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Quint calls The Woman In Black a welcome return to gothic Hammer horror!
Ahoy, squirts! Quint here. My big takeaway after the big word of mouth/press screening of The Woman In Black was gratitude that there was still an audience for a horror movie like this. The Woman In Black isn’t gory, it isn’t gimmicky, it isn’t a rollercoaster ride… it’s an atmospheric old dark house story that relishes in slowly building tension via lighting, geography and performances.
And it worked. Not just critically speaking. The audience yelped, squealed and jumped throughout.
I liked Let Me In (still preferred the original), didn’t care for The Resident, but The Woman In Black is the movie I wanted when I heard Hammer was coming back. It’s fun to see modern filmmaking sensibilities and current actors get to play with these older stylish spook-stories. I loved seeing Daniel Radcliffe dressed to the nines wander around in a thick fog, for instance. In another era that would have been Peter Cushing. Well, Cushing probably would have played the Ciaran Hinds older skeptic part, actually, but you get what I’m saying.
In this old ghost story, Radcliffe plays Arthur Kipps, a depressed young attorney who is trying to keep his life together after the death of his wife. His work is suffering and he’s given one more chance to prove his worth by settling the estate of an old family in a remote English village. Naturally, there’s a supernatural secret being kept in this terrorized little hamlet and Radcliffe slowly uncovers the horrible truth bit by bit.
When I mentioned above that the film smartly uses geography to build tension I was referring to a few things, but one of the neater concepts here is that the old mansion that Radcliffe has to set right is out in the marshlands and the road disappears at every high tide. So, at certain points in the story Radcliffe is literally stuck on this haunted plot of land.
They don’t really use that for a big moment, per se, but there’s just something in us knowing that he’s cut off that makes the tension that much more effective once things start moving in the shadows. Because it’s a period piece you don’t have to explain why he can’t just pick up the phone or dig out his cell phone, which already isolates him, but to further that by literally cutting him off from even just running off this moll serves to put the screws to the audience.
Director James Watkins (Eden Lake) also films the hell out of the house, setting up the geography inside as well. There are two floors, a door that won’t open and seemingly has no key on one end of the hallway and a drape that covers what looks to be almost a black void on the other end. You know some shit is going to go down in this double-FU hallway, it’s just a question of when it’s going to happen.
Watkins uses some jump scares, but for the most part he throws creepy imagery at you over and over again to build tension. He’s aided in this endeavor by the fact that so much of the mythology here surrounds children and at the turn of the century kids had some really fucked up scary toys. Rotted doll faces, maraca playing wind-up monkeys and other such nightmares are constantly shown to us and it’s enough to put even the most manly man on edge. The woman in black and her army of dead children are nothing compared to some of these toys, I’m telling you.
Jane Goldman’s adaptation of Susan Hill’s play doesn’t have much fat on it, which is crucial to a slow-build film. You can’t be both slow and extraneous or you’ve got an audience filled with sleeping people and that does no good to anybody (except insomniacs, I guess). I haven’t seen Hill’s play or the TV movie that came before this one, but I have to imagine the filmmakers opened up the world a bit. You know how sometimes you a see movie and you know instantly it was a play before it was a movie? Usually they take place in one location and you get some stuff at the beginning and at the end where people go outside to show us, “Hey, this isn’t a play, see!”
This one felt pretty organic to me. You get a sense of the village and the devastation this one crazy asshole ghost lady has visited upon its people naturally. It didn’t feel stagebound, that’s for sure.
Not only does the story play with the typical modern haunted house archetypes it also has some fun going on with Ciaran Hinds’ character, a skeptic and sole friendly face for Radcliffe’s Kipps. There’s talk about skepticism and belief in the supernatural that doesn’t overwhelm the actual ghost story going on, but gives us a nicely detailed character, especially in Hinds’ capable hands.
One of my favorite moments of the movie is a small bit between Radcliffe and Hinds, who is dropping the young man at the haunted property. The old skeptic says he’ll return to pick up the young lawyer before the tide comes in and Radcliffe responds that he’s going to stay the night and just finish up the gathering of the paperwork from around the estate. The look on Hinds’ face is brilliant. In a flash the skepticism drops and he believes with every fiber of his being. There’s fear, repulsion at the idea of being alone in that house at night and perhaps a little loathing at himself for being the believer all on his face within a period of about 2 seconds.
What’s the saying? There are no atheists in foxholes? Well, here there are no skeptics at the woman in black’s manor after dark.
It’s the small details like that moment that really made me smile throughout the film. It’s not something that’ll rock you to your core, it’s just plain old good old fashioned spooky storytelling, made all the fresher in this day and age of found footage, rapid editing and technology-driven horror.
More like this, please!
-Eric Vespe
”Quint”
quint@aintitcool.com
Follow Me On Twitter
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I'll have to give this a lookie.
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I'll give it a look anyway.
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awesome
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I don't know if they will use this poster in your average multiplex. but is a welcome, and nostalgic, return to form for Hammer.
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How was it Quint? He improved like bejeesus as the Potters progressed - would love to hear he held his own here.
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Feb 02, 2012 5:44:03 AM CST
Wow Daniel, that's a seriously pumped arm you've got there
by motherpussbucket
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I am really hyped about seeing this movie now. I have a lot of faith in James Watkins. He single handedly gave us IMO the most important social commentary on 21st century broken Britain in the horror thriller "Eden Lake". That is one of the few movies that fucked me up for a long long time.
If Watkins is allowed to continue to make movies of that power and viciousness then Watkins will be an amazing film maker for years to come. -
Feb 02, 2012 5:48:26 AM CST
This looks terrific - remember the old TV version, and it genuinely scared the living fucking shit out of me
by melonman
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A horror film that is ghost story themed and not relying on gore or torture. I think the Others was the last horror film I enjoyed. Looking forward to seeing this. Oh and good review Quint.
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Where all the scares are doled out the first time so that the movie lacks all the terror from the initial view?
Or is this the kind of movie that will continue to scare on a second or third watch?
I've seen some clips of this and I have to say, while it looks creepy, I'm distrustful. It looks like the movie is mostly Radcliffe locking doors and falling asleep in chairs. I'm happy to see the guy branch out from "Harry Potter" (although his role in "Extras" was friggin' brilliant), but I guess I'm wondering if this is really that good, or are people just wowed to see Harry Potter in a different venue?
Too many questions . . . -
Feb 02, 2012 6:10:29 AM CST
Radcliff had the acting range of an ironing board. Glad you liked it Quint coz a lot of other critics think it's dull...at best.
by drstrangerlove
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I like gore and zombies and stuff, but this is the Horror i love.
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No, they are NOT Overrated.
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Since he is "the boy who lived"... right?
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The soundstage look to the outdoor shots, the bright red blood, The cherub faced big breasted girl. Christopher Lee even made a cameo. Maybe a little gory for Hammer but it got the atmosphere down pretty well.
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Yeah, everybody's hating on it....
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Feb 02, 2012 7:42:21 AM CST
Any time they show the audience's reaction on the commercials, is a red flag
by cobb05
I'm still stratching my head over what people were screaming at in Paranormal Activity. There was nothing scary in that movie at all. This movie does look creepy, but any time they show a crowd screaming to show how scary a movie is, is never a good sign. It might work to bring butts in the seats, but the movie is never scary.
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It had a great atmosphere about it, but it was a little too "knowing". It didn't feel like an original, instead a rehash of elements people vaguely remember from hammer films of old. Plus, there were far too many moments where the tone slipped far too close to comedy!
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Susan Hill wrote the novel, and a guy called Stephen Mallatratt adapted it for the stage in the late 80s.
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Looking forward to this, love a good old chiller rather than a full-on, contrived jump fest.
The tv adaption from a couple of years ago was pretty cool, and films like The Innocents, The Haunting (b/w version)and The Others can easily hold their own against the Paranormal Activities and REC's of today.
Quint if your a fan of this, do yourself a favour and track down the old tv adaptation of M R James' "Whistle And I'll Come To You...." short story, it starred Michael Hordern and is a great spine chiller. You will never walk alone on a deserted beach again!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whistle_and_I%27ll_Come_to_You
Think youtube has it up. -
Feb 02, 2012 8:01:47 AM CST
NuHammer's output has been okay so far, but they still aren't real Hammer Horror, and never will be...
by stegman84
Hammer Horror is a moment in time, an era of film made by a distinct group of talented individuals, both in front of, and behind, the camera, who collectively gave those classic horror films cinematic life. Most of those people are either gone or retired, and as such true Hammer Horror is something that can never truly be re-created, no matter what branding logo you purchase the rights to, and slap on the front of a newly made horror film.
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Can anybody shed any light on whether there has been a fucking spot of improvement in THAT department?
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I can see Hyde Pierce pulling off the meek and cowardly thing, although I worry it would stray too close to Niles, and therefore back into the comedy zone. Depp was wrong but, of course, who else was Burton going to use?
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The mirrors, the statues, the sounds....brilliantly unsettling. The wallpaper scene is one of the unnerving things I've seen in a movie; even the now-cliched resolution of that scene is still effective. Featuring Miss Moneypenny and the crazy psychiatrist from Twin Peaks.
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My favorite horror film of recent times. This looks interesting too. Would be cool if a new Hammer could spring fourth officially and churn out some good ole' gothic horror.
A return to Dr. Frankenstein and his freaky experiments. -
This is a movie that has never seen a jump scare it didn't like. But that's okay...I thought it was a lot of fun!
I really think Daniel Radcliffe does a good job here, he's already a haunted man as the film begins. I started thinking Hammer could use him as a young Cushing type...he needs a new Chistopher Lee to go up against, though. Watching this, I actually was thinking if Hammer did a new Dracula (wouldn't it be fun to see a 21st Century Hammer Films take on the Universal monsters in the same way they did in the 50's and 60's?), Radcliffe would make a pretty effective Jonathan Harker.
Nice gothic look with an effective use of locations, a good cast...I liked it quite a bit. -
I want this to work, but when I read things like "The Woman in Black and her army of dead children" I automatically think FAIL. Seriously, young ghostly kids in movies haven't been scary in ages and are a hoary old cliché in horror flicks.
I haven't read the book or seen the stage play but the 1989 TV film scared the shit out of me. I watched it alone at night (yes, as an adult) in a dark room with headphones on and apart from a truly skin-crawling atmosphere there was a moment where I almost had to go for a new set of underwear. If you've seen the movie you know what moment I'm talking about.
What about avid farts and blustery jump cuts -- any of those in this thing? I hate that cheap shit. -
Most people, if they spotted a ghost today, would just take a video of it on their iPhone or Galaxy S II, and post it to Facebook or Twitter with a hash tag, and the movie would be over in twenty minutes.
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The only way to describe Tim Burton has a director/film maker is "lazy". But then again many people enjoy seeing the same set designs, actors, cinematography... over and over and over again.
And don't give me a "Hitchcock" argument. Burton is not even in the same ballpark. -
I'll probably check it out when it hits Redbox.
(It takes a LOT to make me actually go to theaters for a movie nowadays. High ticket and concession prices, plus a reduction in hours at my job due to cutbacks, equals, money mainly goes to paying bills). -
...the absolute-last-stand Blockbuster video near my vicinity is having a 'going out of business' clearance.
The times they are a'changin', as the song goes.
And that's it. I'm out in Nassau County, Long Island, and the only renting DVD option left is either Redbox or getting a Netflix account (which I can't see doing now; it would just be yet another monthly bill, when I'm cutting back). -
Pathetic....You just got....
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........coxxed!!!!!! -
Feb 02, 2012 9:48:27 AM CST
I hope this does well. I don't know why, but I'm kinda rooting for Radcliffe to have a decent post-HP career.
by azultool
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Feb 02, 2012 9:49:29 AM CST
I keep expecting to hear Will Smith singing the film's title
by nasty in the pasty
Here comes da Woman In Bla-ack...!
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Feb 02, 2012 10:21:07 AM CST
MY FANS, WATCH OUT FOR THE IMPOSTER creepythinmanforever, HE SUCKS COCKS, AND THIS MOVIE IS HAMMER HORROR 2012! SLEEPY HOLLOW WAS A GREAT FILM! FACT!
by creepythinmanlivez
Daniel Radcliffe IS HOT-BUT I'M NOT GAY-FACT!
FUCK BLOOD AND GUTS SLASHER FILMS-IF I WANT BLOOD I WILL EAT SCARJO OUT ON HER PERIOD! -
....was pretty damn creepy. No obligatory "creepy kids" or "writing on the wall" in that version however. I plan on seeing this new version this weekend, it'll be interesting to see how they differ. Hope they do change the ending!
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Not steal it, pay to stream it before I go see this. Been interested in this one since the first trailer.
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Guess that's why he was selected and is currently starring in a sold out broadway muscial comedy. And, btw, the film is currently at 72% "Fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes, which is pretty damn good.
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Feb 02, 2012 11:19:59 AM CST
"creepythinmanlivez" shut the fuck up and stop with your annying all caps and "FACT" shit. Your a fucking imbecile.
by killdeer1
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Personally, this is my favorite kind of horror: the fiction of M.R. James, Algernon Blackwood, Arthur Machen; films like The Haunting, The Others, late 50s/early 60s Hammer, Val Lewton's RKO movies...
If atmospheric, spooky horror (whether period or contemporary) can find an audience -- and made means younger people, the ones with disposable income -- then that's a better filmic world for all of us. Zombies, gore, technological horror, etc. certainly have their important places in the genre, but be great to see the original forms take their place again. Ghosts, haunted houses, occult themes, portents of doom and ancient curses, shunned places... Old-fashioned stuff to be sure, but in the right hands, quite effective. And if not out-and-out scary, then at least fun, like a good ghost train.
If-god-willing this picture is a success, then Hammer will have accomplished something seemingly impossible in the 21st century. What would be REALLY awesome is if they tried doing H.P. Lovecraft! The mind reels... -
...to the list of great ghost stories. One of the best Roddy McDowell performances.
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Not one of the now grown up child actors from that Potter shite will ever make a successful career as an adult. Move over Macauley!
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Pretty decent movie -- excellent performance from Roddy McDowell -- but the book by Richard Matheson is a classic. (Simply titled "Hell House.")
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I saw it last night. Did we see the same movie?
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What about the flick didn't you like? I thought Morgan and Swank did a decent job with the flick, even if it did echo a few too many aspects of Pacific Heights
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Which means adults can take kids under 12 if they want? For a creepy scary film I'd hope for at least a 15, otherwise all you've got is Haunted Harry.
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Feb 02, 2012 1:56:23 PM CST
why referencing 'the play'? Susan Hill wrote the book
by chronicallydepressedlemming
It was a book first, surely? That should be the main source of reference here. Incidentally, the TV movie version isn't massively different from the book, but has a few tweaks. This one sounds very different.
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The fellow who played Radcliffe's role in the 1989 TV original is the same gentleman who played James Potter, who is, of course, father to Radcliffe's Harry. I suppose Radcliffe has been circling this role for some time then....in a strange sort of Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon way. :)
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Feb 02, 2012 2:11:53 PM CST
@killdeer1: YOU NO TALENT GAY HOLLYWOOD HACK-DIE! SO SAYS CREEPYTHINMANLIVEZ-FACT!
by creepythinmanlivez
FACT!-YOU HAVE A HARDON FOR DANNY RADCLIFFE
FACT! YOU ARE A COCKSUCKER LIVING IN MOMMA'S BASEMENT
FACT! - YOU LOVE THE PREQUELS, HACK CGI IS "COOL" TO YOU
FACT! - YOU HAVE SPOOGE-STAINED COPIES OF CATWOMEN AND ELECTRA
YOU TRANNY! -
Taking retardation to a zen like state. Should hand out a prize for posts this stupid.
Come get your prize zod, and wear a sign when you login here. -
I saw the play in London in 2004. And it was well plotted, atmospheric, and scary. I got excited seeing the preview, because I felt that expanding the basic story for a feature film was a great idea. I'm glad Quint liked it. I hope Radcliffe sticks with Hammer and makes a bunch of these like Cushing and Lee did in their day.
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I did the audio design for the play a few years back for a summer stock in Michigan. Reading the play I turned on NIN's "Ghosts" and by the time I finished I had every door open and every light on in my apartment. I've been excited about this for some time.
Also, I managed to get a good review for my sound design, especially the music box sound. That was mostly awesome since the sound was a distorted version of the beginning of Thrice's song "Music Box" (go figure). -
Watkins is a great director and Jane Goldman an equally great writer, I liked Stardust a lot actually.
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Mainly because the original movie was such a misfire. The original had the dramatic flair of a Speed Racer cartoon. Seriously, it was bad - even with the theatrical subtitles, yes - stilted and clumsy in execution. And not to mention the single worst scene in any film over the last 10 years, the Amazing Spinning Cat Lady. That single scene was so inept, so gut-churningly awful...how was it not cut from the original? Even if you don't consider the remake, the original is bad, made with a lack of skill, craft, thought... bad on so many levels. Fanboys lap it up because it has subtitles so that means it is way cool to love a foreign film.
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That's what I would like to know... Pretty much nothing has shat me up quite so bad in anything else I ever watched as the bed/ceiling moment did when I was about 13.
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...Daniel Radcliffe is more Ralph Bates than Peter Cushing! See Wake Wood, if only for Timothy Spall and Aiden Gillen's brilliant turns. They're great.
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Ahhh...good to see some love for M.R. James, Algernon Blackwood and Arthur Machen!
Machen's "The White People" is one freaky story!
I'm looking forward to The Woman in Black. -
The scene you are referring to is chilling and one I didn't see coming. Yikes!!
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Feb 02, 2012 6:49:53 PM CST
What the hell is up with the forearm in that poster?
by david_denmans_beard
I feel like he should have a belt tied around the upper half of his arm and a needle full of smack in one hand ready to plunge into one of those veins.
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Saw the original West End production in London when I was 18 and was absolutely riveted by the show. It's a two hander (for the most part - the ghost makes a few key appearances) and the performers were brillant. Effective and evocative lighting and sound filled out the scenes but basically it was two performers at the top of their craft and the audience's imaginations that made this show an absolute cracker. The movie may do its job but, when done properly, the stage play is the way to experience this show.
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Feb 02, 2012 7:59:09 PM CST
Hopefully they let him do stuff, unlike Chamber Potter, where
by bedknobs_and_boomsticks
he just gets bailed out by his friends constantly.
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Feb 02, 2012 8:04:29 PM CST
The 90's BBC version is the greatest made-for-tv ghost story ever filmed, I'd say.
by anti-fanboy
With Dark Night of the Scarecrow giving it a serious run for its money.
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Feb 02, 2012 8:08:12 PM CST
The Eclipse, with Ciaran Hinds in the lead, is also a damn good ghost story...
by anti-fanboy
and surprisingly funny and touching, to boot.
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Feb 02, 2012 8:27:39 PM CST
re: thot, it made me deaf as well as parylsed temporarily in that moment the first time
by alan_grant_lives
And I agree with rd, the London play is excellent, and just an incredible piece of direction and lighting in its own right, but it also nails the whole of the tone, the atmosphere and the story in stage form. My good friends ex got all the film nerd academics to check it out on her incentive alone (just prior to her ripping his heart out and shitting it to bits like the obligatory piece of whore trash nothing she now is) and I'll always be grateful for it!
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Feb 02, 2012 8:40:35 PM CST
Anyone else find women easily scarier than any other creature that haunts your nightmares?
by alan_grant_lives
... They're a cruel and unusual species, arn't they?
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And there is something very disturbing about old toys and furniture in the right setting. Has anyone seen the Blu-ray menu for The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button? It's pretty creepy. Just let it play and the creepy slide show of scratchy old images & sounds of New Orleans, World War 1 and gothic homes made my son want to watch it on a loop for about 5 minutes.
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Feb 02, 2012 10:12:02 PM CST
eden lake was well done for what it was. I think ive reached my fill of that sort of movie.
by dahveed1972
I think i watched EL and Wolf Creek back to back one weekend and came to the conclusion that, despite the skill on display, i wished i had done something else for those 4 hours.
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You're mad. Completely and utterly mad.
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The remake was just better. M_Prevette makes some salient points, but I don't agree with them completely.
For me, the kids were excellent; especially the bullies. Abby's father was more tragic. Reeves has a fantastic eye, the stuff in the car with Abby's father has a Hitchcockian vibe.
And that score! What a score!
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whats going on? 3rd feb,?,,what happened?
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