Rebecca Hall

Dominic West

Imelda Staunton

Isaac Hempstead Wright

Lucy Cohu

Cal MacAninch

John Shrapnel

Diana Kent

Richard Durden

Alfie Field

Tilly Vosburgh

Ian Hanmore

Andrew Havill

Anastasia Hille

Joseph Mawle

Shaun Dooley

Steven Cree

Felix Soper

Sidney Johnston

Spike White

Charlie Callaghan

James Kirkham

Ewan Andrew Walker

Adam Thomas Wright

Ben Greaves-Neal

Daniel Pirrie

Nicholas Amer

Nick Murphy

Neil Broome

Daniel Pemberton

Stephen Volk

Victoria Boydell

Jon Henson

Robert Wischhusen-Hayes

Peter Robertson

Mike Scott

Ian Johnson

Dave McKay

Alex Bailey

Fiona Gavin

Sean Farrow

Helene Lenszner

Emma Pike

Neal Champion

Abbi Collins

Lucy Enfield

Suzanne Noble

Cindy Thomson

Shaheen Baig

Eduard Grau

Caroline Harris

Paul Edwards

Nicki McCallum

Colin Nicolson

James Clarke

Sandrine Mugglestone

Kara Ramsay

David Sjodin

Daniel Phillips

Emelie Nilsson

Graham Hunter

Tapio Salmi

Iain Geddes

Martin Palmer

Kevin Robertson

Tom Miller

Sarah Curtis

Ben Brazier

Harriet Edmonds

Stuart Fyvie

Ashley McFarlane

Chris Chandler

Jim Elliott

David Tyler

Sue Harding

Vanessa Baker

Anna Lau

Neil Maguire

Lea Morement

Steven Moore

Helen Allingham

Angela Stanley

Ray Brown

John Laurie

Derek Fraser

Sam Curren

Peter Eardley

Robert Dibble

Paul Cotterell

James Harrison

Scott Goulding

George McKay

Alex Howe

Julia Stannard

Andy Duncan

David M. Thompson

Ian Wilkinson

Robert Brazier

Aisha Bywaters

Julie Dorrat-Keenan

Fiona Dickson

Reno Antoniades

Toby Ford

Simon Leech

Lucy Tanner

Mark Appleby

Jenny Williams

Mary Brehony

Billy Hinshelwood

Maite Astiz

Rowena Wilkinson

Horror

Thriller

Mystery

The Awakening

BBC Film

Lipsync Productions

Creative Scotland

Origin Pictures

StudioCanal

United Kingdom

France

There's no place on earth people understand loneliness better than here.

The Awakening is directed by Nick Murphy and Murphy co-writes the screenplay with Stephen Volk. It stars Rebecca Hall, Dominic West, Imelda Staunton, Isaac Hempstead Wright, Shaun Dooley and Joseph Mawle. Music is by Daniel Pemberton and cinematography by Eduard Grau.

Britain, post World War 1, and Florence Cathcart (Hall) makes a living as an exposer of charlatan spiritualists, a debunker of ghost sightings. When she receives a request from school master Robert Mallory (West) to investigate the supernatural events at a remote boarding school for boys, she is suitably intrigued to take on the assignment...

It comes as no surprise to find that numerous reviews for The Awakening make reference to ghost story films that were made previously. The Woman in Black released a year later would suffer the same fate, charges of it not bringing nothing new to the table etc. A ghost story set in a big mansion or remote educational/correctional establishment is what it is, and will continue to be so, all fans of such spooky fare ask is that it does it well and maybe add some adult themes into the bargain. The Awakening does these in spades.

The concept of a disbeliever in ghosts having their belief system tested to the full is not new, but it's a great concept and one with longevity assured. Here, boosted by a terrific performance from Hall, the screenplay consistently keeps you guessing. The possibilities of real or faked are constant as the director pumps up the creep factor, whilst he simultaneously crafts a number of genuine shock sequences - including one of the best doll house scenes put to film! This really has all the requisite jolts and atmospheric creeps for a period spooker.

It's not until the final quarter when the screenplay begins to unravel its mystery, a finale that has proved both ambiguous and divisive. The ambiguity factor is a little baffling since everything is made clear in a nicely staged scene, and this is something which the director has gone on record to state as well. As for the divisive side of things? That's a blight for this sub-genre of horror. It's convoluted! Contrived! It has been done before they cry! These are true to be sure, and without doubt there's a leap of faith required to not get annoyed, but it garners a reaction and has done its ghost story essence very well indeed.

Beautifully photographed, scored and performed by the leads to boot, this is for sure one for fans of period spookers with brains. 7.5/10

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The Awakening - Official Trailer