the many changes from the source novel, Arthur is a man with his own demons. Radcliffe is perfectly good in an unshowy, understated performance that takes second place to the ghastly-goings on. As displayed in his theatre work, the actor shows courage in his post-Harry Potter parts, jumping straight into a widowed father of a four-year-old, still stricken with grief years after the untimely death of his wife. With his work as a lawyer affected, Arthur is given this unwanted task in order to salvage his career, thus giving him the drive to carry on when unspeakable horror is unfolding around him. It's easy to overlook Radcliffe's youth thanks to the Victorian-setting of the story, and especially as he carries the weight of the world in those haunted blue eyes. Ciaran Hinds and Janet McTeer lend creepy gravitas as the rich but unhappy landowners who befriend Arthur when the locals fear his interference.

Goldman's adaptation works brilliantly as cinematic melodrama, aided by Watkins' superb interpretation of a classic Victorian village straight from the pages of a gothic horror. The photography is stunning, along with the locations, costumes and production design. However, The Woman in Black is so relentless with the shocks the story sometimes suffers, as its idea of a slow build lasts for approximately two minutes before a scare is unleashed.

With much of the film working as a traditional haunted house horror, the requisite faces in the window, moving furniture and writing on the wall are present and correct, but Watkins throws in some real treats, mainly with effective use of sound in the dark, gloomy corridors. It lays the scares on so thick the film often feels like a theme park ride with a hundred screaming passengers, but that's all part of the charm. There are some unforgiving moments which push the boundaries of its 12A rating - notably its macabre opening scene and Arthur's tense pacification of the titular ghost - but this remains a family treat.

A horror that will have sensitive souls weeping with fear, The Woman in Black is beautiful, involving and hugely satisfying.

Rating: 8/10