Oh, how I made the right decision tonight.
Drive all the way to Blackpool to watch my footy team lose yet again or see one of the greatest British horror movies in years and a question and answer session with its director?
Thankfully, I settled for the latter, although, obviously, I didn't realise how good it was before joining Mrs W in a sold out screen 1 at Broadway Cinema in Nottingham.
I have to own up to despising James Watkins' last film, Eden Lake. It was just too brutal for me.
Yet, Woman In Black made me jump much more (I counted seven for me and 10 for Mrs W).
The story surrounds a widowed lawyer Arthur Kipps (Daniel Radcliffe) who takes the train to a remote Cumbrian village to sort out the affairs of a recently deceased woman.
When he gets their he finds the villagers less than accommodating, largely, it turns out, because they have been freaked out by the happenings at the woman's isolated home.
Undaunted, Kipps goes to the mansion and the creep-fest starts in earnest.
The brilliance of The Woman In Back is the sense of foreboding created by Watkins and screenwriter Jane Goldman.
He talked about creating scenes where the audience felt as if they were peering into the gloom only to be suddenly woken up by a thwacking great fright.
Radcliffe is very good indeed in his first major screen role since Harry Potter. In fact, the best thing I can say about him is that I forgot all about Potter after about a minute.
He is playing a character which is a bit older than him but again that was an irrelevance because of the weight of his performance.
Kipps is a troubled soul, following the death of his wife in child birth, and Radcliffe translated that perfectly.
He is supported by a fine cast, including Ciaran Hinds and Janet McTeer.
The only reservation I'd have about The Woman In Black is its 12A certificate. Even James Watkins appeared surprised by it.
One teacher in the audience joked that he was looking forward to children coming into his class having been scared out of their wits but, seriously, I would think very carefully before taking young Harry Potter fans because they could well have nightmares for some time.
Watkins talked eloquently how, in the beat horror films, less is more. Absolutely right. He also compared this with The Orphanage.
Why should the Spaniards have all the fun, he said.
Too right. This is a great job and a great British job.
Laughs: only nervous ones.
Jumps: Seven big ones for me...I think Mrs W is still to come down from the ceiling.
Vomit: none
Nudity: none
Overall rating: 9/10
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