“The Woman in Black,” which is based on Susan Hill’s horror novel, is a successful hybrid of two disparate genres: the traditional English ghost story and the far more kinetic Japanese ghost story.

English ghost stories rely on mood and atmosphere. They are set in decaying mansions and crumbling churchyards on blustery seaside cliffs. The best-known practitioner was probably M.R. James, whose “Oh, Whistle and I’ll Come to You, My Lad” was turned into a superb black-and-white tale of terror on the BBC and stands as a near-flawless example of its genre.

Japanese ghost stories are certainly more familiar to contemporary audiences, thanks to Hollywood’s frantic remakes of Japanese horror films in the past decade. Ghosts in these films are far more malevolent. Gone is the misty romanticism of the English story. Horror rears itself in contemporary settings, often with shocking violence, as angry spirits wreak terrible vengeance upon the living. Look no further than “The Grudge” for this sort of thing.

“The Woman in Black” dips its oar in both styles. James Watkins, directing only his second feature after 2008’s scary “Eden Lake,” seems remarkably assured, parceling out his big scares with regularity.

Arthur Kipps (Daniel Radcliffe) is a lawyer and widower with a young son. He’s dispatched to the gloomy Crythin Gifford, a small and isolated market town on the wind- and rain-swept English east coast, to settle the affairs of Alice Drablow. On the train from London, he meets Sam Daily (Ciaran Hinds), who gives Arthur a ride to the local inn and extends a dinner invitation.

The innkeeper is strangely hostile, initially denying Arthur lodging. The next day is even less fruitful as the local lawyer all but bum-rushes Arthur back onto the train. The entire village treats him with suspicion and disdain, but he’s able to bribe a local man to take him along the bleak Nine Lives Causeway to the imposing and decrepit Eel Marsh House where Alice lived.

The house is secluded, and at high tide, the causeway is under water. At low tide, there’s a treacherous marsh on either side of the road. Arthur discovers that the marsh claimed the life of Alice’s young son, whose body was never found. This revelation starts Arthur searching more vigorously for answers, even as sinister goings-on at the house grow more dangerous.

Suffice it to say that there’s a lot more to Eel Marsh House’s former denizens than anyone in town is willing to admit, and whatever dwells within the house is very, very angry.

Radcliffe is a minor revelation as Arthur, and proves he can act in movies that don’t feature magic wands. His pale skin contrasts with his sunken blue eyes as he succeeds in convincing the audience that he’s a 20-something widower who’s had about every reserve of hope beaten and squeezed out of him. His Arthur is intrepid and diligent and loves his son tremendously, which is why he sticks it out in Eel Marsh House. His job depends on completing this assignment.

So the classic English ghost story elements are all here: Desolate and vast old mansion. Cobwebs and candlelight. Leaning tombstones and lonely beaches. These are the things that put an audience on edge, using shadow and mood to create foreboding.

Then the Japanese stuff is sent shrieking into the audience in perhaps a half-dozen mightily effective jump scares. The woman in black herself is a hissing, pale-faced spectre who perpetrates these. She’s actually pretty scary, appearing out of nowhere to screech and glower at the terrified Arthur.

The movie’s beautiful to look at, with cinematography by Tim Maurice-Jones, who takes a U-turn from the work he did for Guy Ritchie. He beautifully depicts the lonely Norfolk seacoast where Arthur finds himself friendless and alone except for Sam Daily, who might know more than he lets on.

So if fake documentary horror makes you roll your eyes, this movie might be the well-made old-fashioned ghost story you’ve been looking for.

SPOILER ALERT : Don’t read the next paragraph until after you see the movie. Seriously. Don’t. OK, I just had to say that the scene where Arthur’s looking down from the third floor window and sees the dead little boy slowly rising out of the marsh and walking toward the house is one of the more chilling scenes in recent memory.

I actually gripped the arms of my seat when that happened, and leaned over to ask the 5-foot-4-inch girl beside me for protection.

Jason Heck is Ink’s movie critic. He is co-host of “The DVD Gurus” with the University of Missouri-Kansas City film professor Mitch Brian for “Up to Date” on KCUR 89.3 FM. Reach him at inkmovieskc@gmail.com.