For films in this genre to work you need the audience to do two things: be scared and care about your characters. Unfortunately The Woman in Black fails on both counts.

Despite being too young for the role, Daniel Radcliffe turns in a good performance given what he's got to work with, as does Ciarán Hinds. And yes, it will make you jump in a few places. But sudden shocks do not make a movie truly scary. I found it clichéd and narratively weak, with an ending that just wasn't convincing.

Some good performances and beautiful cinematography fail to save a film that's just not scary or engaging. For an example of a film in this style that does work see: The Others.