10/29/15 – day twenty-nine of thirty-one days of horror!
Yes, there was a recent version of this starring Harry Potter, and no,
it wasn’t half bad, but if you want the best film version of Susan
Hill’s The Woman In Black, you need to check out the BBC 1989 TV
version. I wasn’t raised a pasty British kid, unfortunately, but if I
had been, this would have scared the living beejezus out of me as I
watched it fearfully behind the couch. With a screenplay by the great
Nigel Kneale, this production possesses a quiet confidence that the well-made
remake lacks, sneaking up on you quietly then pulling the rug out from
under with some genuinely terrifying scares. Beautifully acted and an
all-around classy production, this is a little hard to come by as the
DVD release is way out of print. Thankfully some kind, restless spirit
put it up on Youtube to enjoy, so go spend some time at Eel Marsh house
with that nice lady in the creepy black dress.
