 Hello and welcome to today's edition of Frightfully Forgotten Horror Movies. Today we have a Patreon request, this is requested by Damien and we're going to be reviewing 1989's The Woman in Black. But before we get going, what are we drinking? What the hell are we drinking? We're drinking the Demeter's Fate Russian Imperial Stout. The Woman in Black was directed by Herbert Weiss. He mostly did British TV. The screenplay however was done by Nigel Neal. He did the screenplay for Halloween 3. Then he had his name taken off it because they changed too much and he didn't want anything to do with the movie. Right, yeah. He's also the writer for the show, The Quatermass Experiment, that influenced John Carpenter. Prince of Darkness, he's seen written by Martin Quartermass. Yeah. Yeah, he used that name because he liked the show so much. Adrian Rollins is in this. Harry Potter's dad. Yeah. The Woman in Black starts off with our main character here, Arthur Kip, going to work. He's a solicitor. North Americans, that means he's a lawyer. Foss tells him that his longtime client, Alice Drabalo, had just passed away and he wants Arthur to go to her estate and basically take care of everything. He also gives him shit. Clean yourself up for God's sake. It's a mess. Arthur says goodbye to his family and then hops on a train and he meets Sam Toovey along the way and they start talking and befriend each other. They get to the station on the other end and Arthur doesn't really have a way to get to the end so Sam gives him a ride. Arthur gets to the end and kind of says that he's here to take care of the estate at the Eel Marsh House. Put off by and they don't really want to talk about her or much to do with him or anything. So he's kind of already deemed an outsider. The next day he attends the funeral. Him and the solicitor and that's it. She doesn't have any friends or family. He sees this mysterious woman in black standing in the distance behind all these tombstones and then she just kind of disappears. He's going back into town and this cart of all this wood gets into this accident and all the wood starts falling off the cart and almost falls on a kid and kills a kid but he able to grab the kid out of a way in time. So Arthur's now got to go to the Eel Marsh House and the special driver has to take him there because it's on a causeway and the tides come in, floods the whole area so you can only get in specific times and the driver knows when to come in and out. So when they arrive at the house he takes him into the back where there's this like generator room and he starts pumping that wheel and everything to get the electricity going in the house. Like his reaction, electric light? Yeah, it's a new and new thing. Electric light. Goes to the family plot. He sees that woman in black that's a little closer now. She actually starts to move towards him. Sort of shits his pants. He takes off into the house. He starts going through her things too to try and make an inventory of what she has. He comes across this old recorder. You can hear Alice talking about strange occurrences happening in the house, right? And that she's seeing somebody too. He gets lost in the fog. He keeps hearing like a cart splashing into the water and like these blood curdling screams. He starts panicking a little bit, right? He doesn't know if it's the guy coming or if he's just hearing things or what. He meets up with Mr. Tuvi again and Mr. Tuvi proceeds to tell him the tale of a legend that whenever you see this mysterious woman in black, it's always preceded by the death of a child. The child was supposed to die under that wood and everything, but he saved that kid who's got to pay the price for this. Who has to pay this woman in black? Yeah. That's where we're going to end the plot. If you want to see what happens with Arthur and Mr. Tuvi. Mr. Tuvi. Mr. Tuvi. Keep watching. It's a great example of making a very simple horror movie and make it simply effective. Yeah. Perfect example of less is more, right? This movie is a ghost story and that's exactly how the movie plays out. A dialogue driven movie like this, right? It's all a story. And the fact that they keep all the scares to a minimum when there is a scare that happens or something that he sees at the house, it makes it more effective because you're not being bombarded with all these stupid jump scares and scary images throughout the whole movie. That's right. They pick and choose these critical little moments when to get you, you know? And when they do get you, it works because you've been waiting, it's been building towards that, right? There's certain scenes where you're waiting. It's like, okay, somebody's maybe in the background and nothing's there. It's like, okay, well, something's gonna happen soon. It's a great example of a slow burn. The dialogue in this movie is perfect too because it moves the story along. It helps to drive the entire movie. The characters that deliver the dialogue are great. They're exactly what you need. Adrian Rollins is a great job of kind of carrying this movie on his back because for most of the movie, it's just kind of him alone in the house. Yeah. Then Mr. Toovey comes in every once in a while, but mostly it's all on his shoulders. The mystery of this movie is great too because you're always wanting to learn more about this mysterious woman in black. What the house is all about too. The way they build the mystery is great too. The pacing of the mystery because like before you even get to the house, you're like, what is about this house that everyone's so scared about? Yeah. When you finally see it when he gets there with the driver, it's like, oh, that place is kind of creepy. What's gonna happen in there? Like, what's in there? You know, it's the way they build it is really good. You don't see much in this movie, but you hear about everything. Yeah. I'd say they use sound cues more than they do visual cues as far as providing scares and providing like creepiness and mysteries. Yeah. You don't see much, but you do hear a lot. The sound of that cart crashing and that woman screaming, it's like it's kind of blood curdling. If you hear it, you can make those images up in your own mind. And it's also easier to question something that you hear rather than question something you see. Exactly. So because he's always hearing things, he questions it more. Yeah. Is that real? I don't know. What was that? If you see it, you're like, I fucking saw it. All the surrounding characters around him are saying, oh yeah, well, you just heard noises from miles away and the mist carries it and stuff like that. It's like, well, he doesn't really think so, right? No, no, that bullshit. And I always like the way they use the sound, like with the horses, the crash, right? Every time you hear a horse neighing in this movie now, you question it. You're like, is he hearing it, or is there really a horse outside that building to come pick him up or what? You start questioning your own sanity a little bit too, as well as his. And there's some really scary scenes in here that are played out perfectly. The scene where he's kind of lost in the mist, he's hearing all that crashing, like it's a great scene, the atmosphere. You can, again, you cut it with a knife. Yeah. There's a great scene where he hears his ball bouncing in this room and he goes to open the door and it's locked. He's fucking trying to get in. He can't open this door. He runs to go grab an axe and he comes back and the door's open. Yeah. What's in that room, right? And he goes in the room all slow and he can just hear his breathing, his panting as he's opening up this door. It's like super creepy. And that works on so many levels because is it a ghost or is there somebody in the house with him? Yeah. Both are equally scary. The woman in black herself is creepy too, right? And the way they sort of play things out with her, they keep her at a distance at first and every time he sees her, she gets closer and closer, right? Yeah. That's creepy. Yeah, exactly. Because it's like she's getting more comfortable with him or something, right? Yeah. It's like, ugh. Chilling, you know? Yeah. A very chilling look on her face, like no expression. Why are you here? You don't know why because she doesn't look angry or sad or happy or anything. Just watching him. Just watching. And this movie, in my opinion, has one of the best jump scares I have ever seen. I think it's up there with like the Exorcist 3 jump scares being one of the better jump scares in horror. It actually kind of shocked me and scared me a bit. I would have liked to have been shocked or scared. You wrecked it for me. Jesus Christ! Jesus Christ! Jesus Christ! Oh man, I'm watching a woman in black. It's got one of the best jump scares I've ever seen in my life. And trust me, you'll never see it coming. All right, woman in black. Here we go. Saw it coming. And the music in this movie, or the lack thereof music, is great. The fact that there's not much music throughout this movie really helps the dreariness in the atmosphere. And then when there is music, they use it very sparingly, but at specific points where, okay, now it matters. That's right, yeah. And when it kicks in, it's chilling and blood-curdling the string. Yeah. Oh man. Yeah. It allows the movie to speak for itself, right? Yeah. Which is great. It doesn't overshadow anything. Something that I think modern horror could learn from is you don't have to have a musical cue all the time for everything. Yeah, it spoils it. Yeah. Let the movie breathe a bit on its own. And the atmosphere of this movie is perfect. It's one of the best atmospheres in the horror movie that I've ever seen, really. You feel like when he's, when he's cold out in the marshes and stuff like that, you feel everything. They do a great job of putting you in that moment. And I think the fact that they shot it on location really helps. Like, they shot it where it's supposed to take place. They do a great job of sucking you into that time period. It's perfect. There's not ones that you don't believe that this takes place in 1920. I like all the little gadgets, right? Yeah. That put you there. Yeah. Like that phonograph thing or whatever. Everything's a novelty right now, which is neat, all right? Even electricity, for God's sake. Yeah, like for example, like Sleepy Hollow is kind of supposed to take place in that general time period. But it's a Hollywood time period. This doesn't feel like a Hollywood time period piece. Probably because it's made for TV and is British. This movie is such a slow burn, too, that the few scares that you do get out of it sort of are enough for most of the movie. That's what makes it a bit of a drawback for the ending is because not much really happens. You don't get that much of a payoff at the end. No. Most of the payoff happens throughout as the movie's playing out, right? So it sort of leaves you a little unsatisfied. A little bit, yeah. The ending is a little kind of, I wouldn't say anti-climatic, but a bit of like a... It's a bit of a letdown. A bit of a bummer. Yeah, yeah. And maybe that's the way it was designed, right? Because the whole movie has a feel of dread and foreboding. So it kind of ends on a low note. I think that's how it was supposed to be, right? Yeah. We're not saying we think it should have ended on a happier note. Just maybe the way it was played out was a little anti-climatic. The way it was done and maybe even the way it was shot and pulled off was a little kind of like, let's wrap it up quick. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Wrap it up. Wrap it up here. Go on. What are you doing? What are you doing? But besides the ending, the rest of the movie is pretty fantastic. If you love slow burn British horror, that's exactly what this is. And it's the perfect example of less is more horror. So if you need a break from a bunch of shitty new movies or they just bombard you, bombard your senses with stupid scares and sounds, this is like, ah. It's an intellectual movie. There was a remake. Daniel Radcliffe plays Harry Potter, which is interesting because Adrian Rollins, who plays the main lead in this movie, plays Harry Potter's dad in the Harry Potter movie. Yeah. I don't remember much about the remake. It was pretty forgettable. All I really remember is like, it's dark and Daniel Radcliffe is walking around in a house a bit. Like, that's all I really remember. But this movie, there are several things I'll remember for a long time. Yeah. That one jump scare and just the general atmosphere, it kind of sticks to you. So if you want a perfect example of a slow burn, less is more simple, but extremely effective movie, check out 1989's The Woman in Black. You certainly won't be disappointed. Come away feeling sort of upset a little bit. It's so such an effective movie, right? And until next time, keep drinking.