The Woman in Black

“The Woman in Black” a period piece set in the late 1800s, opens with three little girls playing tea party in the attic, until they abruptly stop and slowly walk to the window where they all three jump to their deaths. This perplexing and alarming scene kicks off a nail-biting and tense scary movie. Arthur Kipps (Daniel Radcliffe) plays a widowed lawyer who lost his wife in childbirth and, after four years, is still grieving. He is assigned a job to settle an old estate in a distant town. His boss tells him this is his last chance of keeping his job, so he leaves his son to travel and settle the estate. When he arrives, he’s not welcomed by the locals; in fact, they give him no quarter and try to get him to leave, to no avail. Arthur soon learns why the townsfolk appear so mean.

When it comes to acting, this film is an anomaly; I think that almost anyone could have played the lead, because the story and art direction are so strong. With that being said, Radcliffe is satisfactory as Arthur Kipps, but I worry Harry Potter fans may not accept his character as the widowed father. The supporting cast is good enough to mention; they are believable, and I got caught up in the time period. The plot is slow, at first, but compelling. I wanted to know about the people, and that I credit that to good writing.

Content for concern

There is quite a bit of violent imagery and frightening scenes throughout. Not to ruin it, but they will make you jump and want to look away.

There is also some drinking—used as a coping mechanism.

Swearing is almost nonexistent (a single “h_ll”), which is unusual, however God’s name is taken in vain a few times (OMG, “Oh G_d” and “Oh for G_d’s sakes”).

This film deals with death, ghost possession and un-forgiveness, and brought a couple of verses to my mind:

“Then Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But now he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself. Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment” —Hebrews 9:26-27.

The Bible clearly says that the dead do not linger here on earth, but they die once, then comes judgment.

“For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins” —Matthew 6:14-15.

When a person is wronged, it can be hard to forgive and even harder not to hold a grudge, but we must forgive others, because God forgave us, but the Way of His Son Jesus.

I enjoyed “The Woman in Black, ” because it is a well done, scary movie. The story is very intriguing, with a Sleepy Hollow feel. I have to mention, it has the creepiest dolls I’ve ever seen, plus the last five minutes alone are worth the cost of admission.

Violence: Moderate / Profanity: Moderate / Sex/Nudity: None

See list of Relevant Issues—questions-and-answers.