The Awakening

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The Awakening

R

2012

1h 47m

Horror

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Popcornmeter

64%

Tomatometer

74 Reviews

51%

Popcornmeter

5,000+ Ratings

In post-World War I England a writer and sometime-ghost hunter (Rebecca Hall) investigates a reported haunting at a boys boarding school.

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Critics Consensus

The Awakening never quite quickens the pulse the way it should, yet it remains a well-acted and handsomely assembled example of an old-fashioned supernatural thriller.

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Wendy Ide

The Times (UK)

10/26/2022

For all its pedestrian qualities, there are a couple of big plus points in its favour. They are Rebecca Hall and Dominic West.

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Moira MacDonald

Seattle Times

08/30/2012

3/4

Though the story spirals a little out of control in the film's final scenes, "The Awakening" offers the low-key pleasures of an old-fashioned thriller and a lovely central performance.

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Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

08/30/2012

2/4

Whatever.

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Julian Singleton

Cinapse

Jul 12

Set at the peak of spiritualism in the wake of World War I, The Awakening pulls from fertile storytelling material to infuse its scares and shocks with a vibrant undercurrent of charged emotional and historical context.

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Patrick Cavanaugh

The Wolfman Cometh

09/22/2023

4/5

The core cast and gothic setting makes for a time-honored and entertaining ghost story.

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Jason Best

What's On TV

12/22/2020

Nick Murphy has crafted an elegant haunted-house chiller that turns the screw of mystery and suspense with some cunningly judged surprises and scares.

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Kashgar A

@AllFunAndGames 6d

The best ghost stories are the ones that make you sad. This is one of them.

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Alain E

@AlainE Feb 14

Kind of boring. The exact opposite of what you expect a horror/magic movie to be. Additionally, the color image is definitely dated. Watched 42 minutes.

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Mirko T

@pro-secco Feb 12

Chilling film, script and direction take you inside this mystery mansion, excellent setting, perfect acting, perfect foreshadowing throughout the film, unfortunately everything ruined by a third act not up to the rest of the film disconnected from the main plot that completely ruins the bases of the first acts

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Ross M

@RT14420929 Jan 17

An effective chiller, weighed up by atmosphere and solid performances but down by its final act.

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Danielle C.

@DaniELLIE Jan 5

I thought this was a pretty good movie! Of course Rebecca Hall was wonderful (she always is) and the other actors were great as well. The problem lies in the twists, especially the final one. There are a few twists that are pretty decent and you don’t particularly see them coming, but the last “twist” kind of left me with an “enough is enough” attitude toward twists in general it felt like the writers forced too many in there. Overall this is def worth a watch and it was never boring 3.5/5 from me

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Jelisije J

@jjosifovic Nov 13

A well acted and well directed movie that deals with a female ghost hunter trying to find the truth that is happening in an all boys school that is apparently haunted by a a child ghost.

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Nick Murphy

Director

Rebecca Hall

Florence Cathcart

Dominic West

Robert Mallory

Imelda Staunton

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Synopsis

In post-World War I England a writer and sometime-ghost hunter (Rebecca Hall) investigates a reported haunting at a boys boarding school.

Director: Nick Murphy
Screenwriter: Stephen Volk, Nick Murphy
Distributor: Cohen Media Group
Production Co: StudioCanal, BBC Films
Rating: R (Some Violence|Sexuality/Nudity)
Genre: Horror
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Aug 17, 2012, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 1, 2013
Box Office (Gross USA): $90.3K
Runtime: 1h 47m

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