The Peterborough Evening Telegraph

DVD & BluRay

- With Alex Gordon

THE WOMAN IN BLACK Network, cert 15 Blu-ray £15

Perhaps the most remarkable thing about Susan Hill’s acclaimed ghost story is that it was written in modern times, 1983, yet it exudes the atmosphere of the great chillers from the distant past.

It’s been a hit on stage and film (most recently with Daniel Radcliffe after the conclusion of Harry Potter), but many regard this long-lost ITV adaptation by Nigel Kneale in 1989, to be the definitive version. It’s certainly groaning (literally) with spooky atmosphere and captures the essence of the book. The setting’s Edwardian England, and young London lawyer Arthur Kidd (Adrian Rawlins) little knows what lies ahead when he’s sent to attend the funeral and administer the estate of the firm’s late client Mrs Drablow. Young Arthur finds the welcome from villagers in Crythin Gifford a little chilly, and positively freezing at the mention of Mrs Drablow’s old Eel Marsh house. There’s one ‘mourner’ at the old lady’s funeral who sets a chill down Arthur’s spine, an apparition of a woman dressed in black (Pauline Moran - pictured). Arthur discovers Eel Marsh house can only be reached across

DEEP BLUE SEA 3 Warner Bros, cert 15 DVD £7

The bottom line is, no matter what’s said about this film, fans hungry for more shark killing frenzies will take the bait.

The original did well, but the second went straight to DVD and sank.

At least in this one, the digitally enhanced sharks look slightly more convincing than they did back in the days of rubbery Jaws.

Of course, to make it more relevant there’s a savingthe-planet twist, with marine biologist Emma Collins (Tania Raymonde) studying the effects of climate change on the monsters of the deep. But, on the ironically named island of Little Happy off Mozambique, there’s terror, after cross-bred bull sharks that were being studied by the team led by Emma’s ex, the marshes when the tide is right…something that will later add to the terror when Arthur moves in to get his paperwork together. An old wax cylinder recording he finds describing strange happenings in the house sets Arthur’s nerves on edge. Then he encounters the sound of a carriage crashing, screams, a locked room, a child’s ghostly voice and tortured creaks and groans. Extras include a booklet and interviews. You can buy the Blu-ray direct from networkona­ir.com

Our rating:

Richard (Nathaniel Buzolic) escaped into the ocean. Like Jurassic Park, only underwater, the body count keeps rising as the sea turns red.

Our rating:

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