The Woman in Black

I will not sleep until June.

Actually I'm so knackered I'll probably drop right off after this, I've completed the back-Blipping (a list will follow at the end) and I'm too tired to be as absolutely bloody terrified as I should be having watched the film in question tonight.

BEWARE - SPOILERS!

Well, first of all, let's be clear and happy about one thing - Daniel Radcliffe is quite capable of playing roles beyond the Potters. Also according to Empire he's an all-round nice person. Jammy sod. But in this particular film he is great, admittedly it's not up to him to build the atmosphere, but it is his role to react to it and he does so superbly. Wandering in a real world full of his feelings of woe and loss he finds himself in this place where he starts to believe in the possibilities of a life beyond this one (and he's already got half a foot in that world as it's rather clumsily hinted at in a clue early on), and to his credit plays this accepting, and at times terrified, young man rather well.

The atmosphere, as I have mentioned, is set up perfectly. From the look and feel of Eel Marsh House to where our protagonist (he's not exactly a hero, again a welcome change) is dispatched, to the carefully orchestrated bumps in the night (screw that, full-on day) with a soundtrack designed to keep you on edge... well, it does that impeccably. Another thing that really helped the atmosphere is that, from the trailer, you might think you know when the shocks are coming, or more exactly, what kind of shock is coming - you'd be wrong in several places. And it's great that the movie doesn't overly depend on them either - the creaking of the house, the subtle shift in shadows, a whisper on the wind - now that's proper chilling.

So overall a nice, effective thriller, which is a good change from the in your face gorefests that are taking over with a fine turn by that young wizarding fellow (with a nod to Ciaran Hinds for his supporting role). Just remember not to look into any mirrors or shadows for too long after you watch it, because something may be looking back.

Now, I'm going to sleep.

With the lights on.

The Back-Blips:
Morning Blanket
Iced Over
zzzZZZzzz
Graphix
Shadowlight