The Woman In Black is a film version of the 1983 ghost story by Susan Hill. Set in late Victorian/early Edwardian times, it follows a young lawyer who travels to a remote rural village, where he discovers a vengeful ghost responsible for the deaths of local children.
Classification Issues
- Threat and horror
- There are a number of scenes of supernatural horror and threat in which the ghost of the 'woman in black', as well as the ghosts of her victims, appears to and menaces the central character and others.
- Additional issues
- Further issues include scenes in which the ghost of the 'woman in black' appears to hang herself from a noose; a young girl smashes an oil lamp, causing herself to burst into flames; and a girl coughs up blood after ingesting caustic soda. There are also repeated verbal and visual references to a young boy drowning in a muddy swamp, to a mother dying in childbirth, and uses of the word 'harlot'.
Cinema classification
The first version of the film was submitted for classification to the BBFC for an advice viewing in 2011, with a 12A category request. The finalised version of the film was submitted in early 2012, also with a 12A category request; this was seen by a group of BBFC Examiners, plus the BBFC Director.
The BBFC considered the film to be on the border between the 12A and 15 categories, because of the number of scenes of supernatural horror and threat involving the ghostly 'woman in black' and the ghosts of her victims. Therefore several factors needed to be considered by the BBFC before a decision on the final category for the film could be made.
The BBFC considered that the theme of the film was a relatively known quantity. The stage adaptation of Susan Hill’s best-selling book had played continuously in the West End between 1989 and 2023. A television adaptation was aired in 1989 and was subsequently released on video (classified 15 by the BBFC, albeit at a time before the 12 video rating had been introduced).
The book also appeared on the National Curriculum, and schools therefore frequently took pupils to see the stage version. If the film had been rated 15, some might have argued it unfair for the BBFC to prevent 12 to 14 year olds experiencing an adaptation of such a well known story – especially as the film relies on atmosphere and a traditional ghost story format rather than on graphic imagery, and takes place in period setting that distances its events from contemporary reality.
Arguments in favour of a 15 classification included the fact that the general mood and tone of the film is quite bleak, and that the premise of a ghost manipulating children into harming or killing themselves may be particularly disturbing for young children.
The BBFC’s Classification Guidelines at the time for 12A/12 stated that “moderate physical and psychological threat may be permitted, providing disturbing sequences are not frequent or sustained.”
Although there is a degree of intensity to the scenes involving the ghosts in The Woman in Black, it slowly increases in the first 40 minutes and is then broken up at intervals by other scenes, with a number of quieter periods in between the more frightening sequences. Suspense also builds about how the narrative will resolve, which in some ways resembles a detective story. There is strong contextual justification to the feature of child suicides within the film, in that these are clearly set within a unrealistic supernatural storyline. The characters are possessed by the ghost of ‘the woman in black’, and admit this when they revisit living characters as ghosts.
However, the film also includes some notably stronger scenes – such as when the ghost of the 'woman in black' appears to hang herself from a noose, and when a young girl deliberately sets herself on fire.
After careful consideration, the BBFC decided that reductions to these particular scenes would be required in order to achieve the requested 12A classification, along with some other smaller changes throughout the film. A 15 rating with no cuts was available to the distributors, however they elected to cut The Woman In Black to achieve a 12A. In total they removed six seconds of stronger horror from the film. They also darkened certain shots and reduced some sound effects, to lessen the impact of the scarier ‘jump’ moments. With these changes the BBFC concluded that viewers aged 12 and above were likely to find the scary moments thrilling rather than upsetting or disturbing.
The theatrical version of The Woman In Black was passed 12A in January 2012, with content advice noting ‘intense supernatural threat and horror'.
A 12A classification means that the BBFC regards the film as suitable for persons aged 12-14, although parents may decide to take younger children at their own discretion. The BBFC states clearly in its Guidelines that films classified 12A may be unsuitable for younger children and advises parents to consult the BBFC content advice before taking younger children to see a 12A film.
Audience feedback
Following its release, the BBFC received 134 letters of complaint from cinemagoers, who felt the film was too dark and unsettling for 12A.
As the BBFC routinely takes the most challenging films to consultation, The Woman In Black was included in the public research that informed the development of the 2014 Classification Guidelines. That research showed 89% of the public supported the 12A rating for The Woman in Black, with 11% thinking it should have received a higher category.
Video classification
The DVD version of the theatrical release (with the same changes made) was passed at 12 in February 2013. This was rapidly followed by the submission to the BBFC of the original, uncut version of the film, which was classified 15, also for DVD release.
Cinema resubmission
In 2014, ahead of the release of a sequel (entitled The Woman in Black: Angel of Death) the original film was resubmitted for a new cinema rating, with a scene from the sequel included as a ‘taster’ of the upcoming film.
The sequence from Angel of Death featured a level of strong and sustained threat that exceeded the BBFC’s Classification Guidelines at 12A. The new submission including this additional scene was therefore classified 15.
