The Woman in Black
Written by: Matt
Fear is something that many people will unfortunately have to experience in their lifetime. It comes at times when we least suspect it; but despite being a largely negative emotion, many people still seek it. Horror movies, books and even plays are very popular, only because people want to treat themselves to fear. That is why my girlfriend and I went to see The Woman in Black the other week; we only barely lived to tell the tale.
The Storyline
The more I tell you of the story, the more that I will spoil it for you, so I will make this as sparse as possible. The story is about two men who put on a play. However, it really is much more than that, as most of the action focuses in on the content of this play. That is to say, you are essentially watching a play, with two men playing the characters; and little in-between bits that add suspense; and unknowingly add a final twist to the action...which I won't go into.
This play that the two people are acting out follows the story of one man and his quest to sort out the private affairs of a woman, recently dead, who lived as an outcast in a small village community on the coast; but believes something supernatural is stopping him from doing so. Beyond that, anything I tell you will spoil the action.
What do I think?
What do I think of the play, is the real question that I want to tackle in this article, because, that is generally what a review does.
So, my opinions of the play are overwhelmingly positive. Everything that the director chose to do, every action that the actors chose to make add to the play. There's a comedy element to the play that worked really well, despite the darker undercurrent. The opening not only had people jumping out of their seats but also laughing within the first five minutes of the action, which really is quite remarkable because it's just two men reading out a maximum of 50 different words between of the two of them.
Towards the end of the first act, and the second act is where the horror aspect of the play kicks in.
Horror: The Genre
Before I go on, a quick psychology lesson. Basically, there are two ways in order to create fear within a person: by presenting something scary, or by threatening to present something scary. The way that a horror film works is by using shock scenes to scare you, and then by constantly making you sit on the edge of your seat, scared and uneasy about when the next shock scene will arrive. Good directors, actors or writers can really focus in on this latter one creating what is commonly known as a "psychological thriller."
Oh, and doesn't this play work wonders? It is absolutely wonderful in combining this sense of psychological fear and actual fear. By making people feel uneasy within the first few minutes of the film, the audience never really get a chance to relax fully, threatened with this constant fear. As I said, the second half is better in terms of this horror, but the first half is done marvellously, involving the audience but also setting up important devices. A door in the corner of the stage, which looks insignificant is really made important in the first half making it an important device.
Is it all good?
As a lover of horror books, films and other scary things, I loved this, but my girlfriend absolutely hated it. At the end, she revealed that her feelings towards the play were that they had spoiled an excellent story by cheap horror techniques; I can certainly see where she was coming from. Three times during the play she squeezed my arm so hard that I currently have bruises right down my arm. In fact, she wasn't the only one with the entire audience jumping; something so rarely accomplished in a theatre. Whether this is a good thing is up to the individual spectator
Despite this, I think that the story alone would not work without this constant threat. It just wouldn't be the same, as we wouldn't be able to get involved in the main characters' feelings and motives and it wouldn't have this unique selling point of the horror genre, turning it into "just another play."
This play’s real merits? Its simplicity just adds to the effect and the emphasis placed on the drama created.
Matt is a unique example of a hardworking Pink Inker, clearly being the focal point of the issue every time his articles appear. He also edited, illustrated and wrote the article, so can get away with writing anything he wants in his biography.
Pudding edited this article. In many cultures, editing is considered a form of psychological horror.
