THE WOMAN IN BLACK – review

CONTINUING the much-heralded revival of Britain’s beloved Hammer horror film franchise, this faithfully chilly adaptation of the 1983 horror novel by Susan Hill is equally notable for allowing HARRY POTTER star Radcliffe to lay his wizard’s wand to rest once and for all. Here, finally, Radcliffe emerges as a man.

The spook-soaked tale revolves around young solicitor and single parent Arthur Kipps (Radcliffe) who, still grieving over the loss of his wife, must tackle the mystery behind a deceased estate before the patience of his superiors runs out.

Leaving four-year-old son Joseph (Misha Handley, Radcliffe’s real-life godson) in the care of the boy’s nanny (Jessica Raine), Kipps ventures out to the ghostly Eel Marsh House, to tie up the affairs of Alice Drablow, the late owner of the sprawling pile that’s cut off from the mainland during high tide.

Facing a barrage of abuse from a clearly troubled and suspicious townsfolk, Kipps soon comes across the eponymous Woman in Black: a malevolent force who has robbed the locals – including wealthy landowner Sam Daily (Ciaran Hinds) and his erratic wife, Elizabeth (Janet McTeer) – of their little ones.

In true ghoulish fashion, the emphasis here favours chills over gore, with a tense, imaginative treatment from British director James Watkins (of EDEN LAKE fame), adapted by acclaimed screenwriter Jane Goldman (aka Mrs Jonathan Ross), who’s better known for co-penning the likes of KICK-ASS, X-MEN: FIRST CLASS and THE DEBT. Horror music specialist Marco Beltrami (a frequent collaborator of Wes Craven’s) completes the package, with a shiver-some soundtrack that resonates.

Dark, damp and drenched in mud and fog, Kipps’ destination is the quintessential Hammer house of horror locale. One almost expects Christopher Lee’s Dracula – a favourite of the Hammer stable – to appear at any moment, to offer his seal of approval. (The film begins with three young girls fatally distracted from their toys in a dank, creepy attic.)

Having achieved an overseas box office success well in excess of expectations (a hefty $US126million, from a modest $US15million budget), the film has since spawned a sequel (currently in development), and now stands as the most successful British horror film of the past 20 years. It’s a very impressive result for a gothic horror tale that studiously avoids any modern gimmicks, in favour of classically themed motifs. It also serves as a timely reminder for a fresh generation of horror fans of how such stuff should be done. It’s classy and creepy, with a neat twist in the tail to Hammer its point home.

Critical Rating: 8/10.

THE WOMAN IN BLACK is now showing in cinemas.

ED GIBBS

First published in The Sun-Herald and The Sunday Age.