Sunday, June 9, 2013

Woman in Black (1989)


 
God bless YouTube, from the bottom of my cold dead heart. If it wasn’t for YouTube I wouldn’t be able to re-watch these great old shows. Not now HMV is gone anyway. There was a time when I could stumble across something I hadn’t seen in years and pick it up for four euro, but alas! those days are gone *sniff* (and I now understand Bella’s near catatonic state in New Moon after Edward leaves her. Love of her life he may be, but can he offer her a huge selection of movies for a relatively cheap price? I think not! My grief out-weights hers.)

Centered around Arthur Kidd, a young solicitor sent to the eerie Eel Marsh House to gather together the legal papers from the recently deceased client, Mrs. Drablow.
The sinister presence of the mysterious Woman in Black is soon seen and felt by Arthur.

This 1989 version of The Woman in Black is something I have been looking for on DVD for ages. I was delighted when I found the full movie on YouTube.
Like most things from the 80’s - namely the hairstyles and the fashion - it has potential to scare but when you come from seeing the new Daniel Radcliffe version you are ultimately let down.
I know purists will scoff and dismiss me, but whatever! The 2012 version was MUCH scarier, and held such little golden moments of film-making it made you an instant fan of Joe Wright’s directing abilities.
Of course the book out-does them all. But this adaption is a good one because it is, I can’t say ‘throw-back’ since it was made in the 80’s but it is in the style of old story telling. A manner of less is more. It doesn’t go in for cheap shocks, it simply relies on the eerie atmosphere of Eel Marsh house, of the marshland and it’s ‘frets’ (the sea breezes) to get across its frights.

I wish more shows were like this. I wish more ghost stories were like this. I think Mark Gatiss should bring back the ‘Ghost Story for Christmas’ tradition. If I can’t do it, I think he is the man to ;)

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