The Woman in Black 2: Angel of Death Review: Not So Hot

“The Woman in Black” was a small horror darling that managed to thriove thanks to solid story telling and one of the biggest stars of this generation, Daniel Radcliffe. It was also one of the few good horror movies that opened in the usually weak February. Two years later and “The Woman in Black 2: Angel of Death” just can’t keep the good luck going.

Taking place forty years after the first movie, it is World War II and a group of schoolchildren arrive at Eel Marsh House to take refuge after the Germans bombed London. One of the schoolchildren, Edward, meets the Woman in Black after one of his schoolmates plays a prank on him. Now that Edward is in her power, the usual hauntings happen.

Whereas the first movie did a fine job of creating tension and genuine scares, this sequel misses the mark on both. 99% of the scares are nothing more than cheap jump scares made to make any teenage girls in the theater scream. The cheapest and most out of nowhere jump scare is when Edward is staring at the whole in the ceiling above his bed and one of his schoolmates jumps in front of the camera wearing a gas mask. The few genuine scary parts are so short that you’ll forget what they looked like even after the movie ended.

One of the hallmarks of a well made horror movie is building tension. This movie obviously tries very hard to do that, but the buildup culminates into either a cheap jump scare or nothing at all.

The pacing of this movie is all over the place. The first half has a slow buildup to something bigger and then the second half goes by at such breakneck speed that you lose interest in what’s going on. It’s almost like the director wanted to finally get to the scary parts and decided to sacrifice every movie rule just to get to it.

The one bright spot of the movie is the acting. Phoebe Fox as school teacher Eve Parkins does a decent job in her role. She does have a few scenes where she shows plenty of skill. On the other hand there are times where it’s obvious she’s trying her best to get something decent out of whatever the script gave her. Jeremy Irvine as WWII ace pilot Harry Burnstow does a decent jobs in his role despite him being a Chekov’s Gun.

“The Woman in Black 2: Angel of Death” is a lukewarm sequel to an otherwise well made horror movie. The story lacks focus, the characters aren’t as interesting as they should be, and the scares are cheap. Daniel Radcliffe is possibly glad he’s not back in this movie.