The Woman In Black
Rating: 12A
Official Website:
http://www.thewomaninblack-movie.co.uk/
http://www.facebook.com/TheWomanInBlackUK
After seeing a lot of promotional material for The Woman In Black I was extremely excited to see how the book and play would translate onto the big screen. I was also excited to learn that the film would be the fifth release by the resurrected Hammer Studios as I am a bit of a Hammer fiend. Unlike most I was more fixated on the actual story and not the fact that a certain boy wizard was portraying the films main character. The other point I was concerned about was the 12A rating given to the film. Having watched the trailer and learned about the source material the producers could have gone one of two ways:
1. Toned down the story and risked backlash from fans and the movie going public.
2. Risked backlash from parents and other conservative scare mongers about the content being too scary for children of a certain age.
Thankfully the producers went for option number 2.
The Woman In Black is a fantastic film and is reminiscent of classic horror films such as the Hammer films. Daniel Radcliffe proves that he is more than capable of becoming leading man material with a strong performance. I truly felt the pain and anguish that Arthur Kipps (Radcliffe) displayed with the loss of his wife. The bleakness of the story is matched by the bleakness in the way the film was shot. There is a distinct lack of colour in the village that is just outside the seemingly haunted Eel Marsh House. Without giving too much of the film away the scenes where the presence of The Woman In Black is finally realised blew my mind. The beauty of the scenes was not the actual appearance of the woman, but the build up. The use of sound and props was fantastic creating a sense of panic in me. Other fantastic moments in the film were the appearance of the deceased child from the mud, the scene where Elizabeth Daily shows the full extent of her anguish and the films climax.
The supporting cast were also fantastic. There was great performances from Ciaran Hinds and Janet McTeer who play Sam and Elizabeth Daily.
My only issue with this otherwise brilliant film was the rating. Whilst I have no issue with children who are maybe slightly too young legally to watch a film such as this I do feel that due to the lower rating older cinema patrons would have been irritated by the younger audience. Younger fans would have been more drawn to the fact the Daniel Radcliffe was in the film and thus blinded to the horror scenes which led to more than a few screams from the audience. The lower rating also led to annoying tweeners texting all the way the through the film to hide the urine stains on their chinos. I am fully aware that this is not the fault of producers or even theatre staff, but of parents not teaching their children any form of manners or cinema going etiquette.
Overall I enjoyed The Woman In Black immensely I feel that this is a great example of how well British film making can work. Whilst horror movies in the present day are more blood and guts than the traditional scares of classic horror I feel that this film may lead to a slight rise in interest for horror classics produced by Hammer Studios. This film has also, as I mentioned earlier, proved that Daniel Radcliffe may be able to shake off the Harry Potter tag once and for all and with the box office takings worldwide far exceeding predictions (the film making $46,530,000 as of posting) this may be the film that allows it to happen.
Rating: 12A
Official Website:
http://www.thewomaninblack-movie.co.uk/
http://www.facebook.com/TheWomanInBlackUK
After seeing a lot of promotional material for The Woman In Black I was extremely excited to see how the book and play would translate onto the big screen. I was also excited to learn that the film would be the fifth release by the resurrected Hammer Studios as I am a bit of a Hammer fiend. Unlike most I was more fixated on the actual story and not the fact that a certain boy wizard was portraying the films main character. The other point I was concerned about was the 12A rating given to the film. Having watched the trailer and learned about the source material the producers could have gone one of two ways:
1. Toned down the story and risked backlash from fans and the movie going public.
2. Risked backlash from parents and other conservative scare mongers about the content being too scary for children of a certain age.
Thankfully the producers went for option number 2.
The Woman In Black is a fantastic film and is reminiscent of classic horror films such as the Hammer films. Daniel Radcliffe proves that he is more than capable of becoming leading man material with a strong performance. I truly felt the pain and anguish that Arthur Kipps (Radcliffe) displayed with the loss of his wife. The bleakness of the story is matched by the bleakness in the way the film was shot. There is a distinct lack of colour in the village that is just outside the seemingly haunted Eel Marsh House. Without giving too much of the film away the scenes where the presence of The Woman In Black is finally realised blew my mind. The beauty of the scenes was not the actual appearance of the woman, but the build up. The use of sound and props was fantastic creating a sense of panic in me. Other fantastic moments in the film were the appearance of the deceased child from the mud, the scene where Elizabeth Daily shows the full extent of her anguish and the films climax.
The supporting cast were also fantastic. There was great performances from Ciaran Hinds and Janet McTeer who play Sam and Elizabeth Daily.
My only issue with this otherwise brilliant film was the rating. Whilst I have no issue with children who are maybe slightly too young legally to watch a film such as this I do feel that due to the lower rating older cinema patrons would have been irritated by the younger audience. Younger fans would have been more drawn to the fact the Daniel Radcliffe was in the film and thus blinded to the horror scenes which led to more than a few screams from the audience. The lower rating also led to annoying tweeners texting all the way the through the film to hide the urine stains on their chinos. I am fully aware that this is not the fault of producers or even theatre staff, but of parents not teaching their children any form of manners or cinema going etiquette.
Overall I enjoyed The Woman In Black immensely I feel that this is a great example of how well British film making can work. Whilst horror movies in the present day are more blood and guts than the traditional scares of classic horror I feel that this film may lead to a slight rise in interest for horror classics produced by Hammer Studios. This film has also, as I mentioned earlier, proved that Daniel Radcliffe may be able to shake off the Harry Potter tag once and for all and with the box office takings worldwide far exceeding predictions (the film making $46,530,000 as of posting) this may be the film that allows it to happen.
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