Very mediocre and forgettable movie. All of the characters, including the protagonist, are mere caricatures or "shells" of real human beings. Not one of them is anything but a sad cliché, including super hero smartest lady in the world protagonist. I cringed at many of the scenes and dialogues because they seemed so out of place and unreal. I swear you can feel the actors acting at every minute of the movie. None of it is believable, and I don't think it's because of the actor themselves, as some of them are very good at what they do, but because the script and plot is so bad, which makes you not care one bit about any of them.

The first half hour and twenty minutes the movie is incredibly boring and predictable, like any other lame horror movie out there with your occasional jump scares here and there. But suddenly near the end, the director decided to pack all the action that the rest of the movie didn't have and put like 8 plot twists just there. We suddenly get sex scenes, rape scenes, hallucinations, flashbacks, deaths, violent hauntings, suicides, crazy people. And not one of those things make this movie more redeemable or enjoyable. I was just waiting for it to end and, with it, my suffering while watching.

Not recommended at all. Stay away, don't waste your time like I did and watch a good horror movie instead.

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