The Woman in Black

(2012) ****

Yesterday on a whim I called Abduscias and said, “Hey, I’m bored wanna go to the movies?” One hour later we found ourselves waiting, popcorn in hand for The Woman in Black to begin. Just before the lights dimmed an old friend and co-worker came ambling into the theater, Peter the projectionist from our Showcase days. After exchanging warm greetings we settled into our seats as the previews began to roll. Abby and I awaited the feature film with little expectation, as our last theater horror experience was such a letdown (The Devil Inside). We became more hopeful when the Hammer logo appeared emblazoned across the screen.



So…
Harry Potter, still grieving over his deceased wife is sent to this creepy little village filled with weird folk to settle the estate of the infamous house in the marsh. The townsfolk are determined to run Harry out of town before he can discover the history of the house. What they don’t know is that Harry’s boss has threatened his job if he doesn’t do what he was sent there to do. He makes his way to the creepy old house and opens the proverbial can o’ worms setting off a curse that has plagued the town. The result brings on a chain of gruesome child suicides.



Call me nostalgic, but I’ll take a good old-fashioned haunted house flick any day of the week. The Woman in Black hit that mark quite well. It’s a Hammer through and through, from the period setting to the fog and grey overtones, the strange town filled with even stranger people and of course the dark foreboding house. The ghost is no slouch either, she gets right down to it without wasting any time. I would not have wanted to be in Harry’s shoes. At one tense moment of the film my arms actually erupted in goose bumps. I can’t remember the last time I had that happen. Although I have heard mixed reviews, mostly from some folks who got confused by the story, Abby, Peter and myself all agreed that this one delivered the goods. Just what the doctor ordered to cure a case of Horrorthon withdrawal. Once we left the theater, we discovered another former co-worker, Tony, who is still working for the theater and was on shift. We gabbed about things new and old like a bunch of old biddies then called it a night, not before getting this sweet snapshot in a cardboard picture booth display though.