La mujer de negro

Párkrát jsem se lekl, párkrát mi doslova přejel mráz po zádech, ale po jistých očekáváních mírně posmutněle konstatuji, že literární předloha se mi líbila více. Film se předlohy drží jen v základní linii, něco přidal, něco ubral. Hlavně podle mě trochu zbytečně dramatizuje utrpení vesničanů a manželky C. Hindse. Knížka, i když nebyla příliš strašidelná, na mě dýchla tou správnou atmosférou mlhavého Londýna a anglického venkova a konec byl naprosto bravurně zvládnutý. Takže mi zbývá završit trojboj divadelním představením Na Fidlovačce. (12.04.2012)

Está bien hecha. El entorno, la atmósfera, el misterio, todo funciona. Pero guiónicamente, nada nuevo. Además, los sustos se basan más en los efectos de sonido que en la imagen y el ingenio de edición. Radcliffe es visualmente joven para el personaje del padre, pero su interpretación es impecable. Ciarán Hinds añade un sello de dignidad a la película. Los jóvenes espectadores de Harry Potter que no hayan visto cien películas similares estarán encantados. (21.02.2012)

A simple horror story in the beautiful settings of an English seaside village. I didn’t mind the lack of originality and the simplicity of the plot (Hammer has never made intellectual and sophisticated films), what I did mind, though, is that in such beautiful setting, all the film can do to generate fear is to use cheap jump-scares that follow the template of “show anything” + “raise the volume”. Visually, I enjoyed it very much, both the haunted house and the village, but the fear hardly shows up at all. One look at the woman in black in the more than 20 year-old TV adaptation made me tremble in terror a lot more than all those jump-scares put together. Daniel Radcliffe delivers a decent performance. The climax was disappointing, just like a couple of very unconvincing scenes (the lady with the dogs, the bird in the boarding house). I’m giving it 7/10. I liked The Woman in Black, but unfortunately, with all the aforementioned reservations. I expected something great, but it doesn’t come close to that. (24.02.2012)

The Woman in Black is a great atmospheric horror film taking place in an absolutely amazing location, with great actors and awesome directing that made sure there was just the right creepy atmosphere that gave me chills for hours after watching it. I immediately forgot about Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter. In this movie I perceived him as a great actor who can play many emotions, including fear. Truth be told, if I were him, 20 minutes in that haunted house would make me go crazy, but he fought it off and pulled it off amazingly. The screenplay is great as well. These ghost horror movies usually don’t get good endings, but in this one everything is very interesting. Hats off. The movie brought me a four-star experience and memories that I just can’t get out of my head. I wish there were more films of this quality. (15.10.2012)

James Watkins completely flipped the script when he went from aggressive teenagers to a classic art nouveau ghost story. Yet he definitely reached the heights of his reputation set by his first film because it washes over the viewer with such vigor that I wondered where the hell the man had been all these years when everyone was crying about the genre's decline. It's quite a cool thing to scare audiences so predictably yet with the kind of cheekiness and implacability in which little children die, and the mystery unravels rapidly. Meanwhile, the film maintains deliberate British detachment and slight distance. It's only kept from perfection by the miscast Radcliffe who - nothing against his performance - just hasn't grown up enough for such a role yet. Otherwise, I give a deep bow to the director. 4 ½. (08.03.2012)