Hammer Horror’s revival came with the 2010 vampire film Let Me In that was followed by The Resident and Wake Wood, both 2011, but this year they have returned to their roots with the terrifying ghost story The Women in Black, this year Hammer are back…with a scream.
Arthur Kipps (Daniel Radcliffe) is a young lawyer and a widowed father, who is sent to eel Marsh House to locate the final will of the deceased owner. Kipps is warned by the locals not to enter the hose and he should leave and go back to London as soon as possible. Kipps ignores the locals and dismisses their superstitions and heads to the empty house to begin his work, but when he starts to see things he cant explain and when odd things start happening to the local’s children, Kipps soon realises the house might not be empty after all.
Jane Goldman (Kick Ass) wrote a fantastic script based on the classic book by Susan Hill. James Watkins (Eden Lake) was in the director’s chair and both did brilliant jobs. I personally think Goldman is one of the best screenplay writers we have in this country at the moment and Watkins will be turning more then a few heads after this film.
Can I just say first of all that seeing the Hammer logo on the cinema screen brought a smile to my face. The film starts with a chilling but fantastic scene that involves 3 children and our first look at the mysterious Women in Black. As disturbing and shocking as the rest of the film, this is the perfect way to set the audience up for what is to come.
Disturbing is definitely a word I would use to describe this film, deeply disturbing, if you go into the cinema thinking its jus another ghost story that might make me jump, you are wrong, very wrong. This film will leave you thinking for hours, days. You will turn all the lights on when you go home, you will wonder if that thing you can see in the corner of your eye is her, if it is The Women in Black. The night you see it, there is a good chance you won’t sleep.
If you have seen a Hammer film before (Which I hope you all have) you will recognise a few traits throughout the film, none more then the scene’s that take place in the Inn that is very reminiscent of classic Hammer Horror films of the 60’s.
So what makes this stand out to all the other ghost films out there? Well there are a number of reasons but I think the main reason is the fact that the film lets your imagination do a lot of the work. The audience often finds itself looking at a close up of Radcliffe, surrounded by darkness. I found myself looking in the darkness waiting for a face to appear or for something to happen. This is a very clever technique used excellently by Watkins. It lets us imagine what is in the darkness, and our imagination can think of much scarier things that can ever be put on a cinema screen. When we do see The Women I Black, expect a chill to run down your spine, as she looks extremely freaky, especially when she appears from a shadow. There are also a number of creepy toys that play a pivotal role in the film.
This is the first horror film I have seen t the pictures for a few years that actually made me jump and scared me. As a huge horror fan I found this film a breath of fresh air in a torture porn filled genre and look forward to more Hammer films now they are back at doing what they do best, making scary films.
The Women in Black will keep you gripped from the very start and will make you feel a mixed array of emotions for various characters. Direction is superb, Radcliffe’s performance is outstanding and there is a chilling and rather unsettling music score behind it that only adds to the creepy atmosphere.
The Women in Black is a must see for everybody, horror fan or not.
Don’t believe in ghosts? Don’t worry… you will once you meet The Women in Black.
The Women in Black – 5/5
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