¡Qué horror! 2012

Candidate # 21

THE WOMAN IN BLACK

(February 2012)

If you’re in the mood for some old school ghost story hijinx, you can’t really go wrong with James Watkins’ The Woman in Black.

Adapted from Susan Hill’s novel by she-of-the-flaming-red hair, Mrs. Jonathan Ross, Jane Goldman--who, as frequent Matthew Vaughn collaborator, has also adapted Neil Gaiman (Stardust) and Mark Millar (Kick-Ass), and brought the X-Men back to the swinging 60’s (X-Men: First Class)--this one has got a decrepit mansion surrounded by a vast, mucky marsh, suitably saddled with the unbearably charming name of “Eel Marsh House.” It’s a rotting domicile dominated by a black-garbed ghost, and chockful of cobwebs, creepy kids’ toys, and a rocking chair.

What more could you ask for in any self-respecting haunted house?

Sure, poor old Harry Potter (actually, Daniel Radcliffe, in period 'cut and garb) has no business galumphing around Eel Marsh House when he should be working, what, with his job in jeopardy, and yes, that damned dog disappears conveniently enough when he’s not needed to bark at unseen ghostly apparitions, but the creeps and the scares are so finely tuned, one can choose to overlook these slights.

The fact that this is such a different kind of film from Watkins’ feature debut, past ¡Qué Horror! title, Eden Lake, is simply another reason why this gets on this year’s Candidate List…

(The Woman in Black OS’ courtesy of shocktillyoudrop.com.)

EDEN LAKE
(Review)

Like Ils, Vacancy, and The Strangers, Eden Lake follows the travails of a couple who run afoul of violent and murderous rascals, who terrorize and stalk their hapless prey to a bloody end.
Unlike Vacancy though, this one doesn’t wuss out at its climax.
And of all the films mentioned above, though Eden Lake is closest to Ils, writer/director James Watkins has made it a point to provide his work with a thematic backbone which serves as a subtle commentary on today’s youth and their relationship to violence.


Kelly Reilly and Hunger’s Michael Fassbender are Jenny and Steve, the unlucky couple this time out, who plan to spend the weekend at Slapton Quarry, before it is shortly to fall prey to real estate development, and become part of the gated community, Eden Lake Executive Homes.
It’s a simple and familiar set-up, which soon takes a turbulent turn, as Steve and Jenny realize that they must fight for their lives if they intend to make it back home.


What makes Eden Lake stand out from its ilk is our view of the couple’s stalkers, allowing us glimpses into the possible roots of the violence we see unfold onscreen.
And while the inexplicability of the events in Ils and The Strangers may heighten the thrills and tension, Watkins’ script takes the time to illustrate how the young really are sculpted by their environment and upbringing, infusing Eden Lake with an additional layer of relevance absent from its cinematic brethren. (The fact that this was released in England in 2008, where there was a rash of murders involving young perpetrators, is also a gruesome footnote to its chilling narrative.)


If I haven’t quite made it clear, allow me: Eden Lake doesn’t pull its punches.
While it may not reach the bizarro heights of certain examples of French extreme horror (at the moment, no one’s doing it quite like the French are), Eden Lake is still a particularly brutal bit of horror, which takes place in a world where justice—worldly or cosmic—does not seem to exist, and where the comeuppances happen to those who, arguably, deserve it the least.


Parting shot: Reviews of Ils, The Strangers, and Vacancy can be found in the Archive.

(Eden Lake UK quad and images courtesy of shocktillyoudrop.com.)