The Woman in Black

The Woman in Black has quietly become one of the more dependable crime dramas currently available in the US on YouTube TV and Kanopy. It knows exactly what kind of film it is from the opening scene, and never loses that thread. Its 6/10 TMDB score, built from 3,705 ratings, reflects a title that consistently delivers. Daniel Radcliffe sets the tone, and the ensemble matches it scene for scene. Available now on YouTube TV — press play and find out why people keep recommending it.

Whatever else is competing for your attention this week, The Woman in Black is worth clearing space for. The plotting gives The Woman in Black its backbone, but it is the characters you come back for. The story follows a young lawyer, Arthur Kipps, who is ordered to travel to a remote village and sort out a recently deceased client’s papers. As he works alone in the client’s isolated house, Kipps begins to uncover tragic secrets, his unease growing when he glimpses a mysterious woman dressed only in black. Receiving only silence from the locals, Kipps is forced to uncover the true identity of the Woman in Black on his own, leading to a desperate race against time when he discovers her true identity. Credit to Daniel Radcliffe and Ciarán Hinds for grounding it — this is a cast that earns the twists. It hit screens in 2012. What makes The Woman in Black hold up is that the resolution matters less than how the characters get there. It knows exactly what it is, and does not try to be anything else.

If you cannot walk away from a good mystery, The Woman in Black will keep you hooked. It stands on its own even without an obvious comparison point. A contained runtime means every scene is doing real work. Watch Daniel Radcliffe work — it is a masterclass in the genre. Few crime dramas earn their twists this consistently.