The Woman in Black - Help!

[David Hawk]

OK, so i know its been out a while now but i watched The Woman in Black last night and did really enjoy, its the first time I've been genuinely creeped out watching a horror movie i what seems like years and there were some decent scares too BUT, after it finished i had some nagging questions which i just can't seem to work out.
Don't get me wrong I'm not the sort of person who needs every single thing tied up in a nice bow at the end but if a movie sets something up that seems important to the film then i would like some kind of resolution, so with possible spoilers ahead:

1. When Sam is in the house with Arthur waiting to return the body of her dead son to her, Sam sees his own son and follows him into a room which is then locked so he cant get out but nothing happens to him when he's in there and nothing happens to Arthur upstairs while Sam is locked up so why?

2. Sam sees the photo on the desk with the scratched out eyes and looks concerned by it but then never brings it up or does anything that you would think would be a result of seeing that picture, so what did it mean to him then?

I have more but those two are the biggest ones for me, anyone help?

[Sheridan Passell]

I don't have satisfactory answers for either. The first point seems to have just been for the sake of plot convenience, to get him out of Radcliffe's climactic scare scene. The scratched out eyes are a cliched 'creepy moment' that we've seen in a dozen other horrors, I don't think there was any more planning to it than they wanted something eerie there.

I liked the movie but didn't love it. Workmanlike but not inspired.

[dalmatianjaws]

Yeah, those are the kind of "holes" that aren't so much plot holes as they are screenwriting crutches. I assumed the older dude was locked away as a fear tactic and to "divide and conquor" Daniel Radcliffe, yet I don't really remember what happened to Radcliffe ... didn't he seemingly defeat the ghost only to have her come back later for no good reason? (another crutch).  I'd also agree about the eyes scratched out, it's there for atmosphere, not story.

The thing with supernatural stuff is that you can get away with less "rules." Take the Grudge or The Ring, both wildly popular, both annoyingly vague. The supernatural force just does whatever it need to do to generate scares, there aren't any rules or restrictions, which are the core of a good story in my opinion. Boundaries create tension and force the writer to use his brain to get out of situations.

I'd agree with Sheridan's estimation of the movie, though I'd say that middle centerpiece where he's exploring the house borders on masterful. Keeping such a taut tone for so long is quite an achievement. I'd blame the screenplay for most of the letdowns (like the cheesy ending).

[David Hawk]

Thanks guys. I guess it was just the way Sam looked at the scratched eyes pic like it meant something to him but could easily be just a picture that freaked him out. And the divide and conquer would've worked nicely if something had actually happened but ho hum.
Lets see what they have planned for the sequel.

[Sheridan Passell]

There may be more to those moments, my memory isn't super sharp on them. I'm glad they're doing a sequel, even if it's hard to imagine where they take the story. Have they indicated anything yet?

[dalmatianjaws]

It's going to be set in WWII when the house is converted to a makeshift hospital. Has potential.

[Sheridan Passell]

Why would they make a place that gets cut off so easily into a hospital?

[dalmatianjaws]

Goddamn it, time for a re-write.

[David Hawk]

Isn't it supposed to be a hospital for the criminally insane, maybe built on an old Indian burial ground where a witch was hanged after turning the local population into zombies?

[dalmatianjaws]

Oh that's right.