Year of production : 2012
Director : James Watkins
Genre : Psychological horror
Brief plot outline :
Arthur Kipps played by Daniel Radcliffe is a lawyer who leaves his 4 year old son in London to travel to Eel Marsh House to settle the estate of a deceased woman. As he arrives, the local villagers warn him to leave but he refuses, soon to discover that the house of his client id haunted by a woman dressed in black, luring children to their deaths.
Which two scenes impressed you the most? Why?
One scene which impressed me was when the main character, Arthur Kipps, is exploring Eel Marsh House. He presses his hand against the misty window and looks out into the foggy marshland. There is no dialogue and no other diegetic sound so the audience are left in suspense, wondering what is going to happen. After a few eerie seconds of silence, the face of the woman in black suddenly appears at the window and then disappears just as quickly forcing Arthur to shudder his hand away in shock. As the woman's face appeared, there was a momentary burst of non-diegetic sound; a combination of instruments to form a medium pitched screech. This whole scene impressed me due to it embodying the theme of the film by making the audience jump. This is the first real scene of us seeing the woman in black up close, even if it is just momentarily. As an unsuspecting audience, this shocks us causing us to jump as well as the character himself. Her face is only apparent at the window for just over a second, but this quick montage shot is long enough for the target demographic of psychological horror films to gain a clear image of the dreaded woman in back. We see her withered, colourless face with her long, scraggly black hair giving us a chilling sensation as we feel a sense of fear of her. The use of make-up cleverly makes the woman in black look old and haggard and gives the desired effect of being frightening.
(Below is the clip of this scene.)
Another scene which impressed me the most was the ending. This is due to the narrative structure. The main character, Arthur Kipps, is finally reunited with his young son and both are standing on a platform waiting for a train. We see his son become evidently distracted by something which we do not immediately see. He begins to slowly walk towards the train tracks with a close up of his lower legs and feet. The camera then focuses back onto Arthur as he bids farewell to his friend, whilst each movement is becoming more in slow motion, along with instrumental music building in speed and volume, creating a tense and uncomfortable feeling. We see him shake hands with his friend as the camera zooms in on them, only then to realise that his son had let go of his hand and was no longer standing beside him. There is a sudden low drum beat as Arthur turns and looks across the train line to see the woman in black standing glaring straight back at him. We are then drawn to Arthur's son again, who is now walking along the tracks in the direct path of a fast approaching train. Arthur shouts his son's name, Joseph, although we do not hear this as the dialogue is muted but see it by reading his lips then runs onto the train tracks and grabs Joseph. We do not see any impact with them and the train but instead see Arthur's friend looking through the train's windows as it rushes past. There is a point of view shot where we see a group of young children who are supposedly the woman in black's victims. As the slow motion happens again, we have a glimpse of the woman in black's face against the train window in a screaming pose; this is accompanied by a high pitched screeching noise which makes us jump. The train goes past and we see Arthur holding his son with no apparent injuries still standing on the single train track. He looks around for his friend, but Sam is nowhere to be seen. By now, we are inferring that both Arthur and Joseph died in the accident and are standing there in a ghost like form. We see them become reunited with Arthur's late wife and they all walk off down the train line, proving our suggestions correct of them being dead. However the final image we see is a medium shot of the woman in black's face, leaving the audience with a chilling thought to finish with. This whole scene impresses me because you think there is going to be a happy ending, due to Arthur previously reuniting the woman in black with her dead son, but instead she still seeks revenge so takes Joseph's life as well. We, as an audience, do not expect this twist in the plot to happen so are left feeling shocked When we then see the woman in black's face again, it turns into an open ending as we know that she is still there watching and still wants revenge for her own son tragically dying. It leaves the audience wondering if and how she will next take a child's life and even leaves it open for a sequel. This is a clever way of keeping the audience enticed into the film, so if they do make another one, the audience will then want to see it due to their own speculations what would happen in it.
How has watching this film helped you understand this genre of film-making? Which features on the genre checklist did you spot in the film? When? How?
From watching this film, I have seen how there are many different aspects of this genre that can be portrayed in film. There was no body horror throughout the entirety of the film so it completely relies on the paranormal and psychological sides of it to create the effect that the director was aiming for. I understand that this genre of film-making must take a long period of time to plan, and thus ultimately produce a film of high quality which will entice audiences nationally and worldwide.
Mise-en-scene
There is no use of body horror but heavily relies on restricted narration. There is restricted narration used throughout the whole film, especially when Arthur enters the house and hears noises without the audience seeing where these noises are coming from. This leaves us imagining for ourselves what could be happening, creating a more suspenseful scene.
The creepy location used in The Woman In Black is Eel Marsh House. Most of the film is set here with it being old, dark and haunted. This sets the mood of the film to be sinister and creepy.
(Below is Eel Marsh House)
There is low key lighting used for the majority of the film with the scenes inside Eel Marsh House. This created a spooky, fearful atmosphere.
Sound
There is parallel music playing when Arthur first goes into Eel Marsh House. It is eerie sounding to suit the weariness of him and the house being old, dingy and deserted. On the other hand, there is no use of contrapuntal music; I feel it would have suited the nature of the film well.
Editing
One use of a quick montage shot is when Arthur first enters the room at the end of the darkened corridor in Eel Marsh House, he frantically rips off the wallpaper to reveal the words "you could have saved him" written in red to signify blood. The quick montage shots cut from the wall to Arthur's face and back again. This shows his panic and need to find out what's under the wallpaper, creating excitement and drama for the audience.
One use of a slow montage shot is when Arthur places the dead boy in the bed and is setting up the room to lure the woman in black to find her son and be reunited. Arthur sets the toys up so they all start to go off and move. He stands there waiting, looking out from the room into the dark hallway. The camera slowly zooms in on him then cuts to his point of view of the hallway. The slow cuts create tension and suspense as we wait in anticipation as to when or if the woman in black appear.
There is evident use of collision cutting, in particular the scene where there is a house fire in the village, Arthur rushes in to save the trapped young girl. There is a series of quick montage shots constantly changing from Arthur to the house. This creates excitement and drama and causes a sense of urgency. However, it is then contrasted with a series of slow montage shots when he sees the girl standing motionless inches away from the fire, causing Arthur to stop dead in his tracks. The camera focuses on her for about 4 seconds then zooms in on Arthur's face as he watches in despair as the girl looks to her left to reveal the woman in black standing in the corner. We then see the girl purposely drop her gas lantern and set herself alight. After a few seconds of focusing on the fire, the scene ends on a close up of Arthur's face as we hear him shout "no." By having a set of juxtaposing montage images, it keeps the audience engaged in the action by mixing up the speed of the shots. It also shows how different views can be portrayed in one scene and separates the feelings of excitement in the quick shots and suspense in the slow shots. It also helps to clarify the high speed action shots to help the audience feel on edge, in comparison to making the audience feel tense in the slow shots.
Cinematography
There are close ups used throughout the whole film, especially after the first 20 minutes when Arthur has entered Eel Marsh House. The main close up shots are of Arthur and the woman in black but with a few of Sam (Arthur's friend) and Joseph (Arthur's son). However we would expect this as Arthur and the woman in black have the most screen time due to them being the main characters, hence the name of the film. The majority of the close ups on Arthur are when he has seen the woman in black or even when he thinks he does; it allows the audience to see the emotion on his face, fear, sadness, feeling inquisitive, or whatever it may be.
There are no canted angles in it and also no hand held camera shots throughout the whole film. However, there are a few point of view shots. In approximately the fourth chapter in, we see Arthur standing outside Eel Marsh House looking up towards the window. All of a sudden, the woman in black's face appears at this window causing Arthur to do a double take to see if she is really there. The camera then cuts to the same window where she is but instead we are now looking at Arthur through her point of view. This is done to create a sense of identification with the characters. By having a point of view shot from the "killer's" eyes, it makes the audience feel uncomfortable as we feel like we have become the killer, in this case the woman in black. It also distinguishes a sense of synthetic personalisation as we are beginning to personally relate to the characters and feeling like we are part of their diegesis.
Characters
It could be argued that the woman in black is a representation of a psycho killer. However, she does not physically kill her young victims, but instead mentally empowers them to kill themselves in various ways. So I feel it is a matter of personal opinion as to whether she can be classed as the psycho killer in this film.
There is no slow moving monster, no quick moving monster, no female victim and no final girl. Nevertheless there is a personification of a male hero. Arthur Kipps, although not a dominant one, could be classed as the male hero. He is not seen as one amongst the local villagers as they believe it is his fault that the ghost of the woman in black is striking again. However, the audience knows that his intentions are to try and stop her taking innocent lives by reuniting her with her dead son's body, so is therefore fulfilling the role of a hero. Although, he does not entirely fit the conventional role of a hero and does not end the killings in the end so I personally don't feel he can be classed as the male hero of the film, even if he had the very best intentions. The flawed male hero is quite common in horror films and unlike the final girl, they usually die, as shown in The Woman In Black.
Themes
There is no obvious theme of fear of death or violence, however Arthur fears that his son Joseph could be taken by the woman in black so he tries to defer him from coming to stay with him.
There is a possible sense of loneliness when Arthur is inside Eel Marsh House as we see him carry his son's drawing around with him to remind him of home.
There is no hints of sex or taboo, possibly because it is a 12A rated film, but also because it is focusing on more subtle psychological horror themes and techniques.
Narrative
In a way, the ending is unhappy because all of Arthur's hard work goes to waste as the woman in black is still killing. Also because himself and his son die which makes it unhappy. However we do see him become aggregated with his dead wife so brings a sense of happiness to the ending.
It is definitely an open ending due to us seeing the woman in black force Joseph to kill himself. The last image we see is of her face so immediately ignites the thought that she has not finished killing and has not got her full revenge. It also leaves it open to a sequel. However on the other hand, it could be argued that it is almost a happy ending and that the woman in black has in fact performed a selfless act. By killing Arthur and Joseph, they then become reconciled with their wife and mother respectively, so end up happy together.
Ideologies
There is no misogyny in The Woman In Black, the idea of sexism towards women would have no relevance in the film and wouldn't add any endearing features to it.
The feeling of being outside the CDI is apparent in both the woman in black and also Arthur. The woman in black is a ghost which is obviously not something you'd predominately find in our culture. Arthur is also outside the CDI for the reason that he is shunned by most of the villagers so do not count him as one of them.
There is not too much sadism in the film as the woman in black does not appear to actually enjoy forcing the children to tragically kill themselves, it is more for her need of revenge. As we watch the plot develop, we even begin to feel slightly sympathetic towards her as we find out her true reasoning behind her killings.
Which aspects of the film would you like to include in your own trailer? Why?
I would probably include many aspects of The Woman In Black in my own trailer as this genre within horror is what I would like to aim for. I would definitely include the part where the woman in black's face appears against the window in the house as this really stood out for me in terms of shock and being so unsuspected. This scene is a result of clever collision cutting. It begins with a slow empty scene looking out the window then cuts to a quick, full one with the woman in black. I would also like to include some of the other jumpy scenes in my trailer to keep the audience on edge and keeping them drawn in and wanting to see more. I would achieve this with collision cutting of being slow and quiet changing to something fast and loud.
Which aspects of the film would you like to avoid in your own trailer? Why?
There aren't too many aspects of this film that I wouldn't include in my own trailer as this is the type of horror that I would like to recreate, focusing on the paranormal and psychological qualities rather than blood and gore. I would probably like to avoid setting it before the 1990's as I want my audience to be able to relate to my trailer in terms of our current context.
What was the best aspect/most enjoyable moment in the film? Why?
Can you recreate this in your own film? How?
The best moment of the film in my opinion is the very start and also the ending. At the start, we see 3 young girls playing with china dolls. They all look up simultaneously and look towards the large window where they begin to walk forwards and nonchalantly jump out of it. There is contrapuntal music playing throughput this scene, creating a mysterious, almost creepy feel and after the girls have jumped, we hear a woman's screaming cry.This opening scene is incredibly shocking as we do not yet know the plot of the film so immediately catches the audience's attention.
(Below is the clip of this scene.)
The ending was also shocking as you just did not expect it to end with such a twist. It left me feeling almost disheartened as I had made such a connection with the characters that I didn't want Arthur to die and the woman in black to still feel the need to take lives. I would like to try and recreate the ending in my own film and definitely add in some sort of twist to make it interesting and diverse.
(Below is the clip of this scene.)
Another scene which impressed me the most was the ending. This is due to the narrative structure. The main character, Arthur Kipps, is finally reunited with his young son and both are standing on a platform waiting for a train. We see his son become evidently distracted by something which we do not immediately see. He begins to slowly walk towards the train tracks with a close up of his lower legs and feet. The camera then focuses back onto Arthur as he bids farewell to his friend, whilst each movement is becoming more in slow motion, along with instrumental music building in speed and volume, creating a tense and uncomfortable feeling. We see him shake hands with his friend as the camera zooms in on them, only then to realise that his son had let go of his hand and was no longer standing beside him. There is a sudden low drum beat as Arthur turns and looks across the train line to see the woman in black standing glaring straight back at him. We are then drawn to Arthur's son again, who is now walking along the tracks in the direct path of a fast approaching train. Arthur shouts his son's name, Joseph, although we do not hear this as the dialogue is muted but see it by reading his lips then runs onto the train tracks and grabs Joseph. We do not see any impact with them and the train but instead see Arthur's friend looking through the train's windows as it rushes past. There is a point of view shot where we see a group of young children who are supposedly the woman in black's victims. As the slow motion happens again, we have a glimpse of the woman in black's face against the train window in a screaming pose; this is accompanied by a high pitched screeching noise which makes us jump. The train goes past and we see Arthur holding his son with no apparent injuries still standing on the single train track. He looks around for his friend, but Sam is nowhere to be seen. By now, we are inferring that both Arthur and Joseph died in the accident and are standing there in a ghost like form. We see them become reunited with Arthur's late wife and they all walk off down the train line, proving our suggestions correct of them being dead. However the final image we see is a medium shot of the woman in black's face, leaving the audience with a chilling thought to finish with. This whole scene impresses me because you think there is going to be a happy ending, due to Arthur previously reuniting the woman in black with her dead son, but instead she still seeks revenge so takes Joseph's life as well. We, as an audience, do not expect this twist in the plot to happen so are left feeling shocked When we then see the woman in black's face again, it turns into an open ending as we know that she is still there watching and still wants revenge for her own son tragically dying. It leaves the audience wondering if and how she will next take a child's life and even leaves it open for a sequel. This is a clever way of keeping the audience enticed into the film, so if they do make another one, the audience will then want to see it due to their own speculations what would happen in it.
How has watching this film helped you understand this genre of film-making? Which features on the genre checklist did you spot in the film? When? How?
From watching this film, I have seen how there are many different aspects of this genre that can be portrayed in film. There was no body horror throughout the entirety of the film so it completely relies on the paranormal and psychological sides of it to create the effect that the director was aiming for. I understand that this genre of film-making must take a long period of time to plan, and thus ultimately produce a film of high quality which will entice audiences nationally and worldwide.
Mise-en-scene
There is no use of body horror but heavily relies on restricted narration. There is restricted narration used throughout the whole film, especially when Arthur enters the house and hears noises without the audience seeing where these noises are coming from. This leaves us imagining for ourselves what could be happening, creating a more suspenseful scene.
The creepy location used in The Woman In Black is Eel Marsh House. Most of the film is set here with it being old, dark and haunted. This sets the mood of the film to be sinister and creepy.
(Below is Eel Marsh House)
There is low key lighting used for the majority of the film with the scenes inside Eel Marsh House. This created a spooky, fearful atmosphere.
Sound
There is parallel music playing when Arthur first goes into Eel Marsh House. It is eerie sounding to suit the weariness of him and the house being old, dingy and deserted. On the other hand, there is no use of contrapuntal music; I feel it would have suited the nature of the film well.
Editing
One use of a quick montage shot is when Arthur first enters the room at the end of the darkened corridor in Eel Marsh House, he frantically rips off the wallpaper to reveal the words "you could have saved him" written in red to signify blood. The quick montage shots cut from the wall to Arthur's face and back again. This shows his panic and need to find out what's under the wallpaper, creating excitement and drama for the audience.
One use of a slow montage shot is when Arthur places the dead boy in the bed and is setting up the room to lure the woman in black to find her son and be reunited. Arthur sets the toys up so they all start to go off and move. He stands there waiting, looking out from the room into the dark hallway. The camera slowly zooms in on him then cuts to his point of view of the hallway. The slow cuts create tension and suspense as we wait in anticipation as to when or if the woman in black appear.
There is evident use of collision cutting, in particular the scene where there is a house fire in the village, Arthur rushes in to save the trapped young girl. There is a series of quick montage shots constantly changing from Arthur to the house. This creates excitement and drama and causes a sense of urgency. However, it is then contrasted with a series of slow montage shots when he sees the girl standing motionless inches away from the fire, causing Arthur to stop dead in his tracks. The camera focuses on her for about 4 seconds then zooms in on Arthur's face as he watches in despair as the girl looks to her left to reveal the woman in black standing in the corner. We then see the girl purposely drop her gas lantern and set herself alight. After a few seconds of focusing on the fire, the scene ends on a close up of Arthur's face as we hear him shout "no." By having a set of juxtaposing montage images, it keeps the audience engaged in the action by mixing up the speed of the shots. It also shows how different views can be portrayed in one scene and separates the feelings of excitement in the quick shots and suspense in the slow shots. It also helps to clarify the high speed action shots to help the audience feel on edge, in comparison to making the audience feel tense in the slow shots.
Cinematography
There are close ups used throughout the whole film, especially after the first 20 minutes when Arthur has entered Eel Marsh House. The main close up shots are of Arthur and the woman in black but with a few of Sam (Arthur's friend) and Joseph (Arthur's son). However we would expect this as Arthur and the woman in black have the most screen time due to them being the main characters, hence the name of the film. The majority of the close ups on Arthur are when he has seen the woman in black or even when he thinks he does; it allows the audience to see the emotion on his face, fear, sadness, feeling inquisitive, or whatever it may be.
There are no canted angles in it and also no hand held camera shots throughout the whole film. However, there are a few point of view shots. In approximately the fourth chapter in, we see Arthur standing outside Eel Marsh House looking up towards the window. All of a sudden, the woman in black's face appears at this window causing Arthur to do a double take to see if she is really there. The camera then cuts to the same window where she is but instead we are now looking at Arthur through her point of view. This is done to create a sense of identification with the characters. By having a point of view shot from the "killer's" eyes, it makes the audience feel uncomfortable as we feel like we have become the killer, in this case the woman in black. It also distinguishes a sense of synthetic personalisation as we are beginning to personally relate to the characters and feeling like we are part of their diegesis.
Characters
It could be argued that the woman in black is a representation of a psycho killer. However, she does not physically kill her young victims, but instead mentally empowers them to kill themselves in various ways. So I feel it is a matter of personal opinion as to whether she can be classed as the psycho killer in this film.
There is no slow moving monster, no quick moving monster, no female victim and no final girl. Nevertheless there is a personification of a male hero. Arthur Kipps, although not a dominant one, could be classed as the male hero. He is not seen as one amongst the local villagers as they believe it is his fault that the ghost of the woman in black is striking again. However, the audience knows that his intentions are to try and stop her taking innocent lives by reuniting her with her dead son's body, so is therefore fulfilling the role of a hero. Although, he does not entirely fit the conventional role of a hero and does not end the killings in the end so I personally don't feel he can be classed as the male hero of the film, even if he had the very best intentions. The flawed male hero is quite common in horror films and unlike the final girl, they usually die, as shown in The Woman In Black.
Themes
There is no obvious theme of fear of death or violence, however Arthur fears that his son Joseph could be taken by the woman in black so he tries to defer him from coming to stay with him.
There is a possible sense of loneliness when Arthur is inside Eel Marsh House as we see him carry his son's drawing around with him to remind him of home.
There is no hints of sex or taboo, possibly because it is a 12A rated film, but also because it is focusing on more subtle psychological horror themes and techniques.
Narrative
In a way, the ending is unhappy because all of Arthur's hard work goes to waste as the woman in black is still killing. Also because himself and his son die which makes it unhappy. However we do see him become aggregated with his dead wife so brings a sense of happiness to the ending.
It is definitely an open ending due to us seeing the woman in black force Joseph to kill himself. The last image we see is of her face so immediately ignites the thought that she has not finished killing and has not got her full revenge. It also leaves it open to a sequel. However on the other hand, it could be argued that it is almost a happy ending and that the woman in black has in fact performed a selfless act. By killing Arthur and Joseph, they then become reconciled with their wife and mother respectively, so end up happy together.
Ideologies
There is no misogyny in The Woman In Black, the idea of sexism towards women would have no relevance in the film and wouldn't add any endearing features to it.
The feeling of being outside the CDI is apparent in both the woman in black and also Arthur. The woman in black is a ghost which is obviously not something you'd predominately find in our culture. Arthur is also outside the CDI for the reason that he is shunned by most of the villagers so do not count him as one of them.
There is not too much sadism in the film as the woman in black does not appear to actually enjoy forcing the children to tragically kill themselves, it is more for her need of revenge. As we watch the plot develop, we even begin to feel slightly sympathetic towards her as we find out her true reasoning behind her killings.
Which aspects of the film would you like to include in your own trailer? Why?
I would probably include many aspects of The Woman In Black in my own trailer as this genre within horror is what I would like to aim for. I would definitely include the part where the woman in black's face appears against the window in the house as this really stood out for me in terms of shock and being so unsuspected. This scene is a result of clever collision cutting. It begins with a slow empty scene looking out the window then cuts to a quick, full one with the woman in black. I would also like to include some of the other jumpy scenes in my trailer to keep the audience on edge and keeping them drawn in and wanting to see more. I would achieve this with collision cutting of being slow and quiet changing to something fast and loud.
Which aspects of the film would you like to avoid in your own trailer? Why?
There aren't too many aspects of this film that I wouldn't include in my own trailer as this is the type of horror that I would like to recreate, focusing on the paranormal and psychological qualities rather than blood and gore. I would probably like to avoid setting it before the 1990's as I want my audience to be able to relate to my trailer in terms of our current context.
What was the best aspect/most enjoyable moment in the film? Why?
Can you recreate this in your own film? How?
The best moment of the film in my opinion is the very start and also the ending. At the start, we see 3 young girls playing with china dolls. They all look up simultaneously and look towards the large window where they begin to walk forwards and nonchalantly jump out of it. There is contrapuntal music playing throughput this scene, creating a mysterious, almost creepy feel and after the girls have jumped, we hear a woman's screaming cry.This opening scene is incredibly shocking as we do not yet know the plot of the film so immediately catches the audience's attention.
(Below is the clip of this scene.)
The ending was also shocking as you just did not expect it to end with such a twist. It left me feeling almost disheartened as I had made such a connection with the characters that I didn't want Arthur to die and the woman in black to still feel the need to take lives. I would like to try and recreate the ending in my own film and definitely add in some sort of twist to make it interesting and diverse.
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