MOVIE RATING SCALE:

***** (Spectacular) 10

****1/2 (Excellent) 9

**** (Very Good) 8

***1/2 (Good) 7

*** (Above Average) 6

**1/2 (Average) 5

** (Below Average) 4

*1/2 (Mediocre) 3

* (Awful) 2

1/2 (Abysmal) 1

0 (Worthless) 0


Sunday, January 25, 2015

# 600 - THE WOMAN IN BLACK


THE WOMAN IN BLACK (2012 - HORROR / GHOST / HAUNTED HOUSE FLICK) ***1/2 out of *****  OR  7 out of 10

(I think I'll be staying behind in London, thank you very much...)



CAST: Daniel Radcliffe, Ciaran Hinds, Janet McTeer, Misha Handley, Sophie Stuckey, Roger Allam, Shaun Dooley, Mary Stockley, Alfie Field, Victor McGuire, Alice Khazanova, Liz White, Lu Cornfield.

DIRECTOR:  James Watkins.

(WARNING: Some SPOILERS and compelling reasons to defy your boss - straight ahead...)



IT'S LIKE THIS:  In 2004, THE GRUDGE came out and basically turned the entire Haunted House Sub-Genre onto its head.  Prior to THE GRUDGE, which was actually a remake of the Japanese horror hit JU-ON (which means, um, 'the grudge' in Japanese), haunted house horror flicks were essentially beset by one major problem:  no matter how bad things got, the characters could solve their problems just by... walking out the fucking door.

Oh, sure, there may be financial reasons keeping them from simply abandoning the house (THE AMITYVILLE HORROR).  Or the ghosts may actually be trying to keep them inside (THE HAUNTING 1999).  Or they may be snowbound and isolated (THE SHINING).  Or they may actually just be fairly stupid (SINISTER).  Bottom line, though, is that if they really, really, REALLY wanted to, these assholes could save their sorry asses just by... leaving the house.

Then JU-ON and THE GRUDGE came out, and all that changed.   You see the particular hauntings in these films were like the paranormal version of being targeted by the Mafia: once you have entered the haunted house, you are in the crosshairs of the phantoms - who will follow you wherever you go until they ice your sorry ass.  In short, these ghosts make the ones in THE AMITYVILLE HORROR and THE SHINING look like sedentary book club members.

However, it turns out that while JU-ON and THE GRUDGE were welcome inversions of the Haunted House Sub-Genre, they were not exactly 100% original.  You see, the idea of a vengeful phantom not interested in peace or being laid to rest, but craving relentless and unstoppable revenge, had been first introduced in a 1983 novella by Susan Hill called "The Woman In Black."  A British TV movie was made from the book in 1989 - and in 2012 a Hollywood remake (shoot me now) starring none other than Harry Potter himself was made.

How does THE WOMAN IN BLACK 2012 compare to THE WOMAN IN BLACK 1989?  Well, do a search above because we reviewed the first film back in 2011 (review # 328), and found it to be awesome and pants-wettingly scary.  However, let's save our assessment of the Hollywood remake for the BUT SERIOUSLY portion of our review.

For now, just know that Harry Potter, er, Daniel Radcliffe plays London's Most Baby-Faced Solicitor (Lawyer) Ever, Arthur Kipps..  As the movie starts, Arthur's having a bad day: he's still mourning the death of his wife Stella (Sophie Stuckey) in childbirth years ago, his lovable son Joseph (Misha Handley) is still going around asking where Mommy is (get used to it, kid), and his law firm boss Mr. Bentley (Roger Allam) is kind of being a prick.

You see, it appears that Arthur's endless moping over Stella's death has been distracting him from his work.  As in, shit ain't getting done - and his superiors are losing their patience.  Finally, Mr. Bentley tells Arthur that he needs to get his act together and work on a new project that will redeem him in the eyes of his employers.

This project involves going out of town to some seaside burg in the ass-crack of England called Crythin Gifford.  Turns out some old crone named Alice Drablow (Alisa Kazhanova) passed away, and her legal affairs need to be sorted out.  Oh, and once you see what Crythin Gifford looks like, it'll become painfully clear why none of the partners at Arthur's law firm decided to take on the project themselves - and instead dumped it on poor, morose Arthur: the place is kind of a shithole.

Further adding to the charm of the place are the locals who, not exactly rays-of-sunshine to begin with, turn even more assholish to Arthur when they find out he will be spending time at Drablow Manor going through the dead crone's papers.  The only who's even remotely nice to our hero is Sam Daily (Ciaran Hinds), a country solicitor who takes a paternal shine to Arthur.  Sam is married to Elizabeth (Janet McTeer), who is still mourning the loss of their young son Nicholas (Sidney Johnston) years ago.

Soon, Arthur finds out there have been other horrible deaths involving children over the last few years - and the awful trend is continuing.  What's worse is he starts to realize that it all may be related to Alice Drablow, Drablow Manor, and a mysterious figure named Jennet Humphreys (Liz White) whom no one seems to want to talk about.   Before you know it, Arthur is wishing he basically told Mr. Bentley to ram a fire poker up his own ass back in London and turned in his two-minute notice.

What exactly is going on in Crythin Gifford?  Why are the children of the village dying in terrible ways, one by one?  What role does the Drablow clan have in the terrifying events?  And what part of Jennet Humphreys' past is driving this all?  Is she the mysterious "woman in black" that Arthur starts glimpsing around every corner?  Will he be pulled into the deadly events, as well?  How will this all end?

Let's just say that our boy Arthur better make sure his life insurance coverage is up to date. For his son's sake...


BUT SERIOUSLY:  In 2011, we reviewed THE WOMAN IN BLACK 1989 (review # 328), a made-for-British television movie that was an adaptation of Susan Hill's terrifying novella published in 1983.  THE WOMAN IN BLACK 1989 was a spare, chilling ghost story that boasted some truly frightening images and setpieces - and wasn't afraid to end the story with an uncompromising sucker-punch to the viewer's stomach.  No happy ending here....

When news broke around 2010 that Hollywood had acquired the rights to Hill's novella and were planning a glossy, big-screen, much-bigger-budgeted remake starring Daniel Radcliffe in his first "grown-up" role, we viewed the news with elation and some trepidation.  Elation, because this genuinely scary story was going to reach a larger audience finally - and trepidation, because Hollywood has been known to de-fang and often outright botch classic horror originals with watered-down PG-13 versions meant to snag younger audiences.   In short, there was a very real chance that THE WOMAN IN BLACK 2012 could wind up a misguided re-do - like THE HAUNTING 1999, which was a weak remake of THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE from 1963, despite a strong cast and some otherwise intriguing aspects.

Happily, though, THE WOMAN IN BLACK 2012 is a stronger remake that can stand proudly next to the earlier, but admittedly still more superior, version.  While this remake boasts some solid scares and creepy atmosphere, it still lags behind those of the 1989 original - mainly because the titular "woman in black" was far more horrifying in the first film.  However, this was always going to be the case.  The best the folks behind this film could hope for was to not damage the original story the way THE HAUNTING 1999 did with its premise - and simply tell it again with enough conviction.  They largely succeed: THE WOMAN IN BLACK 2012 is a solid horror film.

Much has been made of the young Daniel Radcliffe being cast (or miscast, as some have said) in the role of up-and-coming lawyer Arthur Kipps.   In the original, Kipps was played by the clearly-much older Adrian Rawlins.  It's obvious why Radcliffe was cast: to draw in younger crowds.  The good news is that Radcliffe actually passes for much older than he really is, and acquits himself quite well.  The movie could've easily failed if he didn't have the gravitas to pulls off the role - fortunately, he does.

Ciaran Hinds and Janet McTeer are similarly-good as Sam and Elizabeth Daily, the local couple who befriend Kipps.  They themselves are also victims of the "woman in black" - and the subplot involving Elizabeth and her lost son Nicholas gives this film some welcome depth and pathos.  Sam also plays a bigger role here than he did in the 1989 version, and it's always nice to see the handsome and talented Hinds get more screen time.

Ultimately, THE WOMAN IN BLACK 2012 is a good horror remake that may not be as scary as the original, but has enough chills and frights of its own to recommend it.  Unlike the recent sequel, which trotted out the same ghost tropes - to significantly less effect.   But more on that in our next review....