The Woman in Black

I first watched the 2012 Remake and gave that a 4/10. It was competently-made but had no real atmosphere, no standout moments, forgettable plot...and Daniel Radcliffe was miscast.

Now got round to the ITV original. Got it on Bluray. Despite claims of "high-definition" it doesn't look much different to standard DVD-quality. But this wasn't a high-end cinema production, it was a budget TV movie. I gather the previous official media release was a very poor VHS-transfer to DVD. According to other reviews the Bluray represents a significant improvement over what was available before.

I recommend the original 4:3 Format as with Widescreen you get quite a bit chopped off the top & bottom of the image. This isn't what the makers intended. Widescreen for a second viewing, certainly. But first-timers should go for the original format. You'll have to accept title-cards every 25min but that's no biggie.

On to the film itself: it's good! The most praise I have is for the faithful reproduction of 1920's England, including fascinating devices like a vintage audio recorder, and manually winding up the electricity. Very well done in that regard, the producers did their homework!

Acting is also of high quality: the sense of fear Arthur goes through is palpable. The plot develops nicely, and isn't predictable. There is one outstanding spine-tingling scene...and because of that scene I can't recommend this to kids. Otherwise the film is relatively tame, tho' the sense of creeping dread is done well. I'm not a fan of the ending, your mileage may vary.

Overall tho' it does what many modern horror movies don't: it builds up tension, has intelligent dialogue and gives us memorable scenes.

Recommended if you appreciate older ghost movies like The Changeling, The Innocents, The Haunting....not-recommended if you prefer more blockbuster horror-movie techniques like CGI, jump scares and shakeycam action.

"The Woman in Black" has Adrian Rawlins as London solicitor Arthur Kidd, who is sent to a remote seaside village to sort the estate of a recently deceased recluse. While staying at the woman's mansion on the rural marshlands, he is tormented by the sounds of a phantom carriage crash, and the apparition of a mysterious woman in black who roams the property— but that's the least of his worries.

Based on Susan Hill's novel of the same name, "The Woman in Black" has been hailed and beloved by fans, and rightfully so in many ways. It's not a perfect film, but it's an almighty well-done ghost story. In the vein of other Gothic chillers such as "The Innocents" or "The Haunting", the film is indebted to a classical style— heavy on plot and mood, though punctuated by a series of legitimately scary moments that are strung along a sombre and downbeat narrative.

A very handsome (if I may so so myself) Adrian Rawlins leads the film as our protagonist and does a fine job here, while Pauline Moran plays counterpoint as the mysterious and perhaps malevolent Woman in Black. Originally broadcast on Christmas Eve 1989, the film definitely has a "made-for-TV" feel to it, but the cinematography is slick and classy, and the visual elements of the film are on par with the unusually sophisticated supernatural narrative arc. The downbeat ending here is just the icing on a very ghastly cake.

Overall, "The Woman in Black" is essentially the made-for-TV equivalent of classic Gothic chillers such as Jack Clayton's aforementioned "The Innocents"— that's not to say it's a bad film by any means, but rather that it runs in a similar vein, albeit with the budget quirks of a television production. Despite this, there are several remarkably startling moments that have frightened audiences for decades now, and these moments have earned their notoriety, as they are still well-crafted and effective to this day. As a television production, "The Woman in Black" is a sophisticated and nicely crafted ghost story that holds its ground against its more innovated, big-budget peers. 8/10.

I made a silly mistake. I was out the night they showed this on TV, so I taped it. When I came back afterwards, I went to bed and ensured the right atmosphere, darkness, quiet... then played the film.

Oh boy...

It starts averagely, a good solid British ghost story in the best sense, with tension building as the blocks all slide into place. But when we cross the causeway and arrive at Eel-Marsh House, everything changes. Not for one second on that estate are we comfortable. We are damp, cold, apprehensive and in suspense. The Woman In Black is a horror creation of the greatest effect... silent and hostile.

Without giving too much away, the appearance after the tin soldier is found in his hand will haunt me to the grave. I found myself out of my bed and by the door!

It has echoes of "The Haunting" (1960), and full marks to the sound designer and the composer for creating the right mood.

On occasion, I play this film to unsuspecting jaded horror flick fans who, like me, fail to sleep comfortably after the first watching..... and I giggle, quietly..... and with the door locked.

I first saw The Woman in Black when I was ten years old. It was broadcast on Xmas eve 1989. It frightened me senseless and it has never really left me.

It is a really wonderful film and a delight to know that there are some really good ghost stories out there. The whole atmosphere is made tense by the fact that you never know when something truly awful is either going to appear or going to happen and your are treated to the same amount of terror that the main character, Arthur Kidd, is experiencing which is very rare for any film to get the audience involved in that way.

You must see this film, track it down and view something that is so terrifying that you won't sleep for nights on end.

It is a shame that the film is no longer available on video in Britain and is hardly ever shown on television now so come on somebody get this out on video or even better on DVD as it is a classic and defines how all ghost stories should be made.

Genuinely original in that it denies us the closure we expect to be delivered like the tide; a Tales of the Unexpected meets Hammer House but with the makeup budget spent on a mistery generator.