‘Harry Potter’ star Daniel Radcliff e brings it all in horror fl ick ‘Woman in Black’

Based on Susan Hill’s 1982 novel, “The Woman in Black” is a traditional horror flick, yet holds enough charm to remain a thoroughly enjoyable film.
The film is set in early 20th Century England, where widowed Arthur Kipps (Radcliffe) is given an assignment to hold his turbulent position at a law office.
His assignment requires him to leave his young son for a few days to resolve the remaining affairs of the widow of an old dilapidated home in the remote countryside, as well as sell the place.
Upon Arthur’s arrival to the village of Crythan Gifford, he finds the residents of the small town to be cold and unwelcoming to him, with the exception of the friendly Mr. Daily (Ciarán Hinds) and his deranged wife (Janet McTeer).
While working in the home, Arthur learns of the unfortunate and tragic death of the only child of the Lady of the home and of her own suicide shortly after.
While staying overnight, Arthur sees a woman, darned in black, walking about the grounds of the estate.
When he returns to town the next day, he discovers that one of the local’s children has died. Many residents then turn savage against Arthur, demanding that he go back to his son and never return.
As in all horror films however, our hero ignores the pleas of the local residents and returns back to the home.
This time the woman enters the home and haunts Arthur relentlessly, eventually drawing him up to her son’s old nursery, where she has enchanted various clown and monkey figurines to move about and create a spectacle.
Director James Watkins stays true to many cliché elements of horror throughout the film, however he happily stays away from modern cliché’s such as excessive gore and vulgarity.
With jack-in-the-box spooks and ominous lighting, Watkins delivers a perfectly enjoyable film that both horror and Radcliffe fans will enjoy.
Radcliffe’s acting is superb; the audience will find him credible of being a young, troubled father and has proven a talent to keep the audience at the edge of their seats while holding the screen solo for long periods of time.
Cinematography, production design and Marco Beltrami’s score are all a match made in horror heaven and do a perfect job at adding heart-pounding suspense.  Watkins’ gut wrenching twisted ending is an impeccable finish to a highly enjoyable horror film.
Written by Ashley Dixon