Woman in Black-UK-1989

(Not Rated)(No Subtitles)

Made-for-TV Movie

This version of Susan Hill’s The Woman in Black is technically a made-for-tv movie, but I just had to add it because it is one of my favorite ghost stories of all time and similarly, one of my favorite movies.  

The Woman in Black begins with Arthur Kidd, a young lawyer who has been given the task of going through the papers of a recently deceased, elderly client of his law firm.  The elderly client, Alice Drablow, had no living relatives and lived alone in an old home isolated from the rest of her village by a causeway that in the past had proven deadly.  While attending the funeral of Mrs. Drablow, Arthur spots a woman dressed in black and assumes that she is a mourner.  Arthur asks the villagers about her and his inquiry is met with fear and suspicion.  The villagers tell Arthur that he has seen the spectral Woman in Black, and believes her to be a harbinger of death in that every time she appears a child dies. Arthur does not believe the villagers and to prove this, he endeavors to spend the night in the remote Drablow home. What he encounters is an evening of isolation and terror, and is soon convinced the the Woman in Black is very real.  

I can’t say enough that this is one of my favorite ghost stories...EVER! The first time I read this book, I thought that it had been written in the 19th century.  It had that quality about it.  I was amazed to learn that it was written in the 80’s...the 1980’s. Also, the made-for-tv version stays pretty true to the book, except for a few instances.  It also stays true in the sense that, for me, it evokes that same bygone feeling, while still giving you the chills.  So if you are looking for a truly spooky movie for a dark and stormy night, The Woman in Black (1989) is a definite must!

Side Note:  The feature film version that came out just a few years ago was produced by Hammer Studios.  In the new version Daniel Radcliffe stars as Arthur Kidd.  In the 1989 version Adrian Rawlins plays Arthur Kidd.  Adrian Rawlins would later play the deceased James Potter in the Harry Potter films, which as everyone EVERYWHERE knows stars Daniel Radcliffe.

And now you know.