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The Woman in Black
Oct. 16th, 2013 06:06 pmIt’s October, the air has turned, pumpkins are appearing on doorsteps, and my thoughts are turning to ghost stories. This weekend we watched a movie that will surely haunt me for some time to come: “The Woman in Black.” This British production from the legendary Hammer Studios stars Daniel Radcliffe and Ciaran Hinds, and was adapted from the 1983 novel by Susan Hill. I actually read the book first, partly on a four-hour plane ride, which I don't recommend as the proper atmosphere for a scary story. I finished it in a hotel room while on my business trip, which turned out the be absolutely the best place for creeping oneself out!
Arthur Kipps (Radcliffe) is a young barrister who leaves London for a lonely village on the northern coast of England on an assignment to organize a widow’s estate at Eel Marsh House. Perhaps the name of the place should have given him pause, because the house itself is foreboding and isolated on a spit of land that is joined to the mainland only by a causeway that floods over part of the day. Kipps is a Victorian man of science, though, and he refuses to give in to the house’s oppressive atmosphere, or the townspeople’s unwelcoming attitudes. Unfortunately, his presence awakens the Woman in Black, a dour spirit who takes revenge upon the town for her lost child.
This one has everything to set a proper Halloween mood, from its oppressive old house and combination of jump scares, quietly creepy takes, and tragic backstory—not to mention a truly frightening ghost. I literally felt the hair on the nape of my neck rise more than once. I highly recommend this, but of course, please don’t watch it alone!
I couldn't help it though--at one point towards the end, as Kipps was trying to set things right and lay the ghost to rest, I turned to my husband and said, "You know, he could just salt and burn her--he'd be all done!" He just rolled his eyes at me.
Arthur Kipps (Radcliffe) is a young barrister who leaves London for a lonely village on the northern coast of England on an assignment to organize a widow’s estate at Eel Marsh House. Perhaps the name of the place should have given him pause, because the house itself is foreboding and isolated on a spit of land that is joined to the mainland only by a causeway that floods over part of the day. Kipps is a Victorian man of science, though, and he refuses to give in to the house’s oppressive atmosphere, or the townspeople’s unwelcoming attitudes. Unfortunately, his presence awakens the Woman in Black, a dour spirit who takes revenge upon the town for her lost child.
This one has everything to set a proper Halloween mood, from its oppressive old house and combination of jump scares, quietly creepy takes, and tragic backstory—not to mention a truly frightening ghost. I literally felt the hair on the nape of my neck rise more than once. I highly recommend this, but of course, please don’t watch it alone!
I couldn't help it though--at one point towards the end, as Kipps was trying to set things right and lay the ghost to rest, I turned to my husband and said, "You know, he could just salt and burn her--he'd be all done!" He just rolled his eyes at me.
