If you like looking at your hands, then this is the movie for you. Because the unbearable intensity of waiting for the “jump” moments will have you covering your face in horror. At least, that’s what I did.
It should be noted that I don’t claim to be the most courageous or adrenaline-seeking person out there, and to be fair I’m not very experienced with the whole “horror” film thing. But The Woman in Black is a 12A, so I figured I could handle it...
The film opens on three children (I find the creepiest of characters in films of this genre – remind me not to have kids) playing with toys. Phew, I thought, this is the “drama” I was hoping it to be, not the yelp-inducing scare-a-thon that other reviews had promised. Then they had to go and ruin it all by jumping out of the bloody window.
Harry- er, I mean Daniel Radcliffe (can you blame me?) is brilliant in this film. His haunted, shadowed eyes seem full of wisdom and woe in equal measures, and he grasps this role like a child-star-turned-serious-actor is predicted to do. But his acting is exquisite and aside from my “hilarious” utterances throughout the film (“Why doesn’t he just whip his wand out?” and “this wouldn’t happen at Hogwarts”); it is only my own immaturity that held on to the image of the boy wizard. Harry Potter this character is not.
The jumps are plentiful, yet so mercilessly strung out the tension was palpable in a packed cinema. I couldn’t handle this, and so aforementioned hand-over-eyes shielded me from the true horrors of this film. But blimey, did I get the gist of it.
The thing is, it is such a typical horror film – and I use this term loosely because, as I previously stated, it is a 12A. For example when the main character hears a noise in an already haunted house, he decides to investigate instead of getting the hell out of there LIKE A NORMAL PERSON. This coupled with creepy dolls, spooky children, misty moors… oh, and the nervous looks from villagers that won’t tell the story of their worries until it’s too late (idiots). But unfortunately that’s what us thrill seekers enjoy – and there are many jump-out-of-your-chair-then-laugh-at-your-own-silly-reaction moments. It should be cheesy and slightly cringe worthy that such stereotypical tools have been used to create the mise-en-scene. But it isn’t: the clever script, sharp, unpredictable directing, and believable acting create a truly surreal and terrifying atmosphere that had me actually fearing that something was going to attack me from behind (oo-er).
It’s a breath of fresh air to the already overdone genre, and shows that the subtleties and what you don’t see can be much more chilling than the explicit gore modern films evoke in this category. So as I said, if you’re looking for a thriller with a capital T, then go see it. But I’d additionally highly recommend this film for the stunning performance of Daniel Radcliffe for his wonderful debut as a pretty great actor, and who creates on-screen magic without a wand in sight.
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