Movie Review: The Woman in Black: Angel of Death (English)

One thing about the second instalment of The Woman in Black that makes you immediately sit up and take notice is its atmosphere. It's deliciously creepy, even if it's short on thrills and jump scares. The result is a fairly unsettling horror thriller that fails to pack a punch. Based on Martyn Waites's sequel to Susan Hill's best-selling gothic novel of the same name, Angel of Death opens during the Blitz of World War II, with bombs raining down on the city of London.

The Woman in Black

Schoolteacher Eve Parkins, accompanied by headmistress Jean Hogg, put up a brave front, eventually making their way along with a handful of students to the relatively peaceful countryside town of Crythin Gifford oblivious to the supernatural miseries that await them. No sooner have they settled themselves at the big old Eel Marsh House, only to find Edward, one of the school children who's turned (conveniently) mute since he lost his parents in the bombing, start acting strange and fall under the woman's spell.

The setup as such is intriguing enough for a decent spook show, but the writers saddle it with an intrusive romantic diversion that feels forced and out of place, while the other sub-plots involving maternal guilt and Harry's (Eve's love interest played by Jeremy Irvine) struggle with post-traumatic stress disorder aren't fully explored to their potential. What does work is the film's English setting and its dark colour palette, making it at once eerie and terrifying. But mind you, post Paranormal Activity, The Conjuring, Insidious and even Annabelle, these adrenaline bumps have gotten as predictable as day and night. Angel of Death ultimately isn't a terrible film, but scary it is not.