 |
|
| Title: | The Woman In Black: Angel Of Death |
| Director: | Tom Harper |
| Starring: | Phoebe Fox, Jeremy Irvine, Helen McCrory, |
| Genre: | Horror |
| Runtime: | 1 Hours 38 mins |
| Music: | Marco Beltrami, Brandon Roberts, Marcus Trumpp |
| Studio: | Hammer Films, Entertainment One |
| Certificate: | US: PG-13 UK: 15 |
| Release Date: | USA: January 2 2015 UK: January 1 2015 |
| See If You Like: | The Woman In Black. |
Hammer Horror were the premier name in horror movies back in the day, and since their recent revival we’ve been treated to several old-school horror films (most of which have slipped by the wayside), the most notable and well regarded being The Woman In Black; the sequel for which was released on New Years Day.
Set in 1941 (years after the events of the first movie), against the backdrop of the Second World War, The Woman in Black 2 sees two school teachers; headmistress Jean Hogg (Helen McCrory, Skyfall), and the young Eve Parkins (Phoebe Fox, One Day); accompanying a number of evacuated children out to the countryside, where they’re due to reside in a a derelict house which sits nestled upon its own island, past the fog, and the tide, the marshes, and the woods.
Needless to say, living in the creepy, old, should-be-condemned property brings its fair share of unnerving noises and shadows, but as Ms. Parkins begins to have nightmares and wrestles with her own past, the children begin behaving strangely, and unexplainable events (such as doors locking/unlocking, things moving, apparitions appearing around the island) begin to occur Eve and her new friend; local Air Force man Harry (Jeremy Irvine, War Horse); start to think there’s something not quite right with the house the children are living in.
Once more adapted from a Susan Hill story, the Tom Harper (This Is England ’86) directed horror delivers everything you could/should want and expect from a classically themed horror movie; unnerving events, a creepy setting, and a vulnerable young woman to freak out about things and try and solve the ghostly mystery of the haunted house’s past, as well as it’s fair share of jumpy moments.
The woman herself has been well hidden in promotional materials (an extremely good, and sadly rare thing nowadays) and her ghostly visage remains fairly hidden throughout, making the glimpses we do get that much more unsettling, and more impactful. Most of the scares haven’t been given away either, yet they are so obvious, and formulaic, anyone who’s ever seen a horror before movie can predict them, and the entire plot of the film, before even sitting down in the theatre.
It’s great to see Hammer getting back to the forefront of the horror market, and delivering classically themed horror; watching something like The Woman In Black (with an emphasis on setting, subtlety, and subliminal scares) is far more preferable to most modern horror flicks (simply a hack-n-slash gore-fest where a bunch of teenage girls fall over in the woods); and the world’s they create are wonderfully realised. There’s no denying this is a World War II movie, costuming, set design, and everything from attitudes and behaviours to props help immerse you within the time period, there’s just nothing which makes The Woman In Black: The Angel Of Death stand out from the crowd.
Phoebe Fox is acceptable, though instantly forgettable, as the worried young school teacher. The relationship she builds with fly-boy, and low-rent Henry Cavill, Harry is devoid of chemistry and doesn’t seem entirely necessary, or completely convincing, and while Helen McCrory does deliver a solid turn as the stoic headmistress, her character’s nothing more than a small support. There’s also surprisingly little emphasis placed on The Woman, and why she’s so intent on murdering young children (granted we were given the information last time out, and it is discussed here, but it oddly doesn’t seem to matter); something rather odd for a horror film of this nature, and something which leaves the whole film feeling as if it’s missing something.
Far from a must see, The Woman In Black 2: The Angel Of Death is a perfectly serviceable little horror movie, and one in which setting, ideas, and an emphasis on classical horror tropes make it far and a way better than another simple murder-spree in the American midwest. Yet bland characters brought to life by forgettable stars, a paint-by-numbers formula, and rigidly sticking to expected genre conventions mean it’s also far from being essential viewing. By no means an exceptional horror film, The Woman In Black: The Angel Of Death brings the jumps, the scares, the feeling of uneasiness, and the titular ghost herself, so it’s bound to appeal to fans of the first, and delivers everything you expect from a Woman In Black sequel, though sadly little else, and nothing noteworthy.
