The Woman in Black

Several horror fanatics active on this website, as well as more acclaimed film critics all over the world, are often referring to "The Woman in Black" as the best and most atmospheric made-for-TV horror/thriller ever accomplished. Well, guess what, they are quite right! Herbert Wise's film, based on the stunning novel by Susan Hill and turned into a screenplay by the phenomenal Nigel Kneale (who also created the original "The Quatermass Experiment"), is an incredibly slow-brooding but hyper-unsettling tale that crawls underneath your skin and haunts your memories forever. The strongest assets of "Woman in Black", apart from the flawless script, are undoubtedly the tour-de-force performance of lead actor Adrian Rawlins, the carefully elected filming locations & set-pieces and the continuously ominous ambiance with only a few (but highly effective) fright-moments. Herbert Wise particularly differentiates his film from the rest with two specific qualities that aren't frequently featuring in the horror genre, namely patience and eye for detail. The patience that Wise demonstrates in building up the tension is praiseworthy, to say the least, and the details can be illustrated via a few examples, like the spooky mansion only being accessible during low tide or the poetic beauty of mysterious woman meandering amidst tombstones. What the film doesn't feature, however, is graphic violence or gory make-up effects, but like only the case in the very best horror movies, you're not missing these. More recently, in 2012, James Watkins ("Eden Lake") directed a cinematic version starring Daniel Radcliffe ("Harry Potter" all grown up) as the tormented solicitor. The large-budgeted interpretation of Hill's novel is also adequate, but for experiencing the most authentic ghost-vibes, I advise to seek out this version as well.

I've only seen this movie once in my life and have never forgotten it. I was thirteen years old and a teacher showed it in class on Halloween. I had to leave the classroom and have never, ever, forgotten the Woman in Black's face.

The big climax scene is beyond frightening, as can be expected, but I found the earlier scenes to be just as terrifying. The general tone of the film leaves you unsettled, even when nothing particularly scary is occurring. It is very, very subtle, but no other film has ever had quite such an effect on me.

If you think ghosts are scarier than slasher movies, I would definitely recommend this movie. Unless you hate being scared. In that case, don't ever watch this.

"The Woman in Black" has Adrian Rawlins as London solicitor Arthur Kidd, who is sent to a remote seaside village to sort the estate of a recently deceased recluse. While staying at the woman's mansion on the rural marshlands, he is tormented by the sounds of a phantom carriage crash, and the apparition of a mysterious woman in black who roams the property— but that's the least of his worries.

Based on Susan Hill's novel of the same name, "The Woman in Black" has been hailed and beloved by fans, and rightfully so in many ways. It's not a perfect film, but it's an almighty well-done ghost story. In the vein of other Gothic chillers such as "The Innocents" or "The Haunting", the film is indebted to a classical style— heavy on plot and mood, though punctuated by a series of legitimately scary moments that are strung along a sombre and downbeat narrative.

A very handsome (if I may so so myself) Adrian Rawlins leads the film as our protagonist and does a fine job here, while Pauline Moran plays counterpoint as the mysterious and perhaps malevolent Woman in Black. Originally broadcast on Christmas Eve 1989, the film definitely has a "made-for-TV" feel to it, but the cinematography is slick and classy, and the visual elements of the film are on par with the unusually sophisticated supernatural narrative arc. The downbeat ending here is just the icing on a very ghastly cake.

Overall, "The Woman in Black" is essentially the made-for-TV equivalent of classic Gothic chillers such as Jack Clayton's aforementioned "The Innocents"— that's not to say it's a bad film by any means, but rather that it runs in a similar vein, albeit with the budget quirks of a television production. Despite this, there are several remarkably startling moments that have frightened audiences for decades now, and these moments have earned their notoriety, as they are still well-crafted and effective to this day. As a television production, "The Woman in Black" is a sophisticated and nicely crafted ghost story that holds its ground against its more innovated, big-budget peers. 8/10.

I first watched the 2012 Remake and gave that a 4/10. It was competently-made but had no real atmosphere, no standout moments, forgettable plot...and Daniel Radcliffe was miscast.

Now got round to the ITV original. Got it on Bluray. Despite claims of "high-definition" it doesn't look much different to standard DVD-quality. But this wasn't a high-end cinema production, it was a budget TV movie. I gather the previous official media release was a very poor VHS-transfer to DVD. According to other reviews the Bluray represents a significant improvement over what was available before.

I recommend the original 4:3 Format as with Widescreen you get quite a bit chopped off the top & bottom of the image. This isn't what the makers intended. Widescreen for a second viewing, certainly. But first-timers should go for the original format. You'll have to accept title-cards every 25min but that's no biggie.

On to the film itself: it's good! The most praise I have is for the faithful reproduction of 1920's England, including fascinating devices like a vintage audio recorder, and manually winding up the electricity. Very well done in that regard, the producers did their homework!

Acting is also of high quality: the sense of fear Arthur goes through is palpable. The plot develops nicely, and isn't predictable. There is one outstanding spine-tingling scene...and because of that scene I can't recommend this to kids. Otherwise the film is relatively tame, tho' the sense of creeping dread is done well. I'm not a fan of the ending, your mileage may vary.

Overall tho' it does what many modern horror movies don't: it builds up tension, has intelligent dialogue and gives us memorable scenes.

Recommended if you appreciate older ghost movies like The Changeling, The Innocents, The Haunting....not-recommended if you prefer more blockbuster horror-movie techniques like CGI, jump scares and shakeycam action.

Genuinely original in that it denies us the closure we expect to be delivered like the tide; a Tales of the Unexpected meets Hammer House but with the makeup budget spent on a mistery generator.