• Feb 02
• Eden Lake director takes on THE WOMAN IN BLACK
• Posted by Deljhp - 02/02/10 at 01:02 PM

Cue the classic Brit horror fanboy backlash. ‘Variety’ has reported that UK production house Exclusive Media has announced it has just bought the film remake rights to Susan Hill's bestselling Gothic chiller The Woman in Black. Originally filmed for television by Herbert Wise in the late 80s, local helmer James Watkins - who directed the very acceptable 2008 horror ‘Eden Lake’ - is set to direct the reboot, from a new version of the screenplay written by Jane Goldman ('Stardust').

The story of The Woman in Black revolves around a young lawyer is sent by his firm to settle the estate of a recently deceased widow. The lawyer finds the townspeople reluctant to talk about or go near the woman's dreary home and no one will explain or even acknowledge the menacing woman in black he keeps seeing. Ignoring the towns-people's cryptic warnings, he goes to the house where he discovers its horrible history and becomes ensnared in its even more horrible legacy.

We loved Wise’s screen version, and Watkins will have his work cut out to even come close to matching the desolate, eerie and down right creepy feel of the original. If you’d like to check it out before the remake arrives, you will have a job. Despite its cult status, the only way we ever got to see it was on a very grainy VHS. Never released on DVD in the UK, the film had a short run on R1 DVD in the U.S and was then de-listed. Original discs of the film now change hands for about $200 a pop...Ouch.

More on the remake, as we get it.

The Woman in Black IMBD page