Movie Monday: ‘The Woman in Black’ Provides Spooky Fun On and Off Screen

Thanks to social media, this weekend I noticed many of my friends saying they’d either been to, or were preparing to go see, The Woman in Black. I had it in my mind that it didn’t come out until March 7. I didn’t know if people were seeing sneak peek’s or what. But so many people from east coast to west were talking about going, I finally checked into it further. That’s when I realized I’d been clueless. The Woman in Black had opened Friday!

My husband hates horror movies. He especially hates period movies. (Particularly ones set in the late 1800/early 1900s.) He saw the previews for The Woman in Black and said, “Forget it. Not seeing that one.”

I was fully prepared to play hookie and see it by myself, but my husband surprised me by taking me yesterday afternoon and suffering through it.

I use the word “suffering” because this was not my husband’s kind of movie. Shortly upon arriving to Eel Marsh House, Arthur Kipps (played by Daniel Radcliffe), goes into the kitchen and is doing something (I forget if he was getting water or still trying to open windows at this point) and there’s an enormous bang.

Both my husband and I jumped. It was the first of a few seat bouncers for me. My husband shot me an annoyed  look at this point that spoke volumes: “If I have bad dreams tonight because of you, you better appreciate what I do for love.”

Halfway through the movie, he devoted the majority of his attention to his phone. He couldn’t take it anymore.

Also, the plot sort of started to tread into familiar territory. Someone died, their body isn’t found, someone else felt wronged and seeks vengeance, as a result an entire village is doomed…It wasn’t quite an original plot. It’s been done time and time again.

However, The Woman in Black definitely found a way to put its own stamp on things. Mainly through excellent acting and superb atmosphere and scenery.

So, yes, I enjoyed it, reused storyline and all. It was a good old-fashioned ghost story/haunted house kind of movie. It sufficiently kept my interest, and, because this is the first movie in years that has caused me to jump in my chair as many times as it did, I give The Woman in Black a big bravo.

CHILLING FUN ON THE WOMAN IN BLACK’S WEBSITE

Be sure to check out the movie’s website for some interactive fun. My favorite spots were The Children’s Playroom and the What Did They See? section. (Which made me jump, even though I’d braced for it and expected the scare they delivered. Argh! It’s also where I made my very own souvenir The Woman in Black photo…for free!)

Courtney Mroch

Courtney Mroch is a globe-trotting restless spirit who’s both possessed by wanderlust and the spirit of adventure, and obsessed with true crime, horror, the paranormal, and weird days. Perhaps it has something to do with her genes? She is related to occult royalty, after all. Marie Laveau, the famous Voodoo practitioner of New Orleans, is one of her ancestors. (Yes, really! As explained here.) That could also explain her infatuation with skeletons.

Speaking of mystical, to learn how Courtney channeled her battle with cancer to conjure up this site, check out HJ’s Origin Story.