The Woman in Black(2012)
2012 · James Watkins · 95 min
The story follows a young lawyer, Arthur Kipps, who is ordered to travel to a remote village and sort out a recently deceased client’s papers. As he works alone in the client’s isolated house, Kipps begins to uncover tragic secrets, his unease growing when he glimpses a mysterious woman dressed only in black. Receiving only silence from the locals, Kipps is forced to uncover the true identity of the Woman in Black on his own, leading to a desperate race against time when he discovers her true identity.
Drama · Horror · Thriller
6.13.8k votes
TMDB score
3/5
Intensity
1/5
Gore
3/5
Stays with you
How The Woman in Black scares
It opens slow and moody, spending real time building unease in a fog-covered village before the scares start landing, then settles into a rhythm of quiet dread punctuated by sudden jolts once the haunted house takes over. The fear leans on grief, isolation, and the feeling of being watched rather than any physical chase, and the ghost itself is more about heartbreak than gore. It's a classic gothic ghost story built for atmosphere, with enough jump scares to keep you tense but real sadness underneath that lingers a bit after it ends. Good for people who like old-fashioned haunted house movies with a period setting rather than fast, brutal horror.
On The Horror Database's 0–5 scare profile, The Woman in Black rates psychological 4/5, visceral 2/5, gore 1/5, lingering effect 3/5, and overall intensity 3/5.
- Psychological: 4 of 5
- Visceral: 2 of 5
- Gore: 1 of 5
- Lingering: 3 of 5
- Intensity: 3 of 5
Slow burn vs Jump scares: 60 of 100 — leans Jump scares
Supernatural vs Real-world: 10 of 100 — leans Supernatural
Fun-scary vs Disturbing: 55 of 100 — balanced
Intensity over runtime
Shape only — no eventsReveal pacing shapeHide pacing shapeHidden by default — shows where the tension peaks and lets up.
A slow, quiet setup that gradually fills with creeping dread, building into a string of jolting scares before a heavy final push.
Intensity across the runtime, 0 to 100: 0, 1, 1, 2, 2, 3, 3, 4, 3, 4, 4, 5.
How scary is The Woman in Black?
On The Horror Database's 0–5 intensity scale, The Woman in Black rates 3/5 — solidly scary, delivering its fear through jump scares more than lingering dread. The fear is mostly in your head — it unsettles far more than it assaults. Expect it to be restrained with gore and scary but not punishing. Some of it will follow you to bed, but it lets go within a day or so.
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