The Woman in Black is filled with all the clichés typical of ghost stories; faces appearing in a reflection; sudden, loud noises; faces in windows and things that go bump in the night. What makes Woman in Black stand out is that it uses them all to wonderful effect. It is the best ghost story I've seen since The Ring, a fun, thrilling, old-fashioned campfire tale.

Daniel Radcliffe, no longer the boy of Harry Potter, stars as a young widower still in anguish over the loss of his young wife, and clearly struggling to piece his professional life back together so that he can provide for his beloved toddler son. He's given a last-chance assignment by his law firm to go settle the estate of a dead woman in an isolated country village. Upon arrival, his efforts are thwarted by the townsfolk who seem frightened by his efforts to visit the estate. Driven by his love for his son to succeed, he arrives at the mansion and sees a mysterious woman--and unleashes murderous and otherworldly forces.

I'm leaving out the rest of the plot because it will be more fun not to know. While the movie is genuinely scary and disturbing (children die), it is not gory. The filmmakers understood that the scariest things are what you don't see-that your imagination and suspense can be far more effective than cheap gore--and the film delivers.

Radcliffe is superb as the disbelieving young father, desperate to finish his assignment while growing increasingly terrified by the apparitions he is seeing.

Ciaran Hinds has a memorable turn as the wealthiest man of the village, disgusted by the superstition of his fellow villagers while harboring secrets of his own.

Other than the ending of the film being a bit abrupt, I thought it was about as good of a ghost story as you can get and judging from the comments I heard whispered as the audience was exiting the theater, everybody else felt the same way. The Woman in Black is bound to haunt theaters for long time, and I expect audiences will be glad to be along for the ride.

 

My Top Ghost Movies (though I'll have to add Woman in Black to future lists)

1. The Ring

2. The Shining

3. The Sixth Sense

4. The Fog (original)

5. What Lies Beneath

6. The Uninvited (Ray Milland)

7. Poltergeist

8. The Devil's Backbone

9. Stir of Echoes

10. The Gift

11. Ghost