The Awakening
DIRECTOR: Nick Murphy
WRITERS: Stephen Volk, Nick Murphy
STARRING: Rebecca Hall, Dominic West, Imelda Staunton, Isaac Hempstead Wright, Cal Macaninch, Shaun Dooley
BBC Films
RELEASE DATE: August 17, 2012 (limited)
As a lover of all types of horror movies, and especially of a good ghost story, I was excited to check out The Awakening, the new thriller from director Nick Murphy, who’s making his feature debut.
The movie follows Florence Cathcart (Rebecca Hall), a paranormal hoaxes author and true skeptic in a devastated post World War I England who’s firmly set on revealing the real cause of paranormal occurrences, whether they be scientific or man made trickery. Clearly battling some of her own demons, Florence is one day visited by Robert Mallory (Dominic West), who claims that there have been many sightings of a child ghost at the boarding school he teaches at. At first she shrugs him off, offering a simple explanation for his problem, but when he rebukes them all and clarifies that this isn’t about finding a ghost but calming the fears of the boys who attend the school, she decides to help.
Upon arriving Florence investigates around a bit and sets up her many complex tests, which leads to what appears to be a resolution. But when strange things continue to happen and she sees things she cannot explain, everything Florence has so strongly believed in will be tested.
...continue reading »