Movie Review: 'The Woman in Black' at Coronado Village Theatre

A widowed lawyer visits a tiny town frightened by a not-so-tall tale of a malevolent ghost.

On Saturday night, I visited the beautiful and recently refurbished Village Theatre and saw The Woman in Black.  After buying a bag of popcorn and settling into my seat, I prepared myself for a terrifying treat.

This story, set in Victorian age England, follows widowed Arthur Kipps (played by Daniel Radcliffe, freshly out of the wizarding world of the Harry Potter films) as he leaves his four-year-old son in London and travels to the terror-filled town of Crythin Gifford.  Once in the ominous community, Arthur has to journey to Eel Marsh House to search through a deceased old woman’s legal papers or risk losing his job at his law firm. 

After arriving, Arthur is met with little hospitality as most of the locals shrink away from his presence and hastily call their children inside as he passes by.  In town Arthur meets Sam Daily (Ciarán Hinds) and his wife (Janet McTeer) who vaguely hint that there is something spooky about the house, although Mr. Daily is skeptical. After spending a day at the estate, Arthur starts to think that the mansion as well as the whole town has a chillingly sinister side and seeks to investigate. As he spends more time in the house, his suspicions prove correct and the plot escalates to a chilling conclusion and an encounter with the wicked woman in black.

According to viewer Mary Holman, “The props in the house made the movie so much scarier.  I loved the way they finally solved all the mysteries at the end of the movie.”

Daniel Radcliffe does an amazing job at keeping this movie intense and dramatic, but Radcliffe’s character also seems a little young to play a single dad. Nevertheless, “scary” Potter is adept at keeping the suspense alive. And for those who are big Harry Potter fans – but not horror buffs – I would caution against seeing it.  This film is not a traditional horror film but it contains enough spine tingling elements to make you sleep with one eye open and check the windows twice.

The Woman in Black walks the line between the horror and thriller genres.  There are many suspenseful scenes that will keep you on the edge of your seat, and the drawn out pauses between each of the hair-raising encounters with the mysterious woman in black will keep your heart pounding.  It is worth seeing if you enjoy a scary, thrilling ride.

Length: 1 hour and 35 mins

Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Ciarán Hinds, and Janet McTeer

Rating: PG-13

Village Theatre movie times available here.

Warning: The trailer is a little spooky!