Set at the turn of the 20th century, Arthur is a young lawyer sent by his boss to a distant village settle the estate of the late Alice Drablow, the Eel Marsh House. The villagers are hostile and want him to leave right away. One look at the cavernous mansion and you’ll know it’s haunted. He sees the woman in black, who wants to kill all the children in the village, and tries to find out what her secret is.
The best thing about the movie is the production design, with the beautiful Victorian period setting, especially the superbly photographed island where the house is located, connected to the mainland by a flimsy road that vanishes when the tide comes in. There are also beautiful shots of the marsh, the moors and the foggy valleys to foster the right eerie mood.
We came prepared to like the movie that we’re hoping would be the right vehicle for Radcliffe to dissociate himself from being Harry Potter. But it rambles on and on with nothing much happening and Radcliffe is not at all credible as a grieving widower and doting dad. After a while, Director James Baxter resorts to the usual tricks of creating boo moments meant to jolt the audience through amplified sound, like when muddy water suddenly blasts out of the faucet and a black bird suddenly flies into a room. Then we see apparitions moving around, the woman in black standing ominously in the distance or floating around or screaming. It becomes repetitive and everything becomes cumbersome viewing. If you love a good more cerebral scary story, this tedious exercise is definitely not for you.