User Reviews

Between 1914 and 1919, one million people lost their lives to influenza. Society was more ignorant back then. Science and rational thinking were not then the forces they are today. People were open to anything, including the possibility of ghosts. Florence Cathcart (Rebecca Hall) stands out in the London of the twenties for being a free-thinker and a debunker of the supernatural. A boarding school teacher (Dominic West) implores her to visit his school following the death of a pupil, where unexplained sightings are being reported. Florence isn't a total sceptic. She leaves some room for belief, which caused me to note she is agnostic towards ghosts. Essentially, there are two stories. One is concerning the death of the pupil. The other is more interesting and distinguishes it from a deluge of other horror films which have vanished from my mind as quickly as the ghostly apparitions in them. It focuses on Florence herself, and I shall say no more as I will not spoil it for you. This is not a scary film; there are several portents but few frights. What there is plenty of, however, is suspense. Nick Murphy, in his feature-length debut, also manages to sustain a melancholy mood, crucial for his story. It's no surprise that Rebecca is the daughter of Peter Hall, founder of the Royal Shakespeare Company. She commands the screen in a way which would cause many of her peers to blush with envy. Her character is a difficult one to personify. Dominic West, he with the simian countenance from the groundbreaking crime series 'The Wire', is very good as the guilt-ridden soldier-turned-teacher. Imelda Staunton is effective as the school matron. She has that look in her eye which is trying to tell us something. I'm calling this a grown-up film because the spiritual element becomes auxiliary. Guilt and loneliness take over as leading themes. Murphy has the acuity to drop the ghost story – because otherwise it would be a simulacrum of other period chillers – and focuses on a story of locked emotion. The denouement is clever and original. The penultimate revelation would have been a superb ending on its own, so having a double-twist is all the more impressive.

I really enjoyed this movie from the start through the finish despite the first twist.

The atmosphere is fantastic, from the opening scene onwards, there is a certain air to it that has you just waiting for something to jump out at you, without it being hokey.

I loved the main setting, of an old English estate house turned into a private boarding school. I thought the acting was great and I thought the film overall was very nicely done.

Spoilers Below:

I found the second twist, that she actually lived in that house and witnessed her father murder her mother and half-brother, to be a bit of a stretch. While it is certainly possible for a person to block out some memories, I find it very unlikely that anyone could block out their entire childhood and have no recollection upon seeing the house they grew up in.

As to the first twist, that Jonathan was a ghost, I found it clever. Sure, its been done before, but what hasn't? I think they did a nice job of keeping that a twist by having not one, but two people conversing with the ghost.

The third "twist" if that's what it was, was interesting...you didn't know whether she died or not until almost the very end.

As for other parts...I felt the antagonism with the gardener/driver was an element of the plot that was unnecessary. Either more should have been done with that or it should have been cut.

Also, the sex scene was a little absurd. This woman just had the scare of her life...so she goes with the guy to develop the film and when they see the ghost, she suddenly gets the urge and they have sex? If they wanted to keep that in, they could have moved it to earlier in the film, but it felt odd where they have it.

Anyway, this was a good film and if you like horror movies, this is one you should watch. It's not the best horror out there, but it is certainly better than most of the current crop of what is being marketed as horror; there are no cheap gimmicks or "shock'em with gore and blood" techniques here.

There are noticeable borrowings in terms of themes and atmosphere from the 1961 classic THE INNOCENTS and more recent creepy hits such as as THE SIXTH SENSE and THE OTHERS in this tale of Florence (Rebecca Hall), a nervous investigator of the paranormal who sets out to disprove the existence of a ghostly schoolboy at a remote boarding school in 1921. Imelda Staunton plays the school matron in a style somewhere between Hattie Jacques and Mrs Danvers; Dominic West is a war-traumatised teacher who you somehow know will end up in a bonk scene with our heroine.

There's an endearingly precocious schoolboy called Thomas (Isaac Hempstead Wright) who hasn't gone home for the holidays; Thomas provides a solid counterpoint to the ghost-boy whom we as well as Florence get glimpses of. There's a haunted dolls-house that belongs in the Cabinet of Doctor Caligari. The pace is well-timed. The cinematography is outstanding.

The "exposition" at the end of the movie just about makes sense, but the film teeters on the brink of becoming one of those dire Psycho-shockers from Joan Crawford's twilight years, although Rebecca Hall is (thankfully) a much better actress. THE AWKENING has a satisfying number of make-you-jump moments - like a fun-fair ghost train, scary when you're on it but a bit daft when you think about it afterwards.

I went into The Awakening with no prior knowledge of what the film was about except that it was meant to be creepy and had something to do with ghosts. This is the type of film you'll want to go into mostly blind because knowing too much is a bad thing. The film is very well crafted, it knows its genre and it sits comfortably in it. Much of the film feels like its been done before. It could be easily compared to The Others, Woman In Black, or even Sixth Sense and while the film has a twist ending it doesn't really come as a surprise because as many people point out there are very few new ideas in the ghost story genre. However, that doesn't make this film any less smart or entertaining. It is well written and a good story and genuinely gave me chills in several scenes. They use the eerie country setting of the empty boys' school to their benefit and it really gets under your skin. The characters are well developed and the film really has a smart ending that insists you watch carefully to follow each twist and turn. Its not just a ghost story as it also carefully manipulates your mind and shows the downward spiral of the lead character as she investigates the paranormal.

Rebecca Hall is truly excellent in her role. They establish her very quickly as a smart, well educated woman who is a skeptic and jaded in some way. She is riveting to watch her performance as her emotions run high further into the film. She leads the cast effortlessly and shows some real chops in her role. Dominic West is good in his role, though seems to pale in comparison to Hall. His character isn't delved into quite as much so he remains a little more mysterious but he is good. The chemistry between him and Hall is okay but often feels lacking somehow. Imelda Staunton is good, if not a little typical, in her role as Maud Hill. She does a great job but the character just felt a little stale and like we had seen it done before. You know almost immediately there is more to her than meets the eye. Isaac Hempstead Wright is very good in his role as Tom, the young lad left behind when everyone else has left. I would have liked to have seen him in more depth but he does a great job with what he has.

Co-writer and director Nick Murphy is relatively new to the scene but he obviously has an enjoyment of this genre. You can see it in the finely crafted story that appropriately uses the genre elements. Ghost story fans will love this! My issue with the film is that I'm just not sure that the ending is proved by the rest of the film. I feel like there were a lot of inconsistencies in the end that didn't lead up to the twist ending and any good M. Night fan will tell you that you have to drop the smallest of clues to make the end make sense. The ending is very convoluted but in a good way. Its a smart ending and you have to stay focused so I can't fault the film makers for being clever. Its lack of originality hurts it only a little and if you love the genre, then its well worth seeing. Despite its faults, it gave me thrills and chills and entertained so check it out!! 7/10

"The Awakening" plays it safe as far as supernatural thrillers go, providing audiences with such reliable hallmarks as a melodramatic plot, an ending with several twists, and plenty in the way suspense and shocks. That it's unoriginal, there can be no question. Nevertheless, there's no denying the skill that went into it. It is, above all, an incredibly good-looking film; the atmosphere is one of perpetual gloom, the sun shrouded by gray clouds, the rooms of the old boarding house faded and decaying, the overall color scheme muted drearily. It mostly takes place in an isolated area of the English countryside, and in a fairly open field of dark gray grass and overgrown trees, a piece of old architecture juts into the sky menacingly. The only noticeable departure is that, in spite of the washed-out colors, much of the scenery is not concealed in shadows. That style is reserved only for a select number of scenes, most of which are featured in the final act.

Taking place in 1921, the story opens in London, where a woman named Florence Cathcart (Rebecca Hall) has made it her life's mission to debunk claims of supernatural phenomena and expose so-called mediums and spiritualists. And before I go any further, no, this movie is not a retread of "Red Lights," which not only examined the debate between faith and reason in a much more ambiguous way but was also focused on psychic powers rather than paranormal activity. Florence presents herself as a committed skeptic, going so far as to write a book called "Seeing Through Ghosts." But as the film progresses and her defensive layers gradually peel away, it becomes obvious that her crusade is less about convincing the general public and more about convincing herself. Let it suffice to say that her reasons stem from emotions rather than by scientific curiosity.

One day, she's approached by Robert Mallory (Dominic West), a shellshocked World War I veteran who now teaches at a secluded all-boys boarding school outside the city. He wants her to investigate the recent death of one of the students, which ties into numerous reported sightings of a boy's ghost, the image of which has inexplicably shown up in group photos dating back to 1902. Florence's explanation of the boy's diffused image is logical enough, although she has yet to account for why the last photo, taken only weeks earlier, shows the boy looking out one of the building's windows. She initially refuses to involve herself, but in due time, she comes around. And so she travels with Robert to the boarding school, a bleak, borderline Dickensian world of strict regiment and harsh punishments. The teachers and staff skulk around, their eyes betraying fear, anger, and deep secrets. The boys stand around in constricting uniforms, their heads lowered guiltily.

Upon her arrival, Florence meets the housekeeper, who insists on being called Maud (Imelda Staunton). She's a right bundle of nerves, hovering around Florence with nothing but praise for her book and yet always seeming to know more than she's letting on. Always at Maud's side is a boy named Tom (Isaac Hempstead-Wright), a lonely orphan who inexplicably turns to Florence for solace. She sets up a series of still cameras, wire trips, powder trays for tracking footprints, and various pieces of machinery that would have been considered the latest in technology in 1921 – assuming they existed at all, and you'll forgive me for having no interest in doing the research. It's all in an effort to prove to the boys that there is no ghost wandering the halls. But ... what if there really is a ghost? How else to explain the strange occurrences that keep happening, some of which are rather startling?

To make the story about something more than the possibility of a spirit haunting an old boarding school, the filmmakers work in a mutual attraction between Florence and Robert, one that inevitably turns physical. It begins with a moment that could have been directly lifted from an erotic drama; while preparing a room with booby traps, Florence discovers that a hole in the wall gives her a view of the bathroom, and lo and behold, Robert emerges naked from the bathtub and treats a gaping wound on his right thigh. I'm not convinced of this subplot's necessity, although I will say that I appreciated the effort to make the film a character study as well as a supernatural thriller. Dominic West, known for his villain roles, at last is given the chance to play a sympathetic character, one who is, in a sense, haunted by his own ghosts.

The final act, which is surprisingly sentimental, requires high suspension of disbelief in order to seem even somewhat plausible. Is that to be expected from a movie like this? I suppose so, although even ghost stories have their limits. Still, there's a definite emotional payoff, one that stems from a logical progression of the plot and appropriate development of the characters. And let it not be said that the art direction, set design, cinematography, and costumes aren't put to good use. This film comes only six months after the release of "The Woman in Black," another suspenseful, atmospheric ghost story made by Hammer Studios in the tradition of classic horror movies. I found it incredibly satisfying, in large part because of its sense of style. "The Awakening" isn't quite up to that level, but it certainly accomplishes what it set out to accomplish.

-- Chris Pandolfi (www.atatheaternearyou.net)

The true tragedy of this film doesn't lie within the backstories of its' characters -- it's that it had so much potential to be a much better film. It had - in my opinion - everything going for it: an interesting plot, compelling characters, an eerie and atmospheric setting... oh, and Imelda Staunton. And somehow it managed to toss all those things aside in the last ~40 minutes of the film in lieu of a not particularly clever twist that had very little, if any, build-up.

I will not lie and say that The Awakening was a poorly MADE movie, but I will say that it essentially tore any goodness that it had into pieces, burned them, and then quickly attempted to put them back together; as if they never burned in the first place.

The Awakening (yeah, another "The" horror movie) stars Rebecca Hall has a "modern woman" in London who hunts down ghosts and reveals the truths behind it. She is essentially a female Sherlock Holmes mixed with Scooby Doo. She apparently lost someone close to her, her parents, and has since become a strong independent woman. Now, I wouldn't say this in a cynical manner if it weren't for the fact that she is SUPER modern. The way she acts and dresses at times is much more typical of someone... eh 50-70 years ahead of the time period. There is nothing wrong with a strong female character, but when they seem to tear out of their time period it kind of... loses the atmosphere... and this movie tries a lot to have a good atmosphere.

Essentially, she has one last big case to do where she needs to go to a boarding school and solve the crime of a ghost child that has been haunting the place for awhile... and has led to a new death. She thinks she has solved the case at first, but things start to get strange, so she stays to solve the entire mystery. On her side is a man who works there, a lady who attends there, and a little boy named Tom.

Aaaaannnndddd... then the movie starts to make fun of the audience's intelligence. This strong independent woman decides to have super cliché sex with a man she has only just met... and to make things worse she does it within about .5 seconds after discovering that the ghosts are real. It truly doesn't make any sense. This character suddenly has a photograph of the ghost and then turns to the male character and vigorously makes out with him... and then they tear down the blinds which leads to all of their photographs of the ghost being destroyed.

This is the point in the movie where you can almost smell someone burning the script. It is as if someone said "You know this strong character who has been independent and all and is all about the evidence? The second she gets that evidence, let's have her have sex because she no longer feels independent and then have her DESTROY that evidence in the act... yeah... this is a good idea *sips tea*."

But it gets worse! Not five minutes later, the groundskeeper tries to rape her... completely out of nowhere. This scene has nothing to do with the plot, and it ends up with him dying, but it makes no sense at all.

And eventually we get to the movie's infamous and most obvious plot- twist. Tom (the little boy) was the ghost all along *buh bum BUUUMMMM*.

What makes this plot-twist painful is that it was the most obvious idea, so I automatically assumed that it couldn't be. Throughout the entire movie, this kid is not only never talked to by any of the other characters (in a direct manner, that is), but he also dresses and looks EXACTLY like the ghost they are hunting for.

"Huh, a character who shows in and out of the plot at random, which no one talks to, and looks EXACTLY like the ghost they are hunting for... this better not be taking a Sixth Sense route"

Unfortunately, this is where the movie desperately tries to reassemble itself. It tries to make sense of everything in the typical horror movie fashion "the main character was an important pawn for the ghosts, and she is holding repressed memories". So our main character turns out to be the sister (kind of) of Tom, and that the person that she lost was... Tom... all along. You think that would be hard thing to forget...

Long story short, The Awakening has a nice atmosphere, but it never truly becomes scary at any point. There is this random doll house that had some creepy moments, but it is never explained. One could theorize that the main character owned it as a child, and that Tom was showing it to her to kick-in her memories; however, this is never properly explained or shown... it is just an interesting little jump scare gimmick.

All in all, The Awakening had some potential if it wasn't so desperate on the cliché "everything is a big jumbled mess" horror movie ending.

Florence Cathcart (Rebecca Hall) is an unusual woman for 1921. She is informed and educated, and is on a self-imposed mission to expose phony spiritualists who prey on those who lost loved ones in the Great War: we understand that she may well be motivated by her own loss. She is approached by teacher Robert Mallory (Dominic West) to attend a boys' boarding school in the north of England, where one boy has recently died after allegedly seeing a ghost: Matron Maud Hill (Imelda Staunton) has read Florence's book and suggests that her sceptical approach may be what is needed.

This film, co-produced by BBC films, is an old-fashioned ghost story in which there may or may not be a ghost. Despite the presence of a couple of "made-you-jump" moments, it is not a horror film. Instead, it is a portrait of a damaged woman in a world which is itself damaged by the recent War, and it carefully portrays the various repressed feelings of that time: they slot into the story well. But the story also progresses under its own steam, and not always in directions which are entirely predictable. I do not want to say much more about the directions followed because some of them surprised me.

The cast are all excellent. Rebecca Hall is both strong and fragile at the same time, and straddles a line between plainness and luminous beauty. Dominic West's character could well have been a cipher with a couple of facets for character clarification: West makes him a rounded, believable character. Imelda Staunton is, as usual, perfect, and the rest of the cast is good, too.

The photography is excellent - this is a good looking film.

This is highly recommended for anyone who likes an unhurried, but good, ghost story, told with quality.

There are some things quite interesting about this movie. It's well acted, the art design and the reproduction of the time is amazing. The direction is quite good and holds your attention and drowns you into the story.

But when the movie culminates to its resolutions, I felt a little disappointed... well, in fact, a lot disappointed! It all starts when Florence (Rebecca Hall) and Robert (Dominic West) have sex, till that moment the movie was great for me. But that happening was unnecessary for the plot development. OK, both were completely strangers and lonely in an era where casual sex was against the minds of that time and Rebecca's behavior clearly was for her loneliness and the lack of an affectionate sexual life. But anyway, that was simply thrown freely into the story and their approach should have been different and the meaning would still remain the same. From that on the movie was just a show of messy resolutions.

First of all, since The Sixth Sense (1999) this plot about ghosts and children are saturated and overdone, and since there are no longer any other interesting resolutions writers are lately figuring out that the exit for it all is mix every movie's conclusion and give a tone of something completely interesting and new when it truly is not. The Sixth Sense (1999), Stir Of Echoes (1999), The Others (2001) and The Orphanage (2007), you can find a little of them all in this one. But instead of providing an amazing surprise, it just take a tired "not that again" sentence from the audience.

Really disappointing. The writers took the most difficult way to offer more of the same.

I think a lot of people go to view this movie as a scary, jumpy horror movie and fall into that trap. This movie is different, it's not focused on the horror or the scare, it's focused on the story of Florence Cathcart (played by the fantastic Rebecca Hall) and her drive to prove that spirits are not real and are just 'naughty little troublemakers'. However, she is not really trying to prove spirits aren't real, she's actually looking for a sign that they are real, and her dead, nearly-fiancée has passed over.

It is a really good movie, with a great story, great acting and a great big twist at the end. For some people this movie drags on too much and a lot of it doesn't matter in the end. For me, I loved every second of the story, and the ending was just superb. The twist, when it is revealed, really will make you go 'wait, what?' and I think the movie is worth watching just for the twist.

As I said in the summary, do not go to see this if you're wanting a scary horror movie, or a horror movie really, go watch it for the fantastic storyline and superb acting by all involved.