Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on November 2012

Long story short: A young Victorian London solicitor (Daniel Radcliffe, succeeding, mostly, in emerging from Harry Potter’s shadow) finds himself in an almost comically creepy mansion in the hinterlands surrounded by strange noises, happenings and apparitions. The gore-free scares in this unapologetically traditional, insanely gothic, and genuinely chilling ghost story are mostly Boo! moments, but these are so expertly set up through a supremely portentous atmosphere and a palpable sense of dread that they each made me jump out of my skin. Keep your Saw movies. This nerve-jangler’s a hoot!