The Woman In Black (2012)

Based off of the spine chilling novel 'The Woman in Black' by Susan Hill, -which has recently received an adaptation in theatre- the film does not quite live up to the expectations set by the book, and the identity behind the protagonist.

Firstly, the plot in the film differs substantially to the book, which you may think is refreshing and original, but I can assure you this did not work out well. The jump scares were cheap and predictable; in using jump scares it has ostracised any aspects of why the book was so brilliant. The plot was absurd and any techniques to create tension utterly backfired, it had me laughing. Sometimes the plot to a story can make it terrifying, as well as throwing in some techniques to create tension ( for example, oxenfree - an indie game released recently- relied heavily on the simplicity of the plot - five teenagers are stranded in unfamiliar territory which holds a dark secret- but it was still brilliant and actually had me scared to continue at times!) but the woman in black does none of this.

One of the major reasons people were excited for the film was because of the book and the lead role; due to Daniel Radcliffe's widespread success with the franchise he is most well renown for, Harry Potter. He was not suited to a roll in this film, I believe that one of the main reasons he first auditioned was to separate him from the name of who he once was. Even now, he is starring in more and more adult films. He had no emotional connection to Arthur Kipps.

My final word on the subject is that this was a very mediocre adaptation to a brilliant book, with no good aspects reincarnated with it. At points I was laughing at how cheap some of the 'scares' were. However, of course, this is completely subjective and you'll have to make your mind up!