Ghost horror films are really hard to pull off effectively, especially when they are hindered by the dreaded PG-13 rating. When you throw into the mix a child actor trying to make that transition into an adult role makes it even harder to pull off. Daniel Radcliffe is the latest actor to attempt this transition and does it with what the trailers appear to be a return to true haunted form by the legendary studio Hammer.
Woman in Black follows a widowed lawyer who is sent to a remote village to sort out the affairs of a deceased eccentric woman. The locals try to hide the town’s history, but he soon learns that the house is haunted by a woman who is looking for something she lost and will enact her vengeance until she finds it. Not only does Hammer officially return to their roots, this movie is the perfect tent pole for its return. Much like some of the early Hammer films, this one follows all the old school rules for a good haunting film. While most films these days choose to modernize everything, this one chooses to keep the period setting which only enhances the greatness of this film. The story is pretty simple, but effective on every level. This film relies on the atmosphere and old fashion lighting and scenery to build the suspense and deliver the traditional jump moments that seem to be lost these days. Radcliffe steps out of the Harry Potter role and manages to successfully make the move into a great role. It takes a bit to get past the Potter things at first, but he fits into this film perfectly and delivers a flawless performance. This is easily one of the scariest and most clever films to come along in this genre in some time.
This movie manages to not only surpass the PG-13 rating it does it with effective story- telling and cleverly placed scare moments while leaving gore out of the equation. This is easily one of the scariest and most clever films to come along in this genre in some time. This must be seen with people in the theater, there is nothing better than sitting in a theater of screaming people experiencing this movie doing exactly what it intended to do.
Comments