The Awakening
The
Awakening is a true psychological thriller/horror set in post World War
I England that stars Rebecca Hall as Florence Cathcart, a 1920's
ghost hunter who helps uncover spiritualist fraud. Directed by Nick
Murphy (Manor House, The Story of 1), he does a brilliant job at
recreating this turbulent era as he melds fact with his fiction into
this haunting story. The story begins with Florence Cathcart exposing a local
medium and his cohorts as they try to rob a lady who is desperate to
talk to her dead child. For Cathcart, ghosts do not exist.
However as the story progresses, we soon learn that Florence has
ulterior motives for her so-called ghost hunting due to her dead lover.
Sadly her lover was killed in the war and to offer herself
solace, she is hoping to prove the existence of ghosts by travelling
around the country. This leads her to a boarding college in Cumbria where
a "ghost" has been scaring the children there. Although initially
reluctant to investigate, school teacher Robert Mallory (Dominic west) convinces
her otherwise and to compound the situation, this ghost may have been
responsible for one of the deaths of the pupil.
It is
here in this remote boarding college where she meets a strange assortment of individuals as the school
prepares to close its doors over the holidays. Whether it is the strange
and creepy grounds keeper (Joseph Mawle), a pupil whom seems wiser than he actually
is, the secretive Maud (Imelda Staunton) who is the children's carer or
Robert Mallory's painful past, it seems that the "ghosts" may be the
actual living. Nonetheless as Florence continues her investigation, she soon
discovers a darkness within the school grounds that is quite reminiscent
of another ghostly movie. The Awakening is quite a rollercoaster ride of
emotions with a few decent scares to be found along the way.
All in
all, The Awakening is a fascinating insight into the psyche of Florence
whom draws you in from the beginning. Director Murphy does
a brilliant job at the casting as Rebecca Hall and Dominic West are
perfectly cast as these two lonely and scarred individuals. To
compliment the eerie plot, the setting of The Awakening is quite surreal
and lends itself well to the backdrop of ghosts and murders.
Unfortunately I cannot give too much away in this movie due to the
ending that left me scratching my head on what happened... in a good way
of course. Nonetheless, if
you want an intellectual ghost story, than I would recommend The
Awakening.
Video, Audio & Special Features
The
Awakening is
perfectly presented on Blu-ray with sharp images and this great muted
palette that creates this almost authentic period piece. Audio is DTS-HD
5.1 that creates this haunting experience from start to finish. Add in
some great special features from audio commentary, behind the scenes and
some interesting featurettes on not just the making but the inspiration
for The Awakening and this nicely rounds out this well written, cast and
directed film
Recommended!
Special Features
-
Audio commentary with Writer-Director Nick Murphy
-
Behind the Scenes
-
Anatomy of A Scene - Florence and the lake
-
A
Time For Ghosts
-
Anatomy of A SCREAM
-
Deleted Scenes with Director’s Introduction
