The Woman in Black (2012)

The Woman in Black (2012)

British-Canadian-American-Swedish gothic horror film directed by James Watkins.

No White Lady this time, it’s a Lady in Black! Does that really change anything?

Daniel Radcliffe is an excellent actor… but I understand those who say he only has one expression here! But it’s always easier to judge than to try to understand!

For example, we might ask ourselves: is he a bad actor? No, because he has already proven that he is good! So what happened? Lack of experience in films other than Harry Potter at the time? Probably! But let’s not forget that the character lost his wife and seems traumatized or jaded, despite his love for his son. That’s probably not a good enough reason not to change his expression when faced with scary ghosts. Indeed, he doesn’t seem to have the right expressions for a thriller. But that’s not what spoiled my enjoyment. There are too many slow moments in this film.

And who lit all those candles in that huge mansion?

This film is perhaps more subtle than the Annabelle trilogy, if we want to make a comparison, but totally soporific compared to The Conjuring.

Personally, I love Radcliffe! So, yes, I don’t like Harry Potter (at least, not yet!) and I’m also one of those who hated Guns Akimbo (2019), but for Swiss Army Man (2016), Imperium (2016), and Jungle (2017) alone, Daniel will have my eternal respect!

Ciarán Hinds has appeared in numerous radio dramas, theater productions, and television series. I love this actor’s charisma and incredible face. I haven’t seen Munich or Ghost Rider 2: Spirit of Vengeance, but he is excellent in There Will Be Blood and Justice League. He had already worked with the lead actor in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (2010). He also became even more famous thanks to the notable series Rome and Game of Thrones.

I really liked the atmosphere of this feature film, with its wind-up toys that move on their own and scary dolls… but the film is slow and seems to last forever!

The old-school feel is really nice. The film doesn’t go overboard with exaggeration.

Here are a few mini reviews I found for this film:

1) All the ghost clichés are there to scare us… but it doesn’t work, I was bored to death…

2) There’s absolutely nothing original about it, nothing! If you want to see really great thrillers, you should watch Se7en, The Game, or The Others.

3) Breathtaking suspense, an extraordinary actor, an original script—it has everything it takes to make us jump out of our seats a dozen times. Plus, there’s an unexpected ending. Definitely the best film in the paranormal genre. Awesome. Eleven out of ten!

4) Not even scared!

5) Another ghost movie, not very original, but not terrible either. As a fan of this genre, I prefer an old-school movie that uses atmosphere to create fear rather than a movie that shows tons of it.

There you go, that’s basically it! This movie was both hated and loved. A sequel, The Woman in Black 2: Angel of Death, was released in January 2015. I didn’t like the first one enough to watch the sequel. What’s more, it’s the kind of sequel that is disconnected or indirectly related (take your pick!), because it doesn’t feature the same actors.

Director James Watkins, who made the horrible Eden Lake (2008) and a good remake of Speak No Evil (2024), made this film about ghosts, which is neither extraordinary nor terrible. I was a little bored, admittedly, but overall I enjoyed it and I’m glad I saw it once.

The fact that I really liked the ending is obviously a big plus!