Watkins wraps The Woman in Black

by Naman Ramachandran

02/02/2011 - Director James Watkins (Eden Lake [trailer]) has completed principal photography on The Woman in Black. Based on the 1983 bestseller by Susan Hill that inspired a 1989 TV movie as well as a hugely successful London stage-play, the film was adapted for the screen by British screenwriter Jane Goldman (Kick-Ass, Stardust).

Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe plays the lead role of Arthur Kipps, a young lawyer who is ordered to travel to a remote corner of the UK and attend to a recently deceased client's papers. As he works alone in an old and isolated house, Kipps begins to uncover its tragic secrets. The cast includes Ciarán Hinds and Janet McTeer.

Shooting on London locations, the film is the latest release from the revamped Hammer Films label and is the first time the company has shot a picture in England since 1979’s The Lady Vanishes. The iconic Hammer label enjoyed a golden run in the 50s and 60s with films like The Curse of Frankenstein, Dracula, To the Devil a Daughter and Curse of the Mummy's Tomb. However, time eroded the brand and it was forgotten until 2007 when a European consortium acquired it.

Since then, a reinvigorated Hammer made a comeback with the successful interactive web serial Beyond the Rave in 2008 and 2010’s Let Me In, Matt Reeves’ Hollywood remake of Tomas Alfredson’s Let the Right One In [trailer, film focus]. Hammer’s plans for 2011 also include Antti Jokinen’s noir thriller The Resident, starring Hilary Swank, and David Keating’s drama horror Wake Wood [trailer].

The Woman in Black is set for a UK release in October 2011.