History Film / TheWomanInBlack

* AdaptationalAngstUpgrade: In the book Jerome is just Arthur's nervous local liaison who CannotSpitItOut about the curse and Keckwick brings him supplies at the house with some uneasiness but no emotional investment. In the film, both Jerome and Keckwick have lost children to the curse, and Jerome has a living daughter who's in danger because of it.
* AdaptationExpansion: In the novel, the kids dying was just something the townsfolk of Crythin Gifford had to live with; in the film it becomes a subplot. Nathaniel's corpse is also recovered and properly buried; and no attempt is made to exorcise either spectre. In the film, Arthur witnesses [[spoiler: Nathaniel drag himself out of the bog and try to regain the house]], which gives him the idea to attempt to reunite the ghosts.

* FreezeFrameBonus: If you watch carefully (or pause judiciously) you can catch little glimpses of the Woman in the background of a lot of scenes. Usually leading up to a JumpScare, but not always. Notably when Arthur is running off into the woods at the beginning, the camera passes by her silhouette, but if you're not paying close attention you might mistake it for a tree, but there are others.

* GhostlyGoals: The titular ghost exists to cause the children of the nearby town to kill themselves. Arthur believes that she's doing this [[spoiler:because she wants to be reunited with her son, and he risks his life to accomplish this]].

* WrongGenreSavvy: Arthur. Maybe if we [[spoiler:reunite the ghost with her son]] she'll stop killing people! [[spoiler:Nope.]]

* AdaptationalAngstUpgrade: In the book Jerome is just Arthur's nervous local liaison who CannotSpitItOut about the curse and Keckwick brings him supplies at the house with some uneasiness but no emotional investment. In the film, Keckwick's son has died as a result of the curse and Jerome has a daughter who's in danger because of it.

* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:Arthur and his son die, but they're reunited with his wife and seemingly happy to be together. Also, unlike the rest of the children the Woman has taken, they're free to move on to the afterlife. However the BittersweetEnding is Bitter enough to veer into DownerEnding territory -- Arthur and Joseph ''are'' dead, after all, and the Woman in Black ''will'' continue to torment the village.]]
** [[spoiler: The DownerEnding is far ''worse'' for Sam, who, despite helping Arthur in trying to appease the Woman in Black, is rewarded for all his efforts by witnessing his friend die along with his son, knowing that the Woman is ''still'' going to torment the village and prevent his son from being able to move on to the afterlife]].

* AdaptationalAngstUpgrade: In the book Jerome is just Arthur's nervous local liaison who CannotSpitItOut about the curse and Keckwick brings him supplies at the house with some uneasiness but no emotional investment. In the film, Keckwick's son has died as a result of the curse and Jerome has a daughter whose in danger because of it.

* ManOnFire: [[spoiler:Jerome's daughter Lucy does this to herself under Jennet's influence.]]

* PetTheDog: [[spoiler:The title character appears to let the Kipps family pass on, rather than stay on Earth like the rest of her victims, out of gratitude for Arthur's effort to appease her and sacrificing his life in an attempt to save his son.]]

* OverprotectiveDad: Jerome and his wife keep their daughter in a room in a cellar to keep her safe from Jennet. [[spoiler:It fails.]]

* AnAxeToGrind: Arthur grabs a hatchet at one point, whilst investigating the strange noises in the house.

* TheEdwardianEra: The film takes place in this decade.

* AdultFear: The children who [[PsychicAssistedSuicide kill themselves]] at the Woman in Black's behest.
** Jennet watching her son die.

* OutnumberedSibling: [[spoiler: Victoria Hardy]], and early victim of the Woman in Black, has two brothers.

* ShownTheirWork: [[spoiler: Nathaniel's corpse is in perfect condition, despite being 50 years old]]. Bodies don't rot when buried in bogs; because the acid in the water kills the bacteria necessary for decompisition.

** When Sam travels to the house with Arthur, he finds himself locked inside a room by [[spoiler: the ghost of his dead son.]] When he looks through the nearby window, he sees [[spoiler: the horrific faces of all the dead children staring back at him, and promptly yells for Arthur to open the door.]]

* TownWithADarkSecret

** First when Victoria Hardy walks into the police station with her brothers[[spoiler:who reveal she drank Lye.]] Arthur's reaction says it all, though he does try to keep the children calm.

[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/woman_in_black_2012.jpeg]]
[[caption-width-right:300:[[NoPeripheralVision Don't look over your shoulder...]]]]

[[quoteright:280:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/woman_in_black_2012.jpeg]]
[[caption-width-right:280:[[NoPeripheralVision Don't look over your shoulder...]]]]

There is a sequel which came out in January 2015, ''Film/WomanInBlackAngelOfDeath''.

* InfantImmortality: Averted thoroughly within the first three minutes, and throughout the movie.

[[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/WiBTrailerShot_247.bmp]]
[[caption-width-right:200:[[NoPeripheralVision Don't look over your shoulder...]]]]

The 2012 [[TheFilmOfTheBook film version]] of ''Literature/TheWomanInBlack'', starring Creator/DanielRadcliffe and Creator/CiaranHinds, and produced by Film/HammerHorror.