The Woman in Black (UK/Canada/Sweden, 2012) - Color, Director(s): James Watkins
MPAA Rating: PG-13
[UK: 12A]
Approx. 95 min.
Z-rating: 3 out of 5 stars for a spook film that falls a little flat
Cheese Factor: 2 out of 5 starsfor trying to get me to take Harry Potter seriously
I really wanted to like this film seeing as the only other film in director James Watkins' filmography is Eden Lake, which I really enjoyed and wanted to show my support for his second attempt at sitting in the director's chair. (Not to mention it's a freakin' HAMMER FILM!!!) I also applaud his confidence in working on the other end of the ratings spectrum seeing as he rocked the R-rated Eden Lake, this was a chance to see what he could do in the PG-13 end of the rating system. Unfortunately, he doesn't quite pull it off in my opinion.
One of the problems is this movie is hard as hell to follow. Not that the story is too complicated but that there is so much talking and such long boring scenes that put me to sleep. I first tried to watch this movie after it came out on DVD, I had to try on at least 3 or 4 separate occasions before I finally finished the damn movie. I usually applaud films for taking the time to build a creepy atmosphere but here it just drags on and I lose interest. (I watched Turkish Star Wars on VHS with no subtitles, I think I can safely say that I have a lot of patience when it comes to sitting through movies!)
Anyway, what I caught of it, Harry Potter is in some strange town on a business trip for some paperwork. During his stay, he encounters the local town legend of the spirit of a woman in black. She hung herself after her child drowned and is now a vengeful spirit that haunts the small town, taking the lives of other children for revenge. I think they could've done the woman better seeing as she's what the entire movie is based on. The CGI was a little choppy but she had a VERY annoying scream. I thought the bad CGI ghost women that screamed like banshees were a thing of the past, that's a little clichéd if you ask me.
Nudity: None. Some titties would've helped the beginning not be so damn boring. Although, everyone in the movie was either a little kid or older woman.
Gore: Not much, as you probably would've guessed with a PG-13 movie. There is one scene where a little girl that drinks lye dies in Harry Potter's arms. Should've mixed her up some sorta antidote or potion to save the little girl's life!
Awesome: Maybe not as bad as I'm making it out to be but not as great as everyone hyped it up to be. I wanted to make sure I rented this for Halloween cause I knew people were going to be talking about it this year and wanted to review it. I will admit that when we first catch glimpses of the woman in black, those scenes were pretty creepy. Once we're deeper into the movie and she turns into a banshee, that's when I can't take the movie anymore. How difficult it was to get into this movie in the beginning and how annoying the scenes towards the end were just kinda kills it for me. Even though there are a couple creepy scenes in the middle, that wasn't enough to redeem the entire movie. I do like that Hammer's really coming back up in the horror scene and I'd love to show them a little support. This one just wasn't for me though.