The Woman in Black 2: Angel of Death ** (2014, Phoebe Fox, Jeremy Irvine, Helen McCrory) – Movie Review

It’s now 40 years after the events of 2012’s original with the first haunting at Eel Marsh House, and World War Two London is being bombed by the Germans in the Blitz. So a group of children are evacuated from the capital and arrive at the creepy house in the countryside, soon awakening the place’s evil long-term inhabitant.

On the plus side, there’s a good, convincing setup, and a nice, eerie atmosphere and some interesting characters. And the production values are decent, with smart sets, some elaborate camerawork and effective use of CGI.

On the minus side, the disposable story’s very so-so and so-what, the pace is sedate, there are no big frightening set pieces and there’s too much reliance on loud music effects to try to produce the shocks and scares that just aren’t there in the script. It takes itself all very seriously, and properly so if that’s the kind of film they’re after. That’s OK, but it doesn’t have anything like enough substance to be this serious about. A bit of effective, well-placed humour would help bring some shade and subtlety – and fun – to the film.

Phoebe Fox plays the new teacher trying to look after the kids as frantically as she can when the cellar is such a dark place, Helen McCrory is the older, crabbier teacher already in place at the house, and Jeremy Irvine moons around uncertainly on the periphery as a vaguely love-struck soldier keeping an eye on the heroine. All three are good actors and do their best under the circumstances, giving it some authority.

Alas, it turns out that this is one of those Asian chiller-style ghost movies where you’re supposed to be scared when nothing at all is happening. There might be moments when it’s slightly creepy but it’s never remotely scary. To be fair though, fans of the rather similar The Others (2001) might well like it.

Original writer Susan Hill provided the story and Jon Croker wrote the screenplay. Director Tom Harper is known for The Scouting Book for Boys (2009). Leanne Best is The Woman In Black. It’s the first Hammer sequel for 40 years – since Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell (1974).

© Derek Winnert 2014 Movie Review

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