The acid test for any scary film is to watch it in a full cinema and keep an ear out for the amount of talking that goes on during the moments of high tension. Sure enough, there was plenty of yapping during The Woman in Black, the 2012 film that really gave Hammer a new lease of life/death, provided Daniel Radcliffe with perhaps his best post-Potter screen role and signalled the (dark) dawn of a new franchise.
The follow-up isn't as special, but it's a classily-made, fun watch with newcomer Phoebe Fox excellent in the lead role - we'll be seeing a lot more of her. So, at least there's one happy ending here, then.
The story takes place four decades after the original film with Fox playing Eve Parkins, a teacher who leaves London with icy headmistress Jean Hogg (McCrory) and a group of youngsters during the Blitz. Their destination is the now-abandoned Eel Marsh House, and it's not long before things start going bump in the day and night with Edward (Pendergast) - bowl haircut, big eyes, not too keen on small talk - a conduit for all kinds of eeriness. Everyone here has ghosts; the question is whether they will live long enough to make peace with them.
If you jump easy you'll be doing plenty of it here, but cold-blooded horror fans may feel that more nerve-shredding could have been done if the relationship between Fox and McCrory's characters had been given more screen-time. They wring some great tension out of the duo's interactions but it's all too brief, and the subplot involving a dashing young flying officer (Warhorse star Irvine) is just not as interesting as what the women offer together.
With no great knowledge of horror films, Fox has proven she has plenty of chiller charisma and having shown she's so good at playing the gutsy, self-reliant hero, it would be great to see her in a villain role in another movie from the genre. Hopefully some producers will think the same.
Read our interview with Phoebe Fox here.
The production values are excellent - you'll think your clothes feel damp watching - the score is made for repeat late-night listens and unlike the vast majority of sequels, this one doesn't sully the good name of the original. This will make you want to watch it again, and have you wondering where The Woman in Black will turn up next. Swinging London, anyone?
Harry Guerin
