Director: Tom Harper
Writer: Jon Croker (Screenplay) Susan Hill (Story)
Starring: Phoebe Fox, Jeremy Irvine, Helen McCrory, Oaklee Pendergast
Plot: 40 years after the first haunting at Eel Marsh House, a group of children evacuated from WWII London arrive, awakening the house’s darkest inhabitant.
There may be spoilers the rest of the review
Verdict: Painfully Boring
Story: The Woman in Black 2: Angel of Death starts in London 1941 with an air raid going on and Eve Parkins (Fox) in the tube looking after the scared. Along with Jean Hogg (McCrory) they are taking the children to the country for safety from the raids. On the train the young teacher meets charming Harry Burnstow (Irvine) who just so happens to be going to the same location as the children.
The children are staying at Eel Marsh House the very same location from the first film, isolated and away from the world it makes a perfect location for the children to stay during the war even if the conditions are not ideal to start with.
The first night in the house Eve suffers a nightmare and for some reason goes to explore the creepy house in near pitch black *two thumbs up*. She continues to follow a noise shouting ‘hello’ because all ghosts say ‘hi’ you know. One of the children Edward (Pendergast) lost his parents during the last air raid and hasn’t said a word since, Eve tries to push the over children into including him while Mrs Hogg is trying to force him into coming out of his condition on his own. When a game with the other children goes wrong Edward finds himself locked in a room where he meets someone but not someone we see. When one of the children wonders off at night they find him dead in the morning leave Eve questioning whether they really are alone in the house.
Eve determined to get to the bottom of things going on starts investigating the house along with Harry, Eve knows she has seen something or somebody around the house and its grounds but could never make out what it is. It takes 50 minutes yes 50 to inform us about the woman in black inside the house, which I understand there being a time difference but surely they don’t need to waste as much time as they do explaining this. Eve knows what is going on now and has to find a way to save the children before it is too late.
The Woman in Black 2: Angel of Death takes what was a solid horror film and manages to spend well over half the film explaining what we already know. We have next to nothing in the idea of horror and everything we do get is clichéd and easy to predict. I feel this could or at least should be the end of the film series because the idea was stall already. I will give this a few positive points and that is the idea of bringing in fresh batch of children for the woman in black to take works for the idea of the story and using the real idea of what would have happened with the children during the war works. The reality is this film doesn’t live up to the original, it uses easy jump scares that don’t work and it really doesn’t make the film enjoyable. (4/10)
Actor Review
Helen McCrory: Jean Hogg head mistress of the children who believes in strict discipline and no supernatural nonsense. Helen does a basic job but her supporting character doesn’t seem to do much through the film. (4/10)
Jeremy Irvine: Harry Burnstow charming pilot who befriends Eve and always seems to turn up in time to protect her when she is in need of help. Jeremy doesn’t push his character to the next level which would have made him perform better. (4/10)
Phoebe Fox: Eve Parkins young teacher who spends most of her time investigating and trying to get Edward to talk, she does every mistake known to man in the horror book 101 mistakes. It is hard to bash her because of a poor script but you don’t ever believer her terror through the film. (5/10)
Oaklee Pendergast: Edward recently orphaned boy who hasn’t said a word but the woman in black takes a shine to him wanting to protect him from his problems. Oaklee does solid job and keeps his character in grief state through the film. (6/10)
Support Cast: The Woman in Black 2: Angel of Death has a support cast that is mainly the rest of the children but they only become the victims for the woman in black.
Director Review: Tom Harper – Tom fails to push the horror boundaries and fails to give any real scares through the film. (3/10)
Horror: The Woman in Black 2: Angel of Death doesn’t really have any good scares but tries to follow the ABC of jump scares. (3/10)
Thriller: The Woman in Black 2: Angel of Death doesn’t pull you in and you simply don’t care what happens. (3/10)
Settings: The Woman in Black 2: Angel of Death has a location that creates isolation but doesn’t seem to use it as well as it could. (4/10)
Suggestion: The Woman in Black 2: Angel of Death is one to avoid especially if you didn’t like the first one. (Avoid)
Best Part: Hard to find one.
Worst Part: Lazy scares.
Believability: No (0/10)
Chances of Tears: No (0/10)
Chances of Sequel: Hopefully not.
Post Credits Scene: No
Oscar Chances: No
Box Office: $26 Million
Runtime: 1 Hour 38 Minutes
Tagline: She never forgives. She never forgets. She never left.
Overall: This really is a lazy sequel that you will spend most of the film saying ‘are you stupid’ to the main character.
Rating 
