10 Movie Plots Only Made Possible Through One Character's Utter Stupidity

6. Arthur Kipps Continues Working At The Clearly Haunted House €“ The Woman In Black

Daniel Radcliffe Woman In Black Now, I'm not the hardiest bloke in the world. I jump at all surprises, whether in a horror film, a surprise party or people shouting too loud. So you can bet your bottom dollar that if I was lawyer Arthur Kipps, I probably wouldn't venture into a big scary house with a ghost the locals are p*ss-scared of, especially considering the recent spate of child-suicide in the area and random crying noises on the road to the property in question, Eel Marsh House. Frankly, there are just far better places where a man can work €“ a library, a study in Ciaran Hinds' marvelous house, hell, even a pub. But a creepy manor from which there's no escape if the tides come in? Not so much. I suppose I understand that the legal documents were in the house, but there's absolutely nothing wrong with quickly going in, grabbing every scrap of paper you can and leaving the place immediately, and repeating this ad nauseam if you happen to be missing anything else. As it was, he rigged the child-murder odds in his favour €“ if the deaths are dependent on you sighting the Woman only once, then staying in an area where she's gadding about can hardly be considered a good idea. I suppose the first encounter can be put down to Potter's €“ sorry, Kipps' €“ understandable scepticism surrounding ghost stories, but from that point on, leave the house alone, for Christ's sake. If nothing else, that spirit's really interrupting his work.
Contributor
Contributor

Durham University graduate and qualified sports journalist. Very good at sitting down and watching things. Can multi-task this with playing computer games. Football Manager addict who has taken Shrewsbury Town to the summit of the Premier League. You can follow me at @Ed_OwenUK, if you like ramblings about Newcastle United and A Place in the Sun. If you don't, I don't know what I can do for you.