The Woman in Black (2012)

A young lawyer travels to a remote village where he discovers the vengeful ghost of a scorned woman is terrorizing the locals.

Director:

James Watkins

Writers:

Susan Hill (novel), Jane Goldman (screenplay)

Stars:

Emma Shorey, Daniel Radcliffe, Ciarán Hinds

2 wins & 8 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Emma Shorey	...	Fisher Girl
Molly Harmon	...	Fisher Girl
Ellisa Walker-Reid	...	Fisher Girl
Sophie Stuckey	...	Stella Kipps
Daniel Radcliffe	...	Arthur Kipps
Misha Handley	...	Joseph Kipps
Jessica Raine	...	Nanny
Roger Allam	...	Mr. Bentley
Lucy May Barker	...	Nursemaid
Indira Ainger	...	Little Girl on Train
Andy Robb	...	Doctor
Ciarán Hinds	...	Daily
Shaun Dooley	...	Fisher
Mary Stockley	...	Mrs. Fisher
Alexia Osborne	...	Victoria Hardy

Storyline

In London, lawyer Arthur Kipps still grieves the death of his beloved wife Stella on the delivery of their son Joseph four years ago. His employer gives him a last chance to keep his job, and he is assigned to travel to the remote village of Cryphin Gifford to examine the documentation of the Eel Marsh House that belonged to the recently deceased Mrs. Drablow. Arthur befriends Daily on the train and the man offers a ride to him to the Gifford Arms inn. Arthur has a cold reception and the owner of the inn tells that he did not receive the request of reservation and there is no available room. The next morning, Arthur meets solicitor Jerome who advises him to return to London. However, Arthur goes to the isolated manor and soon he finds that Eel Marsh House is haunted by the vengeful ghost of a woman dressed in black. He also learns that the woman lost her son drowned in the marsh and she seeks revenge, taking the children of the scared locals.

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Plot Keywords:

village | house | lawyer | marsh | ghost | 

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Taglines:

Do you believe in ghosts?

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Genres:

Drama | Horror | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for thematic material and violence/disturbing images

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [jp]

Country:

UK Canada Sweden

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 February 2012 (USA)

Also Known As:

La dama de negro

Filming Locations:

The Causeway to Osea Island, Maldon, Essex, England

Box Office

Budget:

$17,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$20,874,072 (USA) (3 February 2012)

Gross:

$54,322,273 (USA) (27 April 2012)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cross Creek Pictures, Hammer Film Productions, Alliance Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital Datasat SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

(At 20:04) Arthur opens the curtains and the light reveals three statuette monkeys. These are the Japanese "three wise monkeys," Mizaru, Kikazaru, and Iwazaru, who "see no evil, hear no evil, and speak no evil." Although their origins (and the phrase accompanying them) are disputed, it is generally believed that they are part of a Japanese (particularly Buddhist) "Golden Rule" to avoid spreading evil.

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Goofs

The coin Kipps offers Keckwick for transport to the old house changes in size as the camera angles change.

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Quotes

Daily: Don't go chasing shadows, Arthur.

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Connections

Referenced in Bad Movie Beatdown: Review of 2012 (2013)

User Reviews

Positive evocation of Dracula and other period Hammer films

Creepy and off-putting, The Woman in Black really is a terrific thriller. It's intended to shock, and in many scenes it is successful. It's a moody, psychologically scarring throwback to the old Roger Corman movies based on Edgar Allan Poe stories, with an amazing adult performance by Daniel Radcliffe as a young lawyer out of his depth.

Arthur Kipps (Radcliffe), a down-on-his-luck attorney, is asked to travel to a remote village and find out if a recently deceased woman has left any heretofore unknown wills. It's Kipps' last shot at success, his employer sternly warns him. His journey to the village is eerily similar to that undertaken by Jonathan Harker in Bram Stoker's Dracula. Something's not quite right with the town, which clearly doesn't want him around, something to do with children being murdered and people blaming a dead woman. You know how it is.

Kipps' sleuthing leads to more and more questions. Who was the woman (ostensibly, his client), really? What relationship did she have with the town? And what of those treacherous marshes, and that long and winding road to the main house that is impassable when the tide is in? Why is it that every time Kipps turns around, a shadow darts away? Understanding that these are all staples of the great horror movies of yore doesn't mean that this film is stealing; it is merely authentically replicating the desolate atmosphere, in which a whisper can signal death.

I entered the theater knowing very little of the movie's content. Was it to be a mystery, and we'd find out who the titular woman was at some point? It is, and we do, but that is only part of the puzzle. The best horror movies, in my opinion, are the ones that build just the right amount of suspense and then pull the rug out from under the viewer. A slow buildup must have a satisfying payoff. Showing the evil the lurks in every other scene dilutes the fright quotient. This movie doesn't do that. It pulls no punches to our psyche.

It is so closely shot by Tim Maurice-Jones, who's best known for his work with Guy Ritchie. Maurice-Jones' style here is to capture almost every shot from Kipps' perspective, thus bringing the audience that much closer to the terror he's supposed to be feeling. Radcliffe, to his credit, never comes off as some innocent lad who's just starting out in the business, and although Kipps is perplexed - much like Edward Woodward's character in The Wicker Man - he is determined to see things through, even though he has strayed a bit from his original mission.

Something is definitely wrong here, and it involves the children. Are they to blame for the nefarious goings-on? Are their parents? No one is saying anything. To make matters worse for Kipps, he has a young son of his own, whose mother died in childbirth and who is coming to visit Kipps in a few days. The grief felt by the parents of the fallen children only heightens Kipps' own fears.

There are several moments that, on the Internet, would be called shock videos. Everything seems normal, and then BAM, something pops out of nowhere. In lesser movies, this might be seen as a crutch, a way to stun your senses to get a particular reaction, but here it all fits in, and it conveys mortal terror. The Woman in Black's identity is revealed very early in the film, so the mystery isn't who she is but why these events keep occurring. Is it all superstition, or is there something more to the spiritual aspect of the plot?

The ending is tidy and satisfying, but it is by no means conventional or predictable. In fact, it opens up even more questions. But more importantly, director James Watkins and screenwriter Jane Goldman (based on a book by Susan Hill) do not take the easy way out. People do not necessarily live happily ever after. Story threads are not necessarily sewn up tight. It is a riveting film steeped in a macabre atmosphere teeming with the potential of death with every slow approach to a corner or a locked door.