“The Women in Black 2: Angel of Death” is by far one of the more frightening horror films made during the past few months, with its appeal to teens and young adults in particular. The film’s motto, “She never forgives, she never forgets, she never left,” is enough to spark an eerie aura among viewers. However, this sequel is nothing compared to its original 2012 film, “The Women in Black,” with only a few moments of bone chilling horror, while the original could make the hairs on ones neck stand up for the entire movie.
The movie starts out in 1941 London during the Second World War, where the British citizens live in fear of Nazi bombings. Schoolteachers Ms. Parkins and Mrs. Jean are determined to evacuate a group of children to the countryside where they believe the kids will be quote and quote “safe.” However, the plot takes a melancholy twist the moment the group settles in a mansion on an abandoned island, and things start spiraling downwards. The characters face many terrors on the mysterious island, from disturbing nightmares and hallucinations about the island’s past, to actual death by an unseen force.
Although “The Women in Black 2” failed to live up to its original film, there were a few factors that made it a decent production overall, in terms of creating horror. One thing in particular was the film’s soundtrack, which produced many jolting shrieks in the audience, through shock edits and sudden scares. In addition to the terrifying sounds incorporated in the soundtrack, the camera effects and dim lighting in the movie enhanced the frightening nature.The camera randomly creeps over in different spots throughout the film and makes viewers question whether they’ve seen a hint of something in the background, creating an uneasy feeling that a creature physically haunts every frame. The color also has been been drained from the movie to create a gloomy, eerie world war era effect.
Despite having many positive elements, there was still room for improvement in one area, which was making the story line more fast paced and intense. “Angel of Death” has more of a slow paced transition into the film. In fact, nothing much happens at all for the first hour of the movie, aside from floorboards creaking, doors slamming and toys being mysteriously brought back to life. Although it is clear that the Woman in Black is present in the first hour, she takes her own sweet time coming out of the shadows and making an appearance.
Overall this was a decent production in the world of horror cinemas, even though it lacked the thrill and intensity of the first film. “The Women in Black 2” certainly stayed true to its PG-13 rating with a few frightening scenes here and there.
Mrudula’s Rating: 3.5/5
