The Woman In Black 2:Angel of Death is a supernatural horror film, and a sequel to the 2012 remake "The Woman in Black." The film takes place 40 years after the events of "The Woman in Black". A novelization of the film's screenplay, written by crime fiction author Martyn Waites, was released October 24, 2013 by Hammer Books (Random House Publishing) in England. Critical reception of the novel has been mixed, with both positive and negative reviews. The movie itself received mostly negative reviews and has 22% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. In comparison, the first movie's rating is of 66%.
Plot[]
Thirty years later, during the London Blitz, Eve Parkins joins some of her schoolchildren and the school's headmistress, Jean Hogg, to evacuate them to the isolated market town of Crythin Gifford. On the train journey there, Eve meets dashing RAF pilot Harry Burnstow, who is stationed at an airfield near Crythin Gifford. Upon arrival at the apparently nearly deserted town, Eve is confronted by a raving madman, Jacob, and flees.
Although Eve and Jean do not approve of Eel Marsh House, the isolated manor house on an island in the marshes where they have been billeted, there is no alternative. That night, Eve has a nightmare of how she was forced to give up her baby when she was younger; when she awakens, she hears the noise of a rocking chair coming from the cellar. There she finds a message, scolding her for letting her child go, and sees a woman dressed in black. The next morning, one of the children, Edward, who has been mute since the death of his parents in the bombing, is bullied by two other children and sees the Woman in Black in the nursery. Eve feels that something is wrong when Edward starts constantly carrying around a rotting doll. That night, one of the boys who was bullying him is drawn out of the house by the Woman in Black (which is Tom); Eve finds Tom’s body on the beach, mangled by barbed wire.
Eve later sees the Woman in the graveyard, where she finds the grave of Nathaniel Drablow. She chases the ghost to the beach and is overcome by visions of Nathaniel's death. At the house, she and Harry establish the story of the ghost through an old recording made by Alice Drablow before her death at the hands of the Woman in Black: it is her sister, Jennet Humfrye, the mother of the child she adopted, Nathaniel. Jennet is haunting them because of Nathaniel's premature death, and is punishing Eve in particular for giving up her baby. Eve journeys into the abandoned town to confront Jacob, who is blind and therefore unable to be killed by the ghost, as he cannot see her. However, he has been driven insane by the deaths of all the other children (whose ghosts surround him) and tries to kill Eve before she escapes.
Back at the house, Jean finds one of the girls (Joyce) trying to strangle herself under the Woman's spell. During an air raid, Joyce suffocates herself using a gas mask. After Joyce’s death, Harry takes them to his airfield, which is revealed to be a decoy. Harry, the only man stationed there, has been disgraced following a crash in which he was the only survivor, and is no longer allowed to fly. Eve realises that the Woman has followed them. Edward flees and apparently dies by walking into a fire basket. Eve, however, realises that Edward is still alive and at Eel Marsh House. Realising that the Woman in Black wants her alone, she drives to the island, where she finds Edward walking out into the marsh to drown himself where Nathaniel died. She crawls after him, but they are dragged down into the mud by the ghost. At the last minute, Harry arrives and saves them, though he is dragged down to his death instead (Harry’s self sacrifice).
Months later, Eve has adopted Edward, and they are living in London. Although they believe they are free from the ghost, once they leave their house, she appears again and smashes a picture of Harry and his crew.
Cast[]
- Phoebe Fox as Eve Parkins
- Jeremy Irvine as Flying Officer Harry Burnstow
- Helen McCrory as Jean Hogg
- Adrian Rawlins as Dr Rhodes. Adrian Rawlins previously played the protagonist Arthur Kidd in the 1989 television adaptation of The Woman in Black.
- Leanne Best as Jennet Humfrye, the Woman in Black. Best took over from Liz White, who portrayed the title character in the first film.
- Ned Dennehy as Jacob
- Oaklee Pendergast as Edward
- Jude Wright as Tom
- Amelia Pidgeon as Joyce
- Casper Allpress as Fraser
- Amelia Crouch as Flora
- Leilah de Meza as Ruby
- Pip Pearce as James
- Alfie Simmons as Alfie
- Eve Pearce as the voice of Alice Drablow, Jennet's sister
List of Deaths[]
- Edward’s Parents - Killed by the explosion during the bombing (mentioned)
- Harry’s brothers - Killed in the War (off-screen photo shown in the end)
- Tom - Killed by the Woman in Black (off-screen, body discovered by Eve)
- Eve’s baby - Unknown Fate
- Joyce - Suffocated in the gas mask (Body discovered by Eve and Harry)
- Harry Burnstow - Sacrificing himself by saving Eve and Edward drowning and drowned by the Woman in Black (Harry’s heroic self sacrifice)