The Woman in Black which could almost be considered a franchise soon if they make one more, released its third entry to the box office this past weekend. The first movie was made for tv.
The story it self about a vengeful spectre that haunts a small English town and is based on a story by Susan Hill a novelist from Scarborough, Yorkshire. The book has been adapted three times and made into a play based on her story. Ifyou look at IMDB there is a few more listing one staring John Barymore. I am only focusing on the story by Hill.
In her Story Arthur Kipp is telling the story to his four step children rather than when we watch the movie staring Danielle Radcliffe (aka Harry Potter. Interesting fact, in the 1989 made for TV movie Arthur is played by Adrian Rawlins, who would years later play James Potter Harry’s father, and Dr.Rhodes in TWIB2). Stella dies in childbirth and Arthur is a widower single dad, who is about to get fired when hes takes one last case to redeem him self with his firm.
The rest of the story plays out the same he goes to a town where every person acts like The Woman in Black is Lord Voldermort and cant seem to tell him whats wrong or who the big bad danger is they speak of.
Its really silly at times and makes you wonder why every one is soo superstious when we are on the cusp of the 1st World War. The Woman in Black 2 Angle of Death takes place during World War 2.
This woman in black would make her presence known when there has been a death of a child. SHe hangs her self after her kid dies in the Marsh surrounding the gothic looking estate. Now why she apeers to the Governess and her group in the sequel, I am not too sure. The new film The Woman in Black 2 Angel of Death, a group of kids led by their governess Phoebe Fox are brought to the island to avoid the bombings of London and they encounter the benevolent spirit who gets the kids to commit suicide one by one. Similar to the way she got Potters kid to do it in the last one. She had her kid taken away so she targets kids who are vulnerable and people who have problems involving kids. I wonder why she cant go haunt a pedopfile rpison and make all those people do bad things to them selves?
They veer pretty far away from the novel only keeping the characters names and other plot elements such as the ghost her self.
This series does have this really creepy gothic ghost story quality to it. There are cheap jump scenes and scares thruout the movie, I had to watch it in a theater with a bunch of screaming girls and that was no fun, mainly because they were teenagers and their voices and screaming was defining.
The new movies were made by the new HAMMER studios who also did The Quiet Ones and Let me In. Ther track record so far has been hit or miss, and its been mostly ghost movies.
Is it worth seeing? Yes and no the sequel is better than the first one only by the ending not sucking as much. The woman in Black remake was Danille Radcliffe first role out side the Harry Potter franchise and is worth looking at, but I prefer the sequel more.
Its currently playing at the Blackstone Valley Cinema in Millbury MA and other theaters.
chrisdsav
Radio of Horror Blog 