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My Rating: 4 stars

Arthur Kipps, played by Daniel Radcliffe is a lawyer who lives with his four-year-old son, Joseph. His wife, Stella, died after childbirth at a young age. Arthur is assigned to handle the estate of Alice Drawblow, who owned Eel Marsh: a big, looming house on an island far off shore. Alice had lived with her husband and son, Nathaniel. At the Marsh, Kipps starts working on the paperwork and repeatedly hears footsteps throughout the house and sees an eerie woman dressed in black. “The Woman in Black” is rumored to live there, seeking revenge on the children of the nearest town because her child was taken from her. Revenge, in this case, is the Woman in Black tricking the children into committing suicide. The townspeople want Kipps to leave, before anything else bad happens, but he refuses, wanting to protect his job. Kipps takes it upon himself to rid the town of this creepy and relentless spirit who is seeking her revenge.
First off, let me say that for his first movie role after Harry Potter, I think Daniel Radcliffe did a fantastic job. This horror/thriller movie was definitely outside of what he usually starred in. There really weren’t many other main characters, besides a few townspeople who helped Arthur out a few times, so it was mostly Daniel the whole movie. I have to admit that it still is quite weird seeing him without his magic wand, lightning bolt scar and round glasses.
The Woman in Black’s storyline was very interesting, in my opinion. I don’t like “scary” movies that much and I usually don’t watch them, but this movie had me on the edge of my seat. It built of tons of suspense and always had me wanting to know what was going to happen next. I wanted to know why the house was haunted and when the creepy appearance of the Woman in Black was going to happen next. There were also some moments where I – along with everyone else in the theater – jumped in our seats.
I think the only thing I didn’t like too much was the ending. It was definitely a surprise ending, I didn’t see it coming at all. I’m not going to say too much, because I don’t want to ruin it. But I’m still not sure if I like it or not. I’ve heard some people say they hated it, and some say they loved it. In my opinion, it could go either way. Otherwise, I think The Woman in Black was a great movie and if you have the time, you should definitely go out to see it.

AND, The Woman in Black is a novel by Susan Hill. It’s on my list to read!