Charlotte Observer by Lawrence Toppman

In rare cases – and The Woman in Black is one of them – a story may be more atmospheric when less is left to the imagination.

Movieline by Stephanie Zacharek

The pleasures of the period ghost story The Woman in Black are something like the creepy shiver of delight you get from Edward Gorey's illustrated poem "The Gashlycrumb Tinies."

Los Angeles Times by Sheri Linden

If the story is laid out none too subtly, its straightforward purity is, finally, its greatest strength. Screenwriter Jane Goldman has adapted Susan Hill's 1983 novel (which spawned a radio series, TV movie and long-running West End stage play) with economy, placing a premium on eeriness, not gore.

Time by Richard Corliss

The Woman in Black is a welcome addition to the old canon; renouncing innovation, embracing anachronism, it's almost "The Artist" of ghost movies. To anyone who fancies throwback stories of the supernatural, there's nothing so appealing as a well-preserved corpse.

Time Out by Keith Uhlich

The mostly dialogue-free middle section is a scare-film master class - and when a becalmed smile does finally cross his lips, it's in the most giddily mordant of circumstances. As Arthur embraces the darkness, so does the darkness embrace us.

The Hollywood Reporter by Todd McCarthy

"No Country for Young Kids" would be just as suitable a title for The Woman in Black, a hoot of an old-fashioned British horror film.

Empire by Olly Richards

Check behind the doors. Switch on all the lights. You won't be sleeping soundly for a while.

Total Film by Kevin Harley

Even now we know he’ll thrive post-Hogwarts, Radcliffe impresses as Arthur Kipps, the solicitor, widower and father with an invested interest in the afterlife.

Chicago Tribune by Michael Phillips

The film, a handsome nerve-jangler co-produced under the storied Hammer horror banner, amps up the scares without turning them into something completely stupid. Success!

Chicago Sun-Times by Roger Ebert

Not since young Hutter arrived at Orlok's castle in "Nosferatu" has a journey to a dreaded house been more fearsome than the one in The Woman in Black.

Chicago Reader

Director James Watkins (Eden Lake) treats the material with surprising reverence, generating good clean scares from atmosphere and character revelations rather than shock editing or gore.

The New York Times by Manohla Dargis

Less gore is more here, and what a relief. The Woman in Black isn't especially scary, but it keeps you on edge, and without the usual vivisectionist imagery.

Variety by Leslie Felperin

Helmer James Watkins ("Eden Lake") and scripter Jane Goldman judiciously combine moves from the classic scare-'em-ups with new tricks from recent J-horror pictures to retell Susan Hill's oft-adapted Victorian gothic pastiche.

Arizona Republic by Bill Goodykoontz

Subtlety may not be Watkins' strong suit, but he knows how to frame a scene for maximum tension and dread.

Miami Herald by René Rodríguez

In his first starring role post-Harry Potter, Radcliffe must carry the movie with little dialogue and practically nothing to play other than fear, constantly reacting to creepy toys that suddenly spring to life and reflections in windows that shriek unexpectedly at him.

Austin Chronicle by Marjorie Baumgarten

The film is wonderfully atmospheric and full of little frights, but its overall impact is only glancing.

The A.V. Club by Keith Phipps

Without Radcliffe at the center looking scared out of his wits, The Woman In Black would seem even slighter than it already does.

Slant Magazine

In the end, The Woman in Black displays a higher regard for the material makeup of gruesome-looking Victorian dolls than it does for the psychological turmoil of its characters, making one wish that some of the money it budgeted for cranes and fog machines had been offered to a script doctor.