By Matt Mueller Culture Editor Published Jan 07, 2015 at 4:40 PM

When it was announced the world was receiving a second dose of "The Woman in Black," my first thoughts could be best echoed by Michael Bluth’s sentiments toward dear Ann Veal in "Arrested Development." Those sentiments being, "Her?"

It’s not that the original film is an egregiously bad horror thriller. Back when it came out in 2012, the eerie but forgettable little gothic chiller served as a star vehicle for Daniel Radcliffe, newly untethered from his days as the boy who lived. Even though the young actor was miscast – looking and feeling like a boy dressed in dad’s clothes – the movie made a predictably sizable horror movie opening weekend haul. Then, even more predictably, the pop culture collective quickly disposed of it like most of Radcliffe’s attempts to distance himself from his wizarding days. So now we’re milking a sequel for such a seemingly unremarkable horror movie and the evil ghost lady housed within? Her? Really?

I suppose like any respectable horror movie villain, however, "The Woman in Black" has refused to die, returning for the January sequel "The Woman in Black 2: Angel of Death." Other than a jump in time period and a distinct lack of star power (Radcliffe’s been traded out for an unknown British actress and the kid from "War Horse"), little has changed. It’s still rich in ornately decorated spooky atmosphere but in need of some more potent nightmare fuel.

Taking over Harry Potter’s old haunts this time around is newcomer Phoebe Fox, playing a pleasant young teacher named Eve Parkins, her variety of light blue coats providing a hint of color to an otherwise ashen world. Before she even arrives at the main haunted attraction, she’s coping with horrors: namely World War II raining bombs on her school and her students’ homes.

To escape the destruction, Ms. Parkins and her rigid headmistress (Helen McCrory) ship themselves and the children off to safety at the Eel Marsh House, a dilapidated estate surrounded by eerie forests, ominous graves and a giant boggy wasteland. When Eve walks into a crumbling room filled with Annabelle the Doll’s rotting toy brethren and notes, "It feels cold," she’s not talking about the temperature. In other words, it’s the most obviously haunted mansion since "The Haunted Mansion." At least Mr. Parkins meets a strapping young pilot (Jeremy Irvine) stationed nearby.

The setup is fairly forced, and Jon Croker’s screenplay doesn’t make much of an attempt to convince the audience why we should be here (other than, "We needed to get these characters into an evil house somehow") but whatever. It’s an old school horror tale, and I suppose the risk of German bombs falling from the sky isn’t much an appealing alternative.

It takes all of about one night for the house and its otherworldly proprietor to start causing trouble for its new inhabitants. First, it’s just an active rocking chair, but then Eve notices the titular spirit wandering spookily about the land and the cellar. Most pressingly, the ghoul has taken an interest in one of her young wards, a silent and friendless little orphan named Edward (Oaklee Pendergast). Soon, there are fewer and fewer kids, more and more woman sightings and the adults’ thin defenses against the darkness – happiness, tough skin, lies – are peeling away like the estate’s 19th century wallpaper.

And what tremendous peeling ancient wallpaper it is. Much like its predecessor – and its old Hammer horror predecessors well before then – the production work on "The Woman in Black 2" does much of the spooking for the movie. The house and surrounding area are still a perfectly creepy setting for a classically styled haunting tale. Candles light up rotting walls and toys. Overgrown weeds and vines crawl around the house and gravestones. Everything seems to ache and creak from decay. Overall, it’s a terrifically terrible place to be for a horror movie.

Under the direction of TV helmer Tom Harper (director of several episodes of BBC’s "Peaky Blinders"), it’s not just a haunted house; it’s a haunted world. Everything – whether in the city or at the mansion – appears covered in soot and ash and smog, save for Eve and her faint blue coats. In the case of one shot featuring Eve peering through a grime covered window, her eyes peaking through like they’re a part of nature’s impressionistic paint job, it’s even sometimes beautiful.

For the first half of "The Woman in Black 2," the production and direction work well with the script to build an engulfing sense of eerie dread and atmosphere. It’s less about "Boo! Gotcha!" moments and more about shadows – whether it be a global war or a ghostly woman – creeping around. Even the opening sounds are the ominous groans of the rocking chair turning into the sound of a bombing raid from inside a tunnel.

For as well as it builds a horror atmosphere, much like the first film, "The Woman in Black 2" is never particularly scary. And for ostensibly a scary movie, that’s going to be a bit of a problem. When it comes time for the scares, most of them are unfortunately of the cheap predictable jump variety: a sudden jolt of sound or movement toward the screen or the reveal of a creepy face withheld from the viewer.

There’s simply not a lot of creativity going on, and as the film reaches its finale, the creative decisions from Harper and Croker only hinder the horror. The duo actually moves our leads away from the creepy house to a much less interesting setting, and the big climax, as with many modern horror movies, gets ridiculous and loud.

It’s unfortunately because the film has a lot of the tools for a good modern horror flick dipped in classic techniques in tropes (see: James Wan’s recent output). The mood is often chill-inducingly eerie, and even the performances are strong. Fox is actually an upgrade from Radcliffe. For one, she actually fits the part, but she’s also a genuinely sweet and kind screen presence – even if her eyes hint at a sadness just underneath. She’s a delicate glimmer worth rooting for in a movie covered in soot. 

However, with its reliance on dust-covered cheap scare tactics – rather than coming though with some original and memorable frights – "The Woman in Black 2" is still stuck getting greeted with, "Her?"

Matt Mueller Culture Editor

As much as it is a gigantic cliché to say that one has always had a passion for film, Matt Mueller has always had a passion for film. Whether it was bringing in the latest movie reviews for his first grade show-and-tell or writing film reviews for the St. Norbert College Times as a high school student, Matt is way too obsessed with movies for his own good.

When he's not writing about the latest blockbuster or talking much too glowingly about "Piranha 3D," Matt can probably be found watching literally any sport (minus cricket) or working at - get this - a local movie theater. Or watching a movie. Yeah, he's probably watching a movie.