The Woman in Black: Angel of Death
{{short description|2014 film by Tom Harper}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2014}}
{{Infobox film
| name = The Woman in Black: Angel of Death
| image = Womaninblack2poster.jpg
| alt = A small boy standing in front of a dark big old house, the garden overgrown. The dark clouds over the house have the appearance of a face.
| caption = Theatrical release poster
| director = Tom Harper
| producer = {{Plainlist|
- Richard Jackson
- Simon Oakes
- Ben Holden
- Tobin Armbrust
}}
| screenplay = Jon Croker
| story = Susan Hill
| starring = {{Plainlist|
}}
| music = {{Plainlist|
- Marco Beltrami
- Marcus Trumpp
- Brandon Roberts
}}
| cinematography = George Steel
| editing = Mark Eckersley
| studio = {{Plainlist|
- Hammer Films
- Entertainment One
- Talisman Films
- Exclusive Media (uncredited)
}}
| distributor = {{plainlist|
- Relativity Media (United States)
- Entertainment One (Canada and United Kingdom)}}
| released = {{Film date|df=y|2014|12|30|Dubai premiere|ref1={{cite web|last=Fakhruddin|first=Mufaddal|title=Win 10 Invitations to the Movie Premiere of 'The Woman in Black 2: Angel of Death'|url=http://me.ign.com/en/movies/99578/contest/win-10-invitations-to-the-the-woman-in-black-2-ang|date=December 23, 2014|website=me.ign.com|publisher=IGN Middle East|access-date=July 8, 2017}}|2015|01|02}}
| runtime = 98 minutes{{cite web | url=https://bbfc.co.uk/releases/woman-black-angel-death-film | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141230031227/http://www.bbfc.co.uk/releases/woman-black-angel-death-film | url-status=dead | archive-date=30 December 2014 | title=Woman in Black 2: Angel of Death (15) | work=British Board of Film Classification | date=16 October 2014 | access-date=16 October 2014}}
| country = {{plainlist|
- Canada{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/2015/film/reviews/film-review-the-woman-in-black-2-angel-of-death-1201390052/|work=Variety|title=Film Review: 'The Woman in Black 2: Angel of Death'|date=1 January 2015|last=Foundas|first=Scott|access-date=17 February 2015}}
- United Kingdom
- United States{{cite web|url=https://www2.bfi.org.uk/news-opinion/news-bfi/announcements/bfi-statistics-2015-uk-independent-films-win-audiences|title=BFI Statistics 2015: UK independent films win audiences in a blockbuster box office year|website=bfi.org.uk|date=28 January 2016 |access-date=27 October 2018}}
}}
| language = English
| gross = $48.9 million{{cite web |url=https://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=womaninblack2.htm |title=The Woman in Black 2: Angel of Death (2015) |website=Box Office Mojo |access-date=3 June 2016}}
}}
The Woman in Black: Angel of Death is a 2014 supernatural horror film directed by Tom Harper and starring Phoebe Fox, Jeremy Irvine, Helen McCrory, Adrian Rawlins, Leanne Best, and Ned Dennehy. The screenplay was written by Jon Croker from a story by Susan Hill.{{cite web|url=http://www.nme.com/filmandtv/news/the-woman-in-black-sequel-confirmed-with-author-susan/264633|title='The Woman In Black' sequel confirmed with author Susan Hill - NME|date=2 April 2012|website=nme.com|access-date=27 October 2018}} It is the sequel to the 2012 film The Woman in Black, and is produced by Hammer Film Productions and Entertainment One. During WWII, the London bombings force two schoolteachers to evacuate a group of children to the coastal village of Crythin Gifford. When the refugees take shelter at Eel Marsh House, one teacher, Eve Parkins, soon realizes they are not alone. Little does she know that what lives in the house is more sinister than what they were running from. The film had a premiere in Dubai on December 30, 2014.
Plot
30 years after the events of the first film, during the London Blitz, Eve Parkins joins some of her schoolchildren and the school's headmistress, Jean Hogg, to evacuate them to the isolated village of Crythin Gifford. On the train journey, Eve meets dashing RAF pilot Harry Burnstow, stationed at an airfield near Crythin Gifford. Upon arrival at the deserted village, Eve is confronted by a raving madman, Jacob, and flees.
Although Eve and Jean disapprove of Eel Marsh House, the isolated manor house on an island in the marshes where they have been billeted, there is no alternative. That night, Eve has a nightmare of how she was forced to give up her baby when she was younger. When she awakens, she hears the noise of a rocking chair coming from the cellar. There, she finds a message scolding her for letting her child go and sees a woman dressed in black. The following day, one of the children, Edward, who has been mute since the death of his parents in the bombing, is bullied by two other children and sees the Woman in Black in the nursery. Eve feels something is wrong when Edward constantly carries around a rotting doll. That night, one of the boys, Tom, who was bullying him, is drawn out of the house by the Woman in Black; Eve finds his body on the beach, tangled in barbed wire.
Eve later sees the Woman in Black in the graveyard near the house, where she finds the grave of Nathaniel Drablow. She chases the ghost to the beach and is overcome by visions of Nathaniel's death. At the house, she and Harry establish the story of the ghost through an old recording made by Alice Drablow before her death at the hands of the Woman in Black: it is her sister, Jennet Humpfrye, the mother of the child she adopted, Nathaniel. Jennet is haunting them because of Nathaniel's premature death and is punishing Eve, in particular, for giving up her baby. Eve journeys into the abandoned village to confront Jacob, who is blind and unable to be killed by the ghost, as he cannot see her. However, he has been driven insane by the deaths of all the other children (whose ghosts surround him) and tries to kill Eve before she escapes.
Back at the house, Jean finds one of the girls trying to strangle herself under the Woman's spell. During an air raid, the girl suffocates herself using a gas mask. After this death, Harry takes them to his airfield, which is revealed to be a decoy to divert enemy bombers. Harry, the only man stationed there, has been disgraced following a crash in which he was the only survivor and is no longer allowed to fly. Eve realizes that the Woman has followed them, as when Harry is looking for Edward, he sees a child figure inside a plane decoy, but on clambering inside, he is confronted by a disfigured Tom, now a ghost who glares hatefully at him. Edward flees and dies by walking into a fire basket. Eve, however, realizes that Edward is still alive and at Eel Marsh House. Realizing that the Woman in Black wants her alone, she drives to the island, where she finds Edward walking out into the marsh to drown himself, where Nathaniel died. She crawls after him, telling him to think of his mother, allowing Edward to overcome Jennet's hold over him, but as he starts swimming back to Eve, they are dragged down into the mud by the ghosts of Jennet's victims. But at the last minute, Harry arrives, diving in and saves them, though he is then seized by the child ghosts and dragged down to his death instead.
Months later, Eve has adopted Edward, and they are living in London. Although they believe they are free from Jennet Humpfrye, she appears again once they leave their house and smashes a picture of Harry and his crew.
Cast
{{Cast listing|
- Phoebe Fox as Eve Parkins
- Jeremy Irvine as Flying Officer Harry Burnstow
- Helen McCrory as Jean Hogg
- Adrian Rawlins as Dr Rhodes. Rawlins previously played the protagonist Arthur Kidd in the 1989 television adaptation of The Woman in Black.
- Leanne Best as Jennet Humfrye, the Woman in Black. Best took over from Liz White, who portrayed the title character in the 2012 film.
- Ned Dennehy as Jacob
- Oaklee Pendergast as Edward
- Jude Wright as Tom
- Amelia Pidgeon as Joyce
- Casper Allpress as Fraser
- Amelia Crouch as Flora
- Leilah de Meza as Ruby
- Alfie Simmons as Alfie
- Pip Pearce as James
- Eve Pearce as the voice of Alice Drablow, Jennet's sister
}}
Development
In April 2012, Hammer Films announced that there would be a sequel to The Woman in Black, titled The Woman in Black: Angel of Death. Originally, the official plot synopsis was different from that of the final film: "Seized by the government and converted into a military mental hospital during World War II, the sudden arrival of disturbed soldiers to Eel Marsh House has awoken its darkest inhabitant. Eve, a beautiful young nurse, is sent to the house to care for the patients but soon realises she must save them from more than their own demons. Despite Eve’s efforts to stop her, one by one they fall victim to the Woman in Black."{{cite web |url=http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2012/06/13/woman-in-black-sequel-story-details/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140725200119/http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2012/06/13/woman-in-black-sequel-story-details/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=25 July 2014 |title='Woman In Black' Sequel Story Details Revealed|date=13 June 2012|access-date=13 June 2012|first=Terri|last=Schwartz|publisher=MTV}}
The screenplay was written by Jon Croker though the original novel's author, Susan Hill, was approached to help with the story.{{cite web|url=http://www.fusedfilm.com/2012/04the-woman-in-black-sequel-moving-forward/|title='The Woman in Black' Sequel Moving Forward|access-date=24 May 2012|work=Fused Film}}{{Dead link|date=June 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=no }}{{cite web|url=http://thefilmstage.com/news/the-woman-in-black-gets-sequel-treatment-with-angels-of-death/|title='The Woman in Black' Gets Sequel Treatment, 'Angels of Death'|access-date=24 May 2012|work=The Film Stage|first=Nick|last=Newman|date=2 April 2012|archive-date=14 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180614044950/https://thefilmstage.com/news/the-woman-in-black-gets-sequel-treatment-with-angels-of-death/|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|url=http://www.nextmovie.com/blog/the-woman-in-black-sequel-angels-of-death/|title='The Woman in Black' Becomes a Frightening Franchise with 'The Angels of Death'|access-date=24 May 2012|work=Next Movie|first=Jenni|last=Miller|date=2 April 2012}} In October 2012, Tom Harper was announced as the film's director.{{cite web|last=Trumbore|first=Dave|title=Tom Harper Set to Direct The Woman in Black: Angels of Death|url=https://collider.com/tom-harper-woman-in-black-2-sequel/202708/|publisher=Collider|access-date=13 October 2012|date=13 October 2012|archive-date=13 November 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191113003016/https://collider.com/tom-harper-woman-in-black-2-sequel/202708/|url-status=dead}} In April 2013, it was announced that Jeremy Irvine will play the lead role. Rumours circulated that Daniel Radcliffe would briefly reprise his role from the first film{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-22343162|title=Woman in Black sequel casts Jeremy Irvine as lead|date=29 April 2013|access-date=4 May 2013|work=BBC News Online}} but this never came to pass. Principal photography for the film began in early 2014.{{cite web|url=http://www.westendtheatre.com/tag/helen-mccrory/|title=Helen McCrory - London theatre tickets|website=London theatre tickets|access-date=27 October 2018}}
Film novelisation
On 18 October 2013, a novelisation of the film's screenplay was released by Hammer Books (Random House Publishing) in England. The novelisation was written by crime fiction author Martyn Waites,{{cite web|last1=Tyley|first1=Jodie|title=The Woman In Black 2 Has a "Fantastic Script"|date=31 October 2013 |url=http://www.scifinow.co.uk/interviews/the-woman-in-black-2-author-martyn-waites-interviewed/|publisher=SciFiNow|access-date=18 October 2014}} and critical reception for the book has been generally negative.{{cite web|last1=Alexander|first1=Niall|title=Not Enough: The Woman in Black: Angel of Death by Martyn Waites|date=30 October 2013 |url=http://www.tor.com/blogs/2013/10/not-enough-the-woman-in-black-angel-of-death-by-martyn-waites|publisher=Tor.com|access-date=18 October 2014}}{{cite web|last1=Jones|first1=Tony|title=Book Review: The Woman in Black - Angel of Death|url=http://www.starburstmagazine.com/reviews/book-reviews-latest-literary-releases/7229-book-review-the-woman-in-black-angel-of-death|publisher=Starburst|access-date=18 October 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150223185250/http://www.starburstmagazine.com/reviews/book-reviews-latest-literary-releases/7229-book-review-the-woman-in-black-angel-of-death|archive-date=23 February 2015|df=dmy-all}}{{cite web|last1=Hickling|first1=Alfred|title=Angel of Death by Martyn Waites – review|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/oct/23/angel-of-death-martyn-waites-review|work=The Guardian|date=23 October 2013 |access-date=18 October 2014}}
Soundtrack
The soundtrack album was released on 30 December 2014 over the Indie label Varèse Sarabande Records.{{cite web|url=https://dreadcentral.com/news/83794/woman-black-2-angel-death-soundtrack-available-today/|title=The Woman in Black 2 Angel of Death Soundtrack Available Today! - Dread Central|website=www.dreadcentral.com|date=30 December 2014 |access-date=27 October 2018}}
Release
=Theatrical release=
The movie was originally set to be released on 30 January 2015, but instead it was moved to 1 January 2015. It was released in Canada and the United States on 2 January 2015, then released in France on 14 January 2015 and in Russia on 15 January 2015.
=Home media=
The Woman in Black: Angel of Death was released on DVD and Blu-ray on 14 April 2015. The Blu-ray features the documentary "Pulling Back the Veil: The Woman in Black 2 - Angel of Death"{{cite web|url=https://dreadcentral.com/news/90398/woman-black-2-angel-death-haunts-blu-ray-april/|title=The Woman in Black 2 Angel of Death Haunts Blu-ray in April - Dread Central|website=www.dreadcentral.com|date=18 February 2015 |access-date=27 October 2018}}{{cite web|url=https://bloody-disgusting.com/home-video/3333045/the-woman-in-black-2-angel-death-dated-home-video/|title='The Woman in Black 2: Angel of Death' Dated For Home Video - Bloody Disgusting|website=bloody-disgusting.com|date=18 February 2015 |access-date=27 October 2018}}
=Critical response=
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a rating of 23%, based on 81 reviews, with an average rating of 4.5/10. The consensus reads, "The Woman in Black 2: Angel of Death is atmospheric and visually sharp, but it's short on tension and scares."{{cite web | url=https://rottentomatoes.com/m/the_woman_in_black_2_angel_of_death/ | title=The Woman in Black 2 Angel of Death | work=Rotten Tomatoes | publisher=Fandango Media | access-date=1 April 2020 }} Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 42 out of 100, based on 23 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".{{cite web |url=https://metacritic.com/movie/the-woman-in-black-2-angel-of-death |title=The Woman in Black 2: Angel of Death |work=Metacritic |publisher=CBS |access-date=9 January 2015 }} Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film a grade of "C" on an A+ to F scale.{{cite web |date=6 January 2015 |last1=D'Alessandro |first1=Anthony |title=2015 Off To Fantastic Start, Up 6.5%: Post-New Year's Box Office Actuals |url=https://deadline.com/2015/01/weekend-box-office-five-armies-200-million-woman-in-black-2-unbroken-into-the-woods-1201340056/ |website=Deadline Hollywood |quote=Angel Of Death received a C CinemaScore, which places it line with other horror movies that performed at the box office }}{{cite web |date=January 4, 2015 |author=Ray Subers |title=Weekend Report: 'Hobbit' Finale Three-Peats on First Weekend of 2015 |url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/article/ed1887372292/ |website=Box Office Mojo |quote=With a "C" CinemaScore and an audience that skews younger (65 percent under the age of 25 )}}
Olly Richards of Empire (film magazine) gave it 3 out of 5 and called it "A much bolder, braver horror sequel than most. Except for a wispy ending, it’s a match for the first."{{cite web |date=2015 |author1=Olly Richards |title=The Woman In Black: Angel Of Death |url=https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/woman-black-angel-death-review/ |website=Empire }}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb title|2339741}}
- {{mojo title|womaninblack2}}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20140214044634/http://www.hammerfilms.com/productions/film/filmid/376/the-woman-in-black-angel-of-death The Woman In Black: Angel of Death] at Hammer Film Productions
- {{YouTube|eYk0slXSY6s|The Woman in Black 2 Angel of Death Official Trailer #1 (2015) - Jeremy Irvine Horror Movie HD}} 22-10-2014
{{Tom Harper}}
{{Susan Hill}}
{{Hammer Horror}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Woman In Black, The: Angel Of Death}}
Category:2010s historical horror films
Category:2010s supernatural horror films
Category:American World War II films
Category:British World War II films
Category:Canadian World War II films
Category:Lionsgate Canada films
Category:American supernatural horror films
Category:British historical horror films
Category:British supernatural horror films
Category:Canadian sequel films
Category:Canadian supernatural horror films
Category:English-language Canadian films
Category:Exclusive Media films
Category:Films about educators
Category:Films directed by Tom Harper
Category:Films scored by Marco Beltrami
Category:Films scored by Brandon Roberts (composer)
Category:Films set in country houses
Category:Films set in Yorkshire
Category:Hammer Film Productions horror films
Category:Relativity Media films
Category:2010s English-language films