The Woman in Black (2012) Film 13/50

I can't lie. I spent much of this film hiding behind my hands. That or averting my eyes from the screen by watching my sister cower in the seat next to me, her jacket collar pulled high up around her own eyes.

We were the very picture of bravery and maturity.

That being said, I doubt this film will translate well to the small screen. You need to be surrounded by obnoxious teenage girls brandishing cellphones and in a darkened theatre with the surround sound booming to fully appreciate the various, classic horror film conventions being thrown at you ever few minutes or so.

Visually, the film looks much like Sleepy Hollow (1999), minus the emphasized red hues and the cheese-tastic Christopher Walken. The audio plays up every horror-trick-up-its-sleeve known to man while the editing and special effects provide just the right blend of we'll-make-you-jump-in-your-seat moments to fill an hour and a half of screen time. Ultimately, the actual story gets a bit overlooked as the plot is propelled largely by its dependency on the titular character frightening the hell out of everyone while Harry Potter tries his best to get some legal work completed sans magic. There is little to no character development, unless you count being possessed by the dead. Do you count being possessed by the dead? If so, there is loads of character development in this movie.

Regardless of its failure to bring anything new for the horror film industry, this version of The Woman in Black certainly managed to scare the living daylights out of my sister and me. At least, that is, up until the last minute or so when the movie took a turn that gave off the distinct impression that focus groups were involved in dictating what would ultimately happen to our protagonist. As the credits began to roll, I turned to my sister and stated, "Well, that's not how I thought this would end." This is not to say that the finale had managed to fool me but rather that I had written off such an ending as it would be lame.

The ending was lame.

But now that we've gotten that unpleasantry out of the way, here's a breakdown of what was successful about the film. (And when we talk about succeeding in regards to the horror genre, that translates to What was actually frightening?)

THINGS THAT FRIGHTENED ME:
Any scene where we see the Woman in Black (minus the final scene), the idea that Daniel Radcliff is old enough to have a 3 year old son AND a law degree, the creepiest collection of children's toys ever, drawings made by knives or sharp rocks, and almost every scene involving small children possessed by the lady sporting black

THINGS THAT LEFT ME PUZZLED:
The protagonist's compulsion to complete "paperwork" on site and through the night at what was clearly a house with some major issues, how the casting director felt that Radcliff was old enough to have a 3 year old son AND a law degree, why anyone would attempt to raise children in this town let alone live there, and how anyone involved in the production of this film would allow that ending to run

So there you have it. Your traditional ghost story told with standard horror film principles and devices. If you want the scare, I recommend seeing it in the theatre, as opposed to waiting for it to arrive on the small screen.