The Woman in Black
CBS Films | Release Date: February 3, 2012 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
62
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 40 Critic Reviews
Positive:
23
Mixed:
17
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
60
Wall Street JournalJohn AndersonFeb 2, 2012
The landscape is dire, the architecture is haunted, children disappear by the dozens and antique toys inexplicably spark to life. That Mr. Radcliffe doesn't is part of the problem. Read full review
60
New York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanFeb 2, 2012
Though "Woman" never rises above its status as a traditional genre thriller, that's perfectly fine. It was made with intelligence and commitment, and it achieves its goal: to keep us looking over our shoulders long after we've left. Read full review
60
Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzFeb 2, 2012
Subtlety may not be Watkins' strong suit, but he knows how to frame a scene for maximum tension and dread. Read full review
50
ObserverRex ReedFeb 8, 2012
Boring and sedentary, not to mention only occasionally coherent, this creaking-door mystery is not much of a vehicle to display young Mr. Radcliffe's range and charm. Read full review
50
New York Magazine (Vulture)David EdelsteinFeb 6, 2012
There is one nice pop-up scare against a dozen or so false, ineffectual ones - a poor percentage. As the title states, she is a woman and wears black, but she might as well be a hastily decked-out script girl for all her impact. Read full review
50
New York PostLou LumenickFeb 3, 2012
Erstwhile boy wizard Daniel Radcliffe works no magic as a grieving lawyer in The Woman in Black, a creaky haunted-house story that's strong on creepy atmosphere but woefully deficient in the scare department. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleAmy BiancolliFeb 2, 2012
If, in the end, the movie fails to generate much beyond several crackling jump scares and a nicely gothic mise-en-scene, it has enough mood, and enough Radcliffe, to carry us through the mist. Read full review
50
Washington PostMichael O'SullivanFeb 2, 2012
Director James Watkins knows how to make a body jump out of its skin, even if he does use the face-reflected-in-the-mirror/window trick once too often. At the same time, the film is kind of, well, silly. Read full review
50
Portland OregonianM. E. RussellFeb 2, 2012
To my thinking, this splendid low-key bummer of a ghost story was eventually undermined by the film's increasing reliance on shock-scares, in which something suddenly and noisily jumps into the frame, over and over and over. Read full review
50
Boston GlobeWesley MorrisFeb 2, 2012
Janet McTeer provides a little ham to the role of a woman who dresses up her dogs because she misses her dead twin sons. But there's not nearly enough of her. Nor is there enough legitimate suspense. Read full review
50
Philadelphia InquirerDavid HiltbrandFeb 2, 2012
The Woman in Black has lovely period atmosphere. Unfortunately, it doesn't have much else besides atmosphere. Read full review
50
Austin ChronicleMarjorie BaumgartenFeb 2, 2012
The film is wonderfully atmospheric and full of little frights, but its overall impact is only glancing. Read full review
50
Miami HeraldRene RodriguezFeb 2, 2012
In his first starring role post-Harry Potter, Radcliffe must carry the movie with little dialogue and practically nothing to play other than fear, constantly reacting to creepy toys that suddenly spring to life and reflections in windows that shriek unexpectedly at him. Read full review
50
The A.V. ClubKeith PhippsFeb 1, 2012
Without Radcliffe at the center looking scared out of his wits, The Woman In Black would seem even slighter than it already does. Read full review
50
Slant MagazineFeb 1, 2012
In the end, The Woman in Black displays a higher regard for the material makeup of gruesome-looking Victorian dolls than it does for the psychological turmoil of its characters, making one wish that some of the money it budgeted for cranes and fog machines had been offered to a script doctor. Read full review
42
Tampa Bay TimesSteve PersallFeb 2, 2012
Despite its haunted house setting, the movie's most visible cobwebs are found in Jane Goldman's screenplay, adapted from Susan Hill's novel. Read full review
40
Boxoffice MagazineMark OlsenFeb 2, 2012
A credible suspense story with a surprisingly bold ending, The Woman In Black is a solid step away from Harry Potter for star Daniel Radcliffe - while it, too, is British and fantastical, the tone is sinister, adult and bleak. Read full review
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