This weekend’s cinematic selections, which included two creaky haunted house pictures and a disturbing British hit man phantasmagoria, centered around things that go bump in the night.

Daniel Radcliffe’s first post-Harry Potter feature, “The Woman in Black,” dusts off the old haunted house clichés for a not-so-scary tale of a young lawyer who travels to rural England to sell an abandoned property. But he becomes tangled up in the drama of a village being tormented by the wrathful titular specter, who has targeted children.

The film – directed by James Watkin’s, who directed the disturbing “Eden Lake” – is mostly a missed opportunity to capitalize on its creepy settings, Radcliffe’s star power and a solid supporting cast that includes Ciaran Hands and Janet McTeer.

The film’s producers have apparently never met a jump scare they didn’t like. Rather than rely on atmospherics, “The Woman in Black” is, instead, one scene after another of creepy faces hurtling toward the camera and loud banging noises.

Faring only slightly better is Ti West’s “The Innkeepers,” a low budget thriller in which two amateur ghost hunters attempt to make contact with the spirit of a woman who hanged herself in the soon-to-be-closed hotel at which they work.

West, who directed 2009’s spooky 1980s horror throwback “The House of the Devil,” makes good use of his locale, allowing his camera to float down the abandoned hallways of the hotel.

Kelly McGillis lends some gravitas in a supporting role as a washed up actress turned communicant with the afterlife.

But the dialogue between Pat Healy and Sara Paxton, who play the ghost hunters, feels slightly forced, occasionally taking unfortunate turns toward the cutesy.

And the picture’s ending feels curiously rushed as if the filmmakers ran out of funds and were forced to quickly wrap up the production. West is a genuine talent and considered one of horror’s fresh young faces and “The Innkeepers” is not a bad film, just a mixed bag.

Of all the recently released horror movies, the one that is sure to make the greatest impact on the genre is Ben Wheatley’s “Kill List,” an occasionally shocking, often frightening and head-scratch inducing picture that is part British kitchen sink drama, part hit man thriller and part off-the-deep-end nightmare.

The film opens on bickering couple Jay (Neil Maskell) and Shel (MyAnna Buring), who are feeling the strains of economic burden. Jay is out of work and bills need to be paid.

Shortly thereafter, Jay’s pal Gal (Michael Smiley) shows up with his new girlfriend for dinner. Gal tells Jay he has a job lined up for the two of them. The duo, it turns out, are hit men.

At this point, the movie is split into titled sections during which the pair bumps off their kill list’s three victims.

We begin to get the sense that something is awry when at the end of the first section – “The Priest” – the titular victim thanks Jay before the hired killer puts a bullet in his head.

Similarly strange behavior continues to follow the men as they carry out their mission. Moviegoers should be prepared to cover their eyes when a hammer is introduced.

And then, suddenly, “Kill List” takes an even stranger, darker turn that I won’t give away – or, perhaps, can’t reveal. Audience members will likely disagree on the meaning of the film’s final third, which takes a turn for the occult.

Wheatley, who directed the bleak 2009 crime thriller “Down Terrace,” is a talent to watch and “Kill List” is one of the more original horror films to come down the pike in a while.

My sole gripe with the picture is its transition to horror. On the one hand, Wheatley proves he has chutzpah and the finale is certainly not one I’ll soon forget.

But it comes on too quickly and I felt that some of the story’s important details could have been handled better.

So, “Kill List” is not perfect, but it’s infinitely more ambitious than most movies of its ilk. And it could leave you slightly unhinged, if that’s your thing.

Nathan Duke is editor of Douglaston Patch.