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Awakening, The (15)

Horror, Thriller

1921 England is overwhelmed by the loss and grief of World War I. Hoax exposer Florence Cathcart visits a boarding school to explain sightings of a child ghost. Everything she knew in unravels as the 'missing' begin to show themselves.


The critical consensus

Solid production values lend a polish to the spooks and there are strong performances all round, especially from the ever-excellent Rebecca Hall, but there's little here to add to the well-worn haunted house genre.

**(*)(*)(*)Damon Wise, Empire Online, 07/11/2011

Creepy, jumpy, if somewhat samey, it’s set above the spooker norm by its strong visuals, grief-steeped period setting and lingering ambiguity.

***(*)(*)Rosie Fletcher, Total Film, 07/11/2011

The Awakening shows there’s life left in the old ghost story yet. While it might ultimately disappoint, there’s enough here to keep you ever so gently shaken and stirred. The quintessentially English ghost story has found a fine Scots abode.

***(*)(*)Alison Rowat, The Herald, 10/11/2011

An elegantly constructed masquerade, but its haunting sadness rings true.

****(*)Anton Bitel, Little White Lies, 10/11/2011

Though it gets the job done in momentary flashes, it never quite achieves the turn of the screw needed to provide the icy terror of the very best ghost stories.

Paul Greenwood, Evening Times, 10/11/2011

While The Awakening is plotted more like a mystery than a horror film, it’s not short on shivery moments.

****(*)Robbie Collin, The Telegraph, 10/11/2011

Well cast and acted, with Imelda Staunton as the school matron, the picture is watchable and handsomely made but it’s rather weakly plotted and never truly chills.

***(*)(*)Henry Fitzherbert, Daily Express, 10/11/2011

I have to say I found the final, colossal revelation to be contrived, but there are some nicely creepy moments.

***(*)(*)Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian, 10/11/2011

Hall and West look convincingly spooked, but their efforts can't lift this from the league of second-hand hokum.

**(*)(*)(*)Anthony Quinn, The Independent, 11/11/2011

Unfortunately, creepy, sophisticated thrills are precisely what’s missing from this otherwise classily assembled film, which places a strong emphasis on good performances and beautiful production design, but fails to harness the pulpier energy inherent in the genre to create the requisite tension or scares.

**(*)(*)(*)Alistair Harkness, The Scotsman, 11/11/2011

The real shock is how this ever got made.

**(*)(*)(*)Daily Record, 11/11/2011

The movie is best when in sceptical mode. It goes astray when it essays a kind of tragic poetry along the lines of The Turn of the Screw.

Philip French, The Observer, 13/11/2011

Distorted faces and heightened music make up much of the “scary bits”, some relatively effective, while nodding towards a lurking atmosphere created in The Others; so while it’s watchable, it really doesn’t play around with the genre enough to warrant acclaim.

**(*)(*)(*)Andrew, TV Bomb, 15/11/2011

There are moments when it really works, a couple of clever reveals that create a mournful air of glacial horror, but there are also moments of muddled storytelling leading to an inconsistent final act with a few too many tricks we’ve all seen before.

***(*)(*)Henry Northmore, The List, 15/11/2011

The films events are predictable, and it grows tedious in the second half with a ludicrous plot-twist which leaves the audience cold.

**(*)(*)(*)Oliver MacMahon, The Journal, 17/11/2011

Awakening, The (15)

Where and when?

Edinburgh Filmhouse, Edinburgh from Friday November 11, 2011, until Thursday December 1, 2011. More info: www.filmhousecinema.com

General release. Check local listings for show times.

Cameo, Edinburgh from Friday January 20, 2012, until Thursday January 26, 2012. More info: http://www.picturehouses.co.uk/

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