
In London, solicitor Arthur Kipps still grieves over the death of his beloved wife Stella on the delivery of their son Joseph four years before. His employer gives him a last chance to keep his job, and he is assigned to travel to the remote village of Crythin Gifford to examine the documentation of the Eel Marsh House that belonged to the recently deceased Mrs. Drablow. Arthur befriends Daily on the train and the man offers a ride to him to the Gifford Arms inn. Arthur has a... (Full plot summary below)
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In London, solicitor Arthur Kipps still grieves over the death of his beloved wife Stella on the delivery of their son Joseph four years before. His employer gives him a last chance to keep his job, and he is assigned to travel to the remote village of Crythin Gifford to examine the documentation of the Eel Marsh House that belonged to the recently deceased Mrs. Drablow. Arthur befriends Daily on the train and the man offers a ride to him to the Gifford Arms inn. Arthur has a cold reception and the owner of the inn tells that he did not receive the request of reservation and there is no available room. The next morning, Arthur meets solicitor Jerome who advises him to return to London. However, Arthur goes to the isolated manor and soon he finds that Eel Marsh House is haunted by the vengeful ghost of a woman dressed in black. He also learns that the woman lost her son, drowned in the marsh, and she seeks revenge, taking the children of the terrified locals.
Leave your thoughts about The Woman in Black.
| Charlotte ObserverLawrence ToppmanIn rare cases – and The Woman in Black is one of them – a story may be more atmospheric when less is left to the imagination. |
| TimeRichard CorlissThe Woman in Black is a welcome addition to the old canon; renouncing innovation, embracing anachronism, it's almost "The Artist" of ghost movies. To anyone who fancies throwback stories of the supernatural, there's nothing so appealing as a well-preserved corpse. |
| Los Angeles TimesSheri LindenIf the story is laid out none too subtly, its straightforward purity is, finally, its greatest strength. Screenwriter Jane Goldman has adapted Susan Hill's 1983 novel (which spawned a radio series, TV movie and long-running West End stage play) with economy, placing a premium on eeriness, not gore. |
| Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsThe film, a handsome nerve-jangler co-produced under the storied Hammer horror banner, amps up the scares without turning them into something completely stupid. Success! |
| USA TodayClaudia PuigAs opposed to modern horror flicks like the "Saw" movies, where gruesome violence can almost blunt fears, The Woman in Black is a tasteful, old-school frightener, emphasizing suspense and foreboding over blood and guts. |
| ReelViewsJames BerardinelliThe production company is Hammer Films, a venerable name in British horror. Responsible for some of the best monster movies of the '50s and '60s, when Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee were a favorite team, Hammer has endured over the years. Now, as then, the Hammer name is an assurance that terror, not soulless special effects, lies at the heart of the production. The Woman in Black bears this out. |
| MovielineStephanie ZacharekThe pleasures of the period ghost story The Woman in Black are something like the creepy shiver of delight you get from Edward Gorey's illustrated poem "The Gashlycrumb Tinies." |
| Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertNot since young Hutter arrived at Orlok's castle in "Nosferatu" has a journey to a dreaded house been more fearsome than the one in The Woman in Black. |
| Time OutKeith UhlichThe mostly dialogue-free middle section is a scare-film master class - and when a becalmed smile does finally cross his lips, it's in the most giddily mordant of circumstances. As Arthur embraces the darkness, so does the darkness embrace us. |
| The Hollywood ReporterTodd McCarthy"No Country for Young Kids" would be just as suitable a title for The Woman in Black, a hoot of an old-fashioned British horror film. |