Scary movies aren’t always enjoyable because suspense and horror aren’t the same thing. The Woman in Black engagingly cultivates both, though the plot is predictable. It combines the looming Victorian-haunted-house atmosphere of Edgar Allen Poe’s “Fall of the House of Usher” with did-you-see-that-in-the-mirror tension and satisfying resolve from Daniel Radcliffe’s lead role. For best results, serve in the dark with a bag of popcorn and a midnight thunderstorm.
Matt Maw can be reached at [email protected]