HORROR MOVIE REVIEW: THE WOMAN IN BLACK 2: ANGEL OF DEATH


31/2/5

A young woman Eve Parkins has to leave London to look after the orphaned children who are being evacuated away from the dangers of german bombings. Among the children is a little boy Edward who had just recently lost his parents. Eve, who herself harbours a trauma, befriends the little boy. Things turn even darker when it is clear that the house in which the children are stationed is haunted by a terrible vengeful spirit of a child killer. The Woman In Black wants Edward. But Eve is not going to give him up without a fight.

THE WOMAN IN BLACK: ANGEL OF DEATH is made in the vein of many other classic HAMMER movies. It is atmospheric, spooky and well acted. A score from horror regular Marco Beltrami will not disappoint. The film may be low on scares and the level of tension cannot be compared with the original, but it is always entertaining. 

The story is a problem. While the idea of sending the bunch of lovely kinds into the house of a child murdering ghost shall be spine tingling, it does not contain any original twists. Phoebe Fox as Eve is a lovely heroine, but she does not deliver a conflict and a very one-dimensional protagonist. Eve’s romantic involvement with a young picture perfect ex-soldier lacks any chemistry and her final confrontation with the killing spirit is not as satisfying as it could have been, because nothing really made us believe that she is capable of this extreme bravery.


WOMAN IN BLACK ANGEL OF DEATH is not as dark and as gloomy as the original. It is wonderfully designed and beautifully executed horror, but is too familiar to be a standout and memorable film.

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