Director: Tom Harper.
Cast: Phoebe Fox, Oaklee Pendergast, Helen McCrory, Jeremy Irvine, Leanne Best.
Certificate: 15
Running Time: 98 minutes
Synopsis: Children are evacuated from London during WWII to a stately home that looks a little disused. It is soon discovered that it also houses an evil spirit.
With the likes of BIRDMAN and THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING pounding 1st January into a startlingly amazing beginning to the year, we worried for a moment that we may have nothing to heap on movies other than praise. Fortunately along comes THE WOMAN IN BLACK: ANGEL OF DEATH. A loosely connected sequel to the surprise hit that made sure we saw Daniel Radcliffe as more than a magical wizard. With a new director, new writer, and new editor, the entire film is lucky to have that Hammer logo slapped on its posters.
The initial premise is quite delicious in theory, as young children are sent away during the blitz. Goodnight Mr. Tom or The Railway Children with a horror edge is very enticing indeed. Just imagining being a child taken away from family at such a time is probably the scariest thing the film has going for it. Unfortunately there’s little time for such exploration as we must follow the story by way of an inexperienced school teacher whose greatest lesson seems to be educating us on the definition of bland. Phoebe Fox does amicably with what little she is given, and we are further distracted by a love story with “filler” stamped all over it.
Meanwhile the rest of the film is littered with cliches and characters seen elsewhere. There’s the mute boy ostracised by his peers, the peers who torment the lad leading to some fake out sequences where we think there might be a ghost, and the stern school mistress who has no time for any of this nonsense. Given a bit more of an interesting role is Jeremy Irvine, whose character gets to be flipped around with some interesting results. It would be a spoiler to say too much, which is a shame because the climax also takes place in a very unique setting that comments on war games, as well as taking us away from the boring old haunted house.
Worst of all is how the whole film is constructed in such a plain way that it becomes boring. Who cares about any of this when it’s been seen so many times before and you’re not even having any fun? Like all bad horror films, the film relies on jumps instead of scares. One infuriating scene has somebody pulled under water to a sound effect that resembles a gun shot. It’s not scary, just loud. And after I’ve recovered from the initial shock I’m struck with confusion as to what that sound was supposed to be, other than a cheap trick. Confusion then leads to being pulled out of the film, although it was hardly worth investing in it in the first place.
All the good that comes from creepy set design and a dark atmosphere is wasted by a script with very little to say or do. Even the jump scares aren’t that powerful, and that’s obviously all the film cared about in the first place. It’s not entirely dead on its feet though, as the performances do elevate the stale material to bearable level, and things certainly pick up towards the end. It’s a pointless film, unless you’re taking home some of the profits. Read the book, go and see the play, find the excellent 1989 TV movie, or even just watch the Daniel Radcliffe version again. Because with cinema ticket prices what they are, you can probably do any of those for a similar price or a lot cheaper.
[usr=2] THE WOMAN IN BLACK: ANGEL OF DEATH is released on 1st January.
