Terrible movie haunted by the ghost of a great one.

If I was to judge this movie as a whole, it is pretty mediocre. The storyline seemed half-assed, and there were far too many jumps. However, I think that, while the movie was riddled with cliche and terrible dialogue, it had the potential to be so much more. It could have been a fantastic horror film.

First, they had the atmosphere exactly right. The abandoned Gothic mansion, the village filled with weary locals, the jaded nature of the main character, and the idea (if not the execution) of the ghostly woman in black. This could have made for a great, Dracula-esque Hammer film. The Edwardian setting also lent to that.

There was one scare that in my mind was what the movie should have been. The first time you see the lady in black, the music doesnt jump at you. Indeed, you have to actually be looking at the right part of the background to see the slightest movement of her head. Stuff like this should constitute the majority of the lady in black's appearance. She doesn't need to scream in your face. The music doesnt need to jolt in order to startle you. You just need really creepy subtleties. This film had a couple of them. Unfortunately, it had far more jolts.\

Hammer should know better than this. Its original films were not filled with jolts, nor were any movies acknowledged to be great horror films (like the Shining, Rosemary's Baby). This movie could have very easily been great, but instead it got lazy and just went for the lowest common denominator.