The Woman in Black (1989)

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.

Herbert Wise's Woman in Black is a blueprint on how a film should be made in order to scare the intelligent audience. Adapted from a book by the same name this Television film has one of the creepiest ghosts ever put on film- and she is there standing in broad daylight! The atmosphere is haunting and the pristine 16mm film stock lends itself well to the tone of the film. A remake starring Daniel Radcliffe was made in 2012 but it does away with everything that this film stands for-a minimalist approach. You should definitely see this movie- it maybe hard to procure but the entire film exists on you-tube.

Adrian Rawlins plays Arthur Kidd a solicitor who has been sent by his firm to settle the estate of Alice Drablow who has just passed away. Kidd looks at this as a chance to impress the firm with dreams of receiving a partnership. Soon thereafter he witnesses a dark and mysterious woman in black. He also hears horrible noises and voices when near the Nine Lives Causeway (aptly named) that leads to the isolated house. Kidd works on unwinding the mystery of the home.This is a TV movie, but I actually find it scarier than most over done Hollywood horror movies. They don't do it with buckets of blood, but rather with perhaps more subtlety, with sounds and a ghost story that takes time to develop, but is well worth the wait.I really do give screenwriter Nigel Kneale and director Herbert Wise credit for taking the Susan Hill novel which was a pretty darn good horror story and creating this great horror movie that does not stray that far from the novel (if my memory serves correct). I do apologize as I certainly do not remember everything from the novel as I read it a few years back, but I do remember that I really enjoyed it. Had me on the edge of my seat, which this movie does.Highly recommended to those who love a good ghost story.

Herbert Wise's Woman in Black is a blueprint on how a film should be made in order to scare the intelligent audience. Adapted from a book by the same name this Television film has one of the creepiest ghosts ever put on film- and she is there standing in broad daylight! The atmosphere is haunting and the pristine 16mm film stock lends itself well to the tone of the film. A remake starring Daniel Radcliffe was made in 2012 but it does away with everything that this film stands for-a minimalist approach. You should definitely see this movie- it maybe hard to procure but the entire film exists on you-tube.

A young lawyer named Arthur Kidd gets sent to settle the estate of a woman that died.Nobody in the town likes the people in this house. When he got to the house it was dark and empty. He started hearing noises and having nightmares.It seems a young woman not married had a son and put him up for adoption. The boy later dies.There is a lot of fear and tense moments in the story but it does not explain what the story is about.It had a terrible violent end and I still cannot figure out what the theme of the story was. So there is a woman in black, big deal. She says nothing in the story and just appears on the surface of water and in a cemetery. She is Pauline Moran who played Poirot's secretary in the TV series and is a good actress. The only thing she did was stand in the water and also scream and makes scary faces that terrorized Mr Kidd.Clare Holman/Mrs Kidd plays Inspector Lewis's pathologist/coroner and girlfriend. She is Mr Kidd's wife and is younger than when she played in Lewis.I don't know, maybe I missed half the story, I did fall asleep. But what I did see did not make sense. I saw it on Youtube.