With no Daniel Radcliffe and a rather monotonous succession of jump scares in place of real suspense, Tom Harper’s sequel to The Woman in Black subtitled Angel of Death is not a patch on the original film. Going for the same kind of growing Gothic menace that distinguished the first film, the sequel puts several children in wartime in danger this time out but doesn’t deliver the shuddery sense of dread that made the first film worth watching. There is some talent here and a few good visual ideas, but the lack of real fright invention remains a problem.
Studio: Fox
Distributed By: N/A
Video Resolution and Encode: 1080P/AVC
Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1
Audio: English 5.1 DTS-HDMA
Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish
Rating: PG-13
Run Time: 1 Hr. 38 Min.
Package Includes: Blu-ray, UltraViolet
keep case in a slipcoverDisc Type: BD50 (dual layer)
Region: A
Release Date: 04/14/2015
MSRP: $39.99
The Production Rating: 2.5/5
Moving the timeline of the story up forty years to World War II is a rather good idea since the uneasy atmosphere of war-torn England is established early and continues even when leaving London. Jon Croker’s script, however, includes some half-baked ideas that lack real development: pilot Harry Burnstow’s service instability and Eve Parkins’ birth of an illegitimate child, a half-hearted attempt at a developing romance between the two: none of which really add much to the story except clutter, and like the first movie (directed by James Watkins), it takes a while for the ghost lady to appear (forty minutes actually), the shocks and suspense instead inserted in cheap and predictable ways (a hand out of frame grabbing someone, doors slamming and locking in an instant, continual noises in the basement) and always to the accompaniment of a jangling loud shriek or thud on the soundtrack. There are some viscerally effective images: fingers wrapping around a hole in the ceiling which slowly recede (nicely shot from a low angle by director Tom Harper) or the ghost appearing behind someone as lights flicker. It’s more atmospheric touches like that and fewer of the monotonous jump shocks that would earn the movie greater points in the suspense derby. And the climactic sea rescue seems overly familiar and not especially frightening, a rather pale carbon copy of other do-or-die rescue attempts from other horror and action films.
Phoebe Fox and Jeremy Irvine give earnest performances as the two leading players though Fox’s Eve seems to spend more time investigating the mysterious goings on at Eel Marsh House rather than doing her job keeping an eye on the children, and Irvine’s Harry seems to crumble emotionally from his rock solid stance rather quickly and then recover just as unconvincingly. Helen McCrory's Jean is something of a red herring appearing possibly to be a sort of agent for the ghost at certain points but eventually rather fading in importance as the picture runs. Jude Wright’s bullying of Oaklee Pendergast’s Edward puts a welcome target on his back for early elimination though the PG-13 rating assures that the viewer will see only the aftermath of his immolation and even then not especially clearly.
Video Rating: 5/5 3D Rating: NA
Audio Rating: 5/5
Special Features Rating: 3/5
Pulling Back the Veil: The Making of The Woman in Black 2: Angel of Death (14:15, HD): a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the film (in full color which is a welcome change from all the pale colors offered in the film itself) with sound bites offered by director Tom Harper, producers Richard Jackson and Simon Oakes, production designer Jacqueline Abrahams, make-up designer Cate Hall, screenwriter Jon Croker, and stars Phoebe Fox, Jeremy Irvine, and Helen McCrory in which they praise the new story and the actors who are appearing in the film.
Chilling Locations (5:10, HD): location manager Ben Gladstone along with director Tom Harper, producers Richard Jackson and Simon Oakes, production designer Jacqueline Abrahams, and stars Phoebe Fox, Jeremy Irvine, and Helen McCrory discuss the various locations used in filming.
Theatrical Trailer (2:26, HD)
Promo Trailers (HD): The Lazarus Effect, The Pyramid, American Horror Story: Freak Show, Oculus.
Ultraviolet: code sheet enclosed in the case.
Overall Rating: 3/5
Reviewed By: Matt Hough
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