Film Review: The Woman in Black 2 - Angel of Death

Hi everyone. So I finally took a break from revising and the overload of uni work and went to see The Woman in Black: Angel of Death with my brother. I have a little mixture of emotions for this sequel so let's get into it straight away.

The plot:

So The Woman in Black: Angel of Death is a sequel to the popular 2012 film The Woman in Black which starred Daniel Radcliffe. Directed by Tom Harper, this film takes place during the Blitz of World War II and caretakers Eve Parkins and Jean Hogg are taking a group of schoolchildren to the eerie Eel Marsh House which seems to be peculiar and run-down but safe. Of course it isn't long before Eve starts to sense that there is something very wrong about the house and the children begin to disappear. Eventually the house becomes a terrifying place to live in so Eve gets help from an attractive pilot to find out what is happening. Soon it becomes obvious that it isn't a coincidence that Eve has come to live in the house that is inhabited by the Woman in Black.

My review:

So obviously the first film was such a hit that they just couldn't resist making another one, running it dry of its money. I must credit The Angel of Death as it is actually little bit more original than I thought following the first one but it does pay homage to the first film a few times if you look carefully. From the beginning, to me the storyline was pretty predictable - I mean, two women taking a group of CHILDREN to the only apparently safe place in London. Of course it's an instant recipe for disaster as the Woman in Black is well known for being hell-bent on taking the lives of children to get revenge for her own loss of her son but obviously the film has to go somewhere for it to work.

I don't know if I'm just growing up or I'm just used to horror movies using the same old tricks over and over again but most scenes fell a little flat for me. The jump scares get repetitive after a while because as usual it's the same old 'noise ... silence ... SCARY MOMENT!' every 10 minutes and I could pretty much gauge what was going to happen almost every single time. It'd be a nice change if they didn't always use dolls, creaky doors or rusty pipes to do the scaring for them. I've seen it over a 100 times in many other scary films. 

Mind you, a few moments did get my heart racing so it is still creepy at times definitely. I have to admire the camera work as it slowly creeps around the house which really increases the tension of the scene and leaves you watching through your fingers at times. The ending was, again, too predictable for me and you can tell what is about to happen about five seconds before it even does.

I can't say that I'm too disappointed because I sort of went into the theatre expecting it to be rubbish, just another sequel to make more money and to try to follow the first film's success. But I will say it holds its own as a sequel but most of the time I wasn't really that scared but I'd also say it's worth a watch, especially if you liked the first one.

Trailer:

Thankyou for reading.

Laura.

Film Review: Annabelle (2014).

 

This is the film everyone is talking about and I have to say this film scared the hell out of me! It is the spin-off and prequel to The Conjuring where Annabelle first terrified everyone. Now I haven't seen The Conjuring yet (I'm still scarred by this film!) and my friends inform me that this is actually good because it'll make sense when I do see it. 

Before we get into the review, let's have a bit of background. Directed by John R. Leonetti and produced by James Wan, Annabelle is actually based on a true story about a real haunted doll that is locked up in an occult museum in Connecticut only to be visited by a priest twice a month who blesses her. As aforementioned Annabelle is the prequel to The Conjuring and this film takes you all the way back to the start before the evil was unleashed. A man called John Form finds a special, vintage doll and gives it to his pregnant wife, Mia who seemingly collects rare dolls and is blown away by the beauty that is.. Annabelle. But her happiness doesn't last long after one horrific night, the couples' home is broken into by members of a satanic cult who attack Mia and John violently. Blood is spilled and one drop falls onto Annabelle's face, becoming the catalyst of the evil that haunts the family for the rest of the film.

Now can I just say before I even review the film that I am genuinely terrified of dolls. Even if it's not a horror film, if I see any kind of doll I will scream. And this film did not fail to deliver the hysterical screams that erupted out of me. Annabelle definitely earned it's prequel status and the film carries itself just fine regardless of The Conjuring's reputation. It wasn't at all over-the-top and the storyline was okay and easy enough to follow for 98 minutes. The camera work was stunning and moved effectively and caught just the right amount of tension in each scene.

I can't really criticise the film that much because it was scary and creepy enough to keep the jumpy parts coming over and over again whilst building up the story which would eventually lead to The Conjuring. The cast was pretty good although the acting was a bit stiff and wooden at times especially from Ward Horton who played the husband. Annabelle Wallis who played Mia (scarily named the same as the doll!) is very strong as the lead role. Alfre Woodard (Evelyn) was also great in her small role and made her short scenes memorable. But the doll, Annabelle, clearly outclassed all of her human co-stars and brought the eeriness and scares without resorting to cheap gimmicks.

It certainly made me lose sleep considering I have a porcelain doll somewhere in the house! Definitely a must watch especially with Halloween is coming up!

Here's the trailer:

Have you seen it already? What did you think?

Let me know in the comments below, please!

Thankyou for reading.

Laura.