The Woman in Black (film)



The 2012 film version of The Woman in Black, produced by Hammer Horror.

Arthur Kipps, a grieving widowed man, is sent to settle the affairs of a deceased widow. The locals seem to be in a rush to hurry him along his way, but he resolves to do the job he came to do.

It isn't until later, as bodies begin to pile up -- upon the bodies already there -- that Arthur learns why.

This film contains examples of:
"During afternoon tea, there's a shift in the air,
 * Adult Fear: The children who kill themselves at the Woman in Black's behest.
 * Blonde, Brunette, Redhead: The three girls in the prologue
 * Blood From the Mouth:, in a severe example.
 * Collector of the Strange
 * Creepy Child: Any of Jennet's victims, post mortem.
 * Creepy Doll: GODDAMN EVERYWHERE.
 * Dark Is Evil
 * Death by Childbirth: Kipps' wife.
 * : See below.
 * Disproportionate Retribution: The titular woman steals children out of revenge ...but the children she's stealing have nothing to do with the matter.
 * Driven to Suicide:
 * Eye contact with the ghost causes children to calmly kill themselves in the most immediate -- and usually terrible -- way possible.
 * Even Evil Has Standards:
 * Or maybe the only reason is because
 * Or the presence of, who was already foreshadowed as a Guardian Angel, made it impossible for the Woman to claim them.
 * Evil-Detecting Dog: Daily's dog can sense whenever wrathful Jennet is nearby, or one of her ghost kids.
 * The Farmer and the Viper: Kipp spends the last act of the movie Nope. Though it might have earned him the result in Even Evil Has Standards.
 * The Fourth Wall Will Not Protect You:
 * Freeze-Frame Bonus: If you watch carefully (or pause judiciously) you can catch little glimpses of the Woman in the background of a lot of scenes. Usually leading up to a Jump Scare, but not always. Notably when Arthur is running off into the woods at the beginning, the camera passes by her silhouette, but if you're not paying close attention you might mistake it for a tree, but there are others.
 * Ghostly Goals: The titular ghost exists to cause the children of the nearby town to kill themselves. Arthur believes that she's doing this.
 * Girl in the Tower: Simultaneous use and inversion.
 * Hammer Horror: ...duh.
 * Haunted House Historian: Everyone in town, but of course none of them are talky.
 * Hey, It's That Guy!:
 * Harry and Aberforth are trying to stop the ghost of WPC Annie Cartwright.
 * Dr Watson turns up as PC Collins.
 * Hollywood Fire: Used when . Kipps charges in to, and comes out with little more than soot on his face and burnt hands.
 * Hope Spot:
 * Implacable Man
 * Infant Immortality: Averted thoroughly within the first three minutes, and throughout the movie.
 * Ironic Nursery Rhyme: Never brought up in the movie, but the trailer has a brutally chilling one:
 * Implacable Man
 * Infant Immortality: Averted thoroughly within the first three minutes, and throughout the movie.
 * Ironic Nursery Rhyme: Never brought up in the movie, but the trailer has a brutally chilling one:

A bone trembling chill that tells you she's there,

There are those who believe the whole town is cursed,

But the house in the marsh is by far the worst,

What she wants is unknown, but she always comes back,

The specter of darkness, The woman in black."


 * Jump Scare: More than a few.
 * Just Eat Gilligan: The plot hole of the book is neatly covered here: Whereas in the book, Kipps is notified before leaving that the widow had stacks of documents that would take him days to sort through, the movie has his contact in the village hand him a small envelope of papers and insist that this is everything. He's lying, of course; by the end of the first day, Kipps has a large and unsorted pile of papers on the table in the house, and he continues to discover more as he proceeds in his investigation.
 * Madness Mantra:
 * Monkey Morality Pose: At least one set of the monkey toys was in the See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil pose.
 * Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: To see the woman in black is to cause her to kill one of the local children. Two surefire ways to make her appear are to go to the house in the marsh and to rifle through her things. So, of course, when our hero comes to visit...
 * Nightmare Face: The titular Woman In Black. For most of the film she is typically seen either from a distance, or out of the camera's focus. But at the climax we get a good look at her... have fun sleeping tonight.
 * Nothing Is Scarier: Used a lot, and to great effect.
 * Old Dark House: Also a Haunted House.
 * Powder Keg Crowd: When children start dying after Arthur arrives in town, the townsfolk blame him because of his connection with the manor, and at one point surround Daily's car as he's ready to drive out of town. Daily defuses the situation.
 * Psychic-Assisted Suicide:.
 * Psychic Powers:
 * Quieter Than Silence: Often.
 * Raised by Humans: Daily's dogs.
 * Real After All: Sam Daily touts that Spiritualism is a hoax.
 * Room Full of Crazy: Nathaniel's room, where the wallpaper hides.
 * Self-Immolation: drops a lantern at her feet and goes up in flames.
 * Shout-Out:
 * Several scenes, to Harry Potter:
 * At the beginning when Arthur falls asleep on the train, he is leaning against the window looking at his reflection... how many times have we seen that shot in the Harry Potter films?
 * The upstairs landing of Eelmarsh House has the same pattern on the floor as the hotel carpet in The Shining.
 * Skeptic No Longer: Sam Daily finally acknowledges the supernatural nature of the house and the existence of the ghost in the last act, and helps Kipps lay the ghosts to rest.
 * Together in Death:
 * Town with a Dark Secret
 * Unfinished Business: Jennet watched her son die, his body never recovered but left in the bog where it was with a simple cross to mark its place. Our hero concludes that reuniting the two may well lay her to rest.
 * Wrong Genre Savvy: Arthur. Maybe if we she'll stop killing people! Nope.
 * Together in Death:
 * Town with a Dark Secret
 * Unfinished Business: Jennet watched her son die, his body never recovered but left in the bog where it was with a simple cross to mark its place. Our hero concludes that reuniting the two may well lay her to rest.
 * Wrong Genre Savvy: Arthur. Maybe if we she'll stop killing people! Nope.