Wednesday, February 22, 2012

The Woman in Black

This could have been a much better movie simply with a different edit. The production design is excellent, the performances are all good, and this is a genuinely decent haunted house story. What kills this film is the sheer exhausting number of fake shocks, all scored with screeching violins. I also think that the ghostly presence is revealed way too soon. Why do modern films seem so petrified of boring their audiences? If they had had just a little more patience in this film then some of the big scares would have been so much scarier. As it was, an enjoyable Victorian ghost story.

1 comment:

  1. Yours is the first review I've read of this film, Peter. Since I usually wait for Netflix, this sounds like a better stay at home movie than one to actually wander out to see.

    'Screeching violins' - too bad.

    Don't you hate it when a film just needs a few tweaks to set it straight?

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