Radcliffe and director James Watkins are nowhere to be seen in the sequel, Angel Of Death, but the staples of the first film are otherwise present and correct. It’s 40 years after the events of the last story, and London’s crumbling as Nazi bombs fall at the height of World War II. There, Eve befriends a dreamy pilot named Harry (Warhorse’s Jeremy Irvine), who serves at a nearby airbase, and takes under her wing a quiet little orphan, Edward (Oaklee Pendergast) who clutches to a pencil drawing of the parents he lost in the blitz just days before. But something quiet and evil lurks in the house, and seemingly energised by the youthful presence in its midst, it begins to prey on the visitors’ fears and guilty secrets. As established in Hill’s novel and its previous adaptations, such as the 80s ITV show written by Nigel Kneale and the successful stage production, Eel Marsh Hall is a truly ominous creation. Enshrouded in mist and cut off from the mainland by the sea at high tide, it’s isolated enough to raise the hackles before a single ghost has even rattled its chains. Angel Of Death, written by Jon Croker (Fast Girls) and directed by Tom Harper (The Scouting Book For Boys) doesn’t tamper with the locale created by Watkins in the 2012 adaptation. Instead, Angel Of Death builds on it in much the same way as James Cameron did with his sequel to Alien: like 1986’s Aliens, a group of unprepared characters wind up right in the heart of the first film’s horror, making for more supernatural carnage and higher dramatic stakes for the new heroine. Harper depicts the era efficiently, beginning with the stifling confines of a London Underground shelter before whisking us off to the worst boarding house the British Isles has to offer. The shocks are also effectively staged, though there’s a disappointing reliance on textbook jump scares to put us on edge when the old house’s creepy ambiance would have probably been enough all by itself. Angel Of Death also has a tendency to stir around the ingredients established in the first film rather than push the haunted house premise into fresh territory. The toys with staring eyes, shrouded figures and taunting messages on walls are back again, albeit in different contexts. But what’s here is well engineered and effective, with cinematographer George Steel capturing the eerie moors, trees and cellars with real class. The Woman In Black: Angel Of Death is out on the 1st January 2015 in UK cinemas. Follow our Twitter feed for faster news and bad jokes right here. And be our Facebook chum here.
