After reading the many reviews about this film, I didn't hesitate to order a copy, even though the price in Australian dollars was pretty steep. It was certainly a rare event to find a film that I hadn't seen, and which engendered such eager anticipation. And so it was that along with my two brothers, we sat in a pitch black room to watch, and hopefully be terrified by, "The Woman In Black". Rather than go into detail about this film, let me simply say that I was quite disappointed. Yes, this film has some good elements about it. The settings are wonderful, the historical detail is impressive, and the acting is also above par. So what went wrong? Perhaps after reading all the reviews about how truly terrifying this film is meant to be, my expectations were far too high. While there are a few decent scares, overall I didn't come away all that impressed. I must also add that the DVD image quality was less than stellar, which also detracted from the overall experience. "The Woman In Black" is worth a watch, as long as you don't expect too much. I would recommend as alternates, the truly scary 1980 film "The Changeling" or even the more recent "Stir of Echoes (1999)". Score 6/10
Review of The Woman in Black
The Woman in Black
(1989 TV Movie)
All the elements to make a great horror movie, but...
17 September 2001