(A fast paced film, but worthy to be a part of its genre)

Horror films can sometimes be a conundrum.   The genre that always has numerous films out in a year’s time tend to be never worth it.  It is on rare occasion that not only is there a horror movie worth seeing, but it turns out to be a good film. This may in fact be one of those occasions. Based on the 1983 ghost story, the latest scary movie in theaters is none other than “The Woman in Black”.  This ghost story is  not only a chance to be a good horror films, but this film marks the first film for Daniel Radcliffe to make a name for himself outside of Harry Potter. How does Radcliffe fair in the horror genre and does this film make for a scary time at the movies?

                The story of “The Woman in Black” stars Daniel Radcliffe as Arthur Kipps, a young lawyer who recently lost his wife. In order to keep his job, Arthur travels to a small town to finish the paper work of an old deserted house. However Arthur soon finds out that not only is the town plague with a supernatural curse, but he himself begins to be haunted by a woman in black. I will say this much, I did like the story; however the story is the film’s greatest crutch. The issue with the story is that it moves at a very quick pace. The movie throws you right into the story, and before you know it, the haunting begin and you already on your way to the climax. I will give the movie the benefit of the doubt as it is based off of a very short book; but I still wish there could have been more details to the plot.

                This film was a turning point for Daniel Radcliffe. This film was to see if Daniel Radcliffe was more than a one hit wonder; and what was proven was just that. Though I cannot help but see Harry Potter, Radcliffe carries himself nicely. There are points in the film where it is just him and he alone has keep story interesting, and he manages to do it quite well, with the exception of one other.  If there is anyone I must take my hat off too it is none other than the Woman in Black herself, played by Liz White. She had very little lines and her purpose was to scare, but her presence alone makes the atmosphere chilling, and all she had to do was stand there.

                  This film is made up of two kinds of scares: the startling moments and the atmospheric aspect. The issue with scares that jump out at you is that they are too elongated. When it is quiet and Daniel is walking into a dark room, you know that something is going to pop out. However, the other side of the coin, the atmospheric scares, make those startling moments effective.  This is thanks to the filmmakers use of practical effects and lighting. Yes you know that there that was going to pop out, but because it was dark, it made for better scares. While the use practical effects brought the ideas of the ghost story to life rather than just making it feel like just another horror movie.

                “The Woman in Black” is like a roller coaster: it is fast and has your heart racing throughout the entire time, but is over before you know it. The real issues are the details that would have been nice to have established in the plot. However with the likes of Daniel Radcliffe’s performance as well as the film’s scare tactics, “The Woman in Black” is worthy to the genre of horror for being a refreshing ghost story.

 1/2