The Woman In Black (Cert 12, 91 mins, Momentum Pictures Home Entertain-ment). Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Ciaran Hinds, Janet McTeer, Misha Handley, Roger Allam, Shaun Dooley, Mary Stockley, Sophie Stuckey ***

London solicitor Arthur Kipps (Radcliffe) is haunted by the death of his wife Stella (Stuckey) during childbirth, and he seeks refuge in his love for their three-year-old boy (Handley). Arthur is dispatched to the remote village of Crythin Gifford where he must attend to the papers of Alice Drablow, the recently deceased owner of Eel Marsh House. The locals try to ward off Arthur, advising him to “go home to your son”. However, the solicitor persists with the help of local landowner Mr Daily (Hinds) and he glimpses a mysterious figure (White), who is blamed for the deaths of children in the village. The Harry Potter star is as wooden as the creaky floorboards in the godforsaken mansion, but the concentration on old-fashioned horror traditions is refreshing.

Carnage (Cert 15, 76 mins, Studio Canal). Starring: Jodie Foster, Kate Winslet, Christoph Waltz, John C Reilly ****

Alan Cowan (Waltz) and his wife Nancy (Winslet) visit the apartment of Michael and Penelope Longstreet (Reilly, Foster) to apologise for their son Zachary, who has hit the Longstreets’ son Ethan in the face with a stick. The meeting is intended to be brief and courteous, and Alan tries to speed along proceedings by candidly admitting, “Our son is a maniac. If you hope he’ll suddenly and spontaneously get all apologetic, you’re dreaming.” As the conversation ebbs and flows, tensions become evident until poor Nancy is taken ill and Penelope unleashes her middle-class fury. Director Roman Polanski entrusts the incendiary dialogue to three former Oscar winners, who deliver each verbal grenade with lip-smacking relish. It’s an acting tour-de-force.

One For The Money (Cert 12, 87 mins, Entertainment In Video). Starring Katherine Heigl, Jason O’Mara, Daniel Sunjata, Patrick Fischler HH

Times are tough for Stephanie Plum (Heigl) – she is out of work and out of luck. In desperation, Stephanie turns to her shady cousin, Vinnie (Fischler), who runs his own company, Vinnie’s Bail Bonds. Without any training or obvious skills, Stephanie goes to work for Vinnie, chasing down men and women who have skipped bail, beginning with her handsome old flame, Joe Morelli (O’Mara), a former cop who is now wanted for murder. Aided by the enigmatic Ranger (Sunjata), who teaches her the basics of bounty hunting, Stephanie closes in on her prey but when she finally catches up with Joe, she questions if he is truly guilty. One For The Money is a misfiring comic caper about a young woman forced to re-evaluate her life, veering sharply and awkwardly from black comedy to thriller, unable to get a grip on a script that is poorly-paced and flimsy.