If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

It was OK. I don't see why everyone loves it so much. It wasn't very smart or deep or well-directed.

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

Blistering performances.

Herbert Wise's Woman in Black is a blueprint on how a film should be made in order to scare the intelligent audience. Adapted from a book by the same name this Television film has one of the creepiest ghosts ever put on film- and she is there standing in broad daylight! The atmosphere is haunting and the pristine 16mm film stock lends itself well to the tone of the film. A remake starring Daniel Radcliffe was made in 2012 but it does away with everything that this film stands for-a minimalist approach. You should definitely see this movie- it maybe hard to procure but the entire film exists on you-tube.

Adrian Rawlins plays Arthur Kidd a solicitor who has been sent by his firm to settle the estate of Alice Drablow who has just passed away. Kidd looks at this as a chance to impress the firm with dreams of receiving a partnership. Soon thereafter he witnesses a dark and mysterious woman in black. He also hears horrible noises and voices when near the Nine Lives Causeway (aptly named) that leads to the isolated house. Kidd works on unwinding the mystery of the home.This is a TV movie, but I actually find it scarier than most over done Hollywood horror movies. They don't do it with buckets of blood, but rather with perhaps more subtlety, with sounds and a ghost story that takes time to develop, but is well worth the wait.I really do give screenwriter Nigel Kneale and director Herbert Wise credit for taking the Susan Hill novel which was a pretty darn good horror story and creating this great horror movie that does not stray that far from the novel (if my memory serves correct). I do apologize as I certainly do not remember everything from the novel as I read it a few years back, but I do remember that I really enjoyed it. Had me on the edge of my seat, which this movie does.Highly recommended to those who love a good ghost story.

Several horror fanatics active on this website, as well as more acclaimed film critics all over the world, are often referring to "The Woman in Black" as the best and most atmospheric made-for-TV horror/thriller ever accomplished. Well, guess what, they are quite right! Herbert Wise's film, based on the stunning novel by Susan Hill and turned into a screenplay by the phenomenal Nigel Kneale (who also created the original "The Quatermass Experiment"), is an incredibly slow-brooding but hyper-unsettling tale that crawls underneath your skin and haunts your memories forever. The strongest assets of "Woman in Black", apart from the flawless script, are undoubtedly the tour-de-force performance of lead actor Adrian Rawlins, the carefully elected filming locations & set-pieces and the continuously ominous ambiance with only a few (but highly effective) fright-moments. Herbert Wise particularly differentiates his film from the rest with two specific qualities that aren't frequently featuring in the horror genre, namely patience and eye for detail. The patience that Wise demonstrates in building up the tension is praiseworthy, to say the least, and the details can be illustrated via a few examples, like the spooky mansion only being accessible during low tide or the poetic beauty of mysterious woman meandering amidst tombstones. What the film doesn't feature, however, is graphic violence or gory make-up effects, but like only the case in the very best horror movies, you're not missing these. More recently, in 2012, James Watkins ("Eden Lake") directed a cinematic version starring Daniel Radcliffe ("Harry Potter" all grown up) as the tormented solicitor. The large-budgeted interpretation of Hill's novel is also adequate, but for experiencing the most authentic ghost-vibes, I advise to seek out this version as well.

This is the best ghost film of all time.In this film, you won't find blood and guts, cheap scares, or clichéd setups where you know exactly what is coming. You will just find a claustrophobic and disturbing presence - a happiness sapping looming malevolence that will scare your socks off.That horrifying woman, who appears sporadically throughout this low budget masterpiece, is a more terrifying spectre than anything I have seen in any other horror film. She doesn't even need to do anything - just her look... her stare is enough to send a chill right through my body. And that's the beauty of this film. It gets the atmosphere bang on.Since seeing this film for the first time many years ago, it has been the absolute benchmark of quality for every horror film I have since watched. Nothing has yet come close.The only other film that gets anywhere near is the original Wicker Man (another fantastic film).If your idea of a scary film is the slasher horror style so beloved by Hollywood, then this might not be your cup of tea. It is a slow paced film that builds inexorably towards its double-whammy horrifying ending and the sophisticated film viewer will savour every minute.If you haven't seen this film already, it is a piece of work that you simply must experience. The Harry Potter version doesn't even come close.