The Woman In Black

NME Review of ‘The Woman In Black’ http://www.nme.com/blogs/the-movies-blog/the-woman-in-black-film-review-779168

Includes the narrative Includes photographs from the filmTalks about Daniel Radcliffe’s performanceTalks about Daniel Radcliffe’s appearance Talks about the director – James WatkinsTalks about the screenwriter – Jane GoldmanTalks about Jane’s previous filmsThere is a verdict at the end
The style of writing is quite informal. This is because NME is a magazine which normally targets younger audiences aged 16 – 24. So this means if they used professional language and more eloquent vocabulary it wouldn’t appeal to their target as they wouldn’t understand it. Instead the writers used humour to attract the audience.


My Review   
Well “The Women in Black” was quite interesting to watch. It followed the young solicitor Harry Potter oops I mean Arthur Kipps (Daniel Radcliffe), on his journey to a remote village to sort out old affairs. However, after awhile it becomes clear that the village folk are hiding a deep dark secret. Kipps later discovers that his client's house is haunted by a spirit of a woman who is trying to find someone that she’s lost.
Overall the films cinematic special effects seemed a bit random however were some what effective. One of the main motifs was the mysterious fog which appeared throughout the whole movie. We first see it at the beginning as the title screen fades in and then out. Furthermore, it is mostly present at the Eel Marsh House, which is one of creepier haunted houses in history of haunted houses. The fog was used as a foreshadowing device of danger and mystery as whenever Kipps explored the outside of the mansion the fog made him seem vulnerable due to its large scale. Lastly, the fog is also used to tie the story together as it is present right at the start (title screen) and at the end when the whole Kipps family is reunited and walk together into the fog.
Another interesting motif was the action of people looking out and into windows. Whenever Kipps would look out the window at the Eel Marsh House he would spot the evil spirit for literally a split second which can be seen as both a positive and negative aspect. Positive as it creates a sense of the unknown for the audience and builds tension. Negative as if you blink during that specific moment it is very easy to miss and can cause the audience to be a tad confused. Moreover as he travelled through the town only kids would look out the window and glare at him. This most likely links to the fact that the women in black ghost forces her vengeance on children as she herself lost her son in an accident. There is a great deal of importance placed on windows as they symbolise people lurking which gives the film a mysterious vibe.
The film was directed by James Watkins who managed to create a breathtaking eerie atmosphere through the use of a variety of camera shots, lighting and shadows. In the room with all the toys,the porcelain dolls themselves are not as creepy but due to the dark shadows and the only source of light being candles they become sinister. There were many close up shots which also added to the panic and distortion of certain scenes. For example, the close ups of red writing on documents which quoted “God protects us”. Fine detail like this causes the film to seem more scary than it is as I would not consider the film to be scary as a whole but the ambience of the scenes and the dark empty atmosphere causes it to be.
Overall, I would rate this movie a solid 3 out of 5 as special effects and created ambience cause it to give someone a right old fright.