Highlighting all that is wrong with the frenetic, overly violent, and poorly produced state of modern horror cinema, The Woman in Black goes back to the alluring, creepy roots of British horror with an atmospheric, gorgeous, and chilling take on the classic ghost story trope — the haunted mansion.

Daniel Radcliffe takes an unexpected turn in his first post-Potter role as Arthur Kipps, a young widower dealing with his own demons who is sent to a remote Yorkshire town to deal with the estate of the late Alice Drablow. The small town is reeling from a series of inexplicable deaths and accidents, and is not all that welcoming to Kipps, who is eager to finish his job so he can return to his young son in London. Striking up the friendship of a local wealthily landowner, Mr. Daily (Ciaran Hinds), who is dealing with the recent loss of his son and his increasingly unstable wife (Janet McTeer).

Ignoring the warnings and pleads of the local villagers, Kipps travels to the Drablow mansion, a fanatically sinister and decaying mansion in the middle of a marsh. It is here that Director James Watkins begins to employ one of the most underused elements in horror — sound. As Kipps explores the house he begins to suspect there is something more sinister at play that a spooky, creaking old house. The film patiently and methodically builds up the chills and scares, as Kipps slowly begins to piece together the haunted past of this small town, as well as the late Alice Drablow.

The Woman in Black is old-fashioned almost to a fault, refusing to throw a wrench into the structure of the film, instead focusing on building a brooding and chilling atmosphere, rather than relying on the jump-scares we’ve come accustomed to seeing from modern horror. Rarely as a film employed landscape in such an effective manner, wisely placing the haunted mansion in the midst of a flooding marsh, adding an extra obstacle in Kipps way, affectively placing him on an island, completely cut off from the world.

The camerawork laid out by Watkins and cinematographer Tim Maurice-Jones is not only gorgeous, but extremely effective, and perhaps above all, hardly a shot is wasted. The tension to the film is palpable thanks to the effective buildup and establishing shots of each scene, panning around corners and incorporating the layout of the mansion to the film’s benefit. Radcliffe seems at home in this chilling setting, given a very minimalistic yet emotive performance, as the camera plays on his paranoia and depression to build suspense.

The Woman in Black is a very straight-forward, plot-thin horror, relying heavily on atmosphere, both visually and in its sound design, to apply tension and freight. This tactic causes the film to stumble at times with plot developments and tonal changes between the chilling nights spent in the mansion with the rest of the film. To it’s credit, however, the film never tries to be too complicated or loaded with twists and turns, wisely sticking to what it does best — brooding and atmosphere chills.

A much welcome return to its horror roots for the Hammer Films production company, the film provides for a much-needed change of pace within a tired genre. Watkins and company have fashioned a very straight-forward little horror feature with just enough chills and scares to fill up its 94 minute runtime, The Woman in Black is a gorgeously shot, and impeccably produced little ghost story that never tries to be more than it is.

Grade: B

Rated: PG-13 (for thematic material and violence/disturbing images.)

The Woman in Black opens nationwide February 3rd.