The Woman in Black

It is early in the twentieth century and a solicitor, Daniel Radcliffe, is sent to a small village in the north east of England to sort out the papers for a deceased woman. The solicitor is on a final warning for lack of performance - we never learn the nature of this - and he is told that the local solicitor has been unhelpful in the matter. Radcliffe finds the members of the village are mostly unhelpful, mysterious and secretive. As he pursues his enquiries Radcliffe's character, himself a single father of a young boy, learns about a series of deaths involving local children.

I've been told that 'The Woman in Black' is taken not only from a novel but also from a long running stage play second only in the length of its run to Agatha Christie's legendary 'The Mousetrap'. I find the latter claim to be scarcely believable on the evidence of this slight and unconvincing film.

There are some fine images but despite the best efforts of the performers, the eerie soundtrack and the direction this presumably intended scary film remains resolutely unscary.