Synopsis – 40 years after the first haunting at Eel Marsh House, a group of children evacuated from WWII London arrive, awakening the house’s darkest inhabitant.
My Take – Two years back, Susan Hill’s classic ghost story was brought to light in the form of a movie adaption (their is 1983 TV movie as well) starring Daniel Radcliffe, just fresh out of the Harry Potter franchise. Set in the Edwardian-era this Hammer produced film was an efficient, depressing & quite an effective slow burn ghost story based in Eel Marsh House. This sequel takes place 40 years later & with no connection except the Eel Marsh House itself. Taking place during the event of World War II, as London crumbles due to the continuous bombing by the Nazi, Eve Parkins (Phoebe Fox) is a young teacher accompanies a group of children and her formidable & at time annoying superior, Mrs Hogg (Helen McCrory) as they’re evacuated from the city and ushered by train out into the safety of the countryside.
Unfortunately, the shattered children are being evacuated to Eel Marsh, the old house of long shadows, now more shabby and neglected than ever. There, Eve befriends a dreamy pilot named Harry (Jeremy Irvine), who serves at a nearby airbase, and gets quiet attached to the quite little orphan, Edward (Oaklee Pendergast) who clutches to a pencil drawing of his mother, who he lost just days before. But something quiet and evil lurks in the house, and seemingly energized by the youthful presence in its midst, the Woman in Black once again makes her uncanny presence felt & begins to prey on the kids fears & Eve’s secrets. Leaving aside the main antagonist for a minute, I think most would agree its the Eel Marsh House is a star on its own. Always covered in mist while being cut of from the main land, the old shabby & creaky house manages to just bring out the creeps in itself, even during day light! Even though director James Watkins is not involved in the sequel, Tom Harper seems to have a picked up a lesson or two & manages to create & build on the atmosphere created in the 2012 version. Yes, unfortunately just like in the case of most unrelated sequels, the scares are not as effective as they could have been, unlike the prequel, where the tension was developed to a stage of nauseating level, Tom Harper resorts to at times affective/ at times predictable jump scares, only if the director would have paid less attention to the use of special effects, & would have relied on the old house’s creepy ambiance to do the job. Even the romantic angle between the leads seemed forced.
However Harper depicts the era efficiently, beginning with the confines of a London Underground shelter & inviting us later into the worst boarding house the British Isles has to offer. Just like the prequel the editing, sound and lighting all carefully designed to leave us unnerved. Phoebe Fox is very likeable, her character is intelligent, brave and relate able – a perfect heroine set in a far from perfect situation. On the whole “The Woman in Black 2: Angel of Death” is a traditional ghost story, Yes it not as compelling as it could have been, but has enough scares & a perfect atmosphere to create an effective PG13 horror film.
Director – Tom Harper
Starring – Helen McCrory, Jeremy Irvine, Phoebe Fox
Rated – PG13
Run Time – 98 minutes
