The Awakening

Another Sinister Conjuring about Insidious Others Haunting an Orphanage-like boarding school filled with Innocents. For maximum horror effect, watch said Paranormal Activity at a House on Elm Street when Halloween next falls on a Friday the 13th.

Terrifically atmospheric and incredibly well-acted. Unfortunately, it is let down by an overly contrived and disappointing ending. However, all-in-all, this might just be one of the finest horror films that I've seen in years.

Builds a tremendous atmosphere, as a vintage ghost hunters sort of set up. That fucking face gives me chills every time for the first half of the film. Unfortunately, a mishandled, mediocre twist ending, followed by multiple secondary attempts at twists, bring this down to a lesser version of The Others. Or any other successful but now cliched ghost horror movie in recent memory.

With plot holes you could drive a bus through "The Awakening" goes from being a bore to being a chore with only its haunting soundtrack to provide any respite from the lack of scares on screen.

Needlessly convoluted. Often confusing. Not very well-edited. Not scary at all. Superfluous as all hell if you've recently seen Daniel Radcliffe's WOMAN IN BLACK. Skippable, basically, though it does contain a potentially classic lip-smacking, wild-eyed horror performance by Rebecca Hall, who really needs to work more.

cogu korku filminin uzerinde bir yapit olmus fakat sonu gercekten kotu; senaryoda sikintilar var. keske senaryo da cekimler ve oyunculuklar kadar iyi oslaydı; o zaman ortaya gercekten kayda deger bir seyler cikabilirdi.

The Awakening can probably be compared with other "horror" films like The Others, The Innocents, and The Orphanage. All of those films are better than this one though IMO. Rebecca Hall is decent. The twists, and the plot holes that come with them, are poorly executed. Not a complete waste of time, but don't hold your breath for something great.

Rebecca Hall and Dominic West (aka Jimmy McNulty from HBOs 'The Wire') are great choices for this suspenseful horror film. Great scares throughout and a decent story that, although somewhat slow, pays off well in the end. I saw this at the World Premier in Toronto and perhaps the film was heightened by the grandeur and atmosphere of the Roy Thompson Hall. And by heightened I mean literally - we were seated at the highest point of a 3-tiered theater that literally felt like we were going to fall!

A slow burner, for sure. Medicore is exactly where this film falls. The McNulty/Horse Face love affair or whatever the fuck it was supposed to be, was stupid and brought down the quality of the film. Watch this movie if you suck at guessing plot twists and want to see McNulty's side dick and Horse Face's nipple.

It twists and turns, not like a good rollercoaster but more like Daniel Day Lewis in 'My Left Foot'.

Although difficult to follow in places, this film most certainly is worth watching. The story is fascinating, each of the characters are well-developed, and it's an honestly good film.

I'm pleased that Rebecca Hall got a lead role like this. She's talented and ought to make the A-list which she also proves here. The film patiently tells its 'Turn of the Screw'-ish story and everything is chillingly good until the resolution which is, sadly, kind of a letdown.

Surprisingly effective period ghost story that's powered more by the acting performance than anything else. Not particularly creepy much of the time, but it's still hard to turn away from it. A fun thriller that ably (though somewhat unremarkably) follows in the footsteps of many other similar ghosts stories like The Devil's Backbone and The Others.

A suspenseful horror that brings neither suspense nor horror

A good-looking, well-acted mystery with a script that's never squeam-inducing, keeping our immersion in fear and doubt instead of tawdry shocks. Anchored by the always likeable Dominic West and the wonderful Imelda Staunton, Rebecca Hall seizes the charlatan-busting heroine's tough savvy and the weakness that surfaces as she gradually unearths the school's creepy conundrums. So why did it slip its way onto home video without making any splash? My guess is it's too old-fashioned for its own good.

Very well acted Victorian ghost story.

İnanılmaz rezalet bir son

I've never really been the biggest fan of horror movies. I have been watching them for a very long time but I would never classify myself as a "fan." The Awakening, more suspense than horror, was really interesting throughout. This movie follows a well educated woman named Florence Cathcart as she uncovers hoaxes around England. She does most of her work at a boys school in the countryside. This time the hoax captures more of Cathcart's attention. The story of the school becomes the real sto

Sentimentality is Death.

Imaginative reworking of traditional ghost-story motifs.

Atmospheric, spooky, and had excellent performances. Enjoyable despite the somewhat predictable ending.

Old school ghost hunting with an interesting twist. When I thought it was going one way I nearly slapped my forehead and said "Oh no, not this again!" Instead, I was happy with the result of the movie. This film moves at a slow pace but if you are patient it is pretty good. Rebecca Hall may be one of my new favorite actresses. She was fantastic in this. I loved all of her ghost catching devices, it reminded me of the Conjuring which I just watched. A few slow parts but also a few chilling ones.

I can't say I didn't enjoy this film, I just think it had the potentials of becoming an interesting ghost film. The plot was quite interesting and the direction was fine but there was this thing that it was quite slow-paced at some points and super-fast at others. Not fascinated by the acting, though Imelda Staunton was perfect as always.

I really, really enjoyed this until the final third. A couple of clever little moments among the seen before stuff but damn that mixed-up end. A real shame. Also, Hall just made my favourites list.

Rich in atmosphere, devoid of horror, stilted script.

The ghost is obvious, but the direction the story takes is quite interesting. Ticks along at a slow pace but it finishes up as pleasant horror movie.

It's got loads of style and... very little else. Okay, pretty leads (Dominic West is HOT). Hall, West, and Staunton do what they can with anemic writing, but it's nothing more than a very stylish, gothic, ghost soap opera.

one of the most spooky "I see dead people" movies I've ever seen (almost as unexpected as The Sixth Sense)..As a bonus it's wonderfully acted and the photography is high quality.. It builds to a terrific ending with wonderful twists one after the other...

Decent movie but feel cheated by the ending

Beautiful production design, lovely period elements. Character concepts are alright, romance was gratuitous & forced. Dialogue was painfully lacking in nuance and subtext, as though written by someone with Aspberger’s. A lot more telling than showing & stating the obvious in ways that weren’t compellingly controversial or shockingly blunt as the “strong-willed woman” character was intended to be. Hall was alright. Another actress could have done better. Basically a tropefest with nice ambience.

Okay film; I mostly enjoyed the actress, scenery and costumes.

okul, yetimhane, hayaletlere inanmayan dedektif, ruh cagirma, hayalet, yardim isteyen hayalet, birinci dünya savasi sonrasi, gecmisi unutmak,

Stale ghost story presented in an incredibly dreary palette of greys, blues, greys and more greys. The story is equally as washed out, bringing to mind a whole host of similar films, from the Sixth Sense and the Others to the Innocents and the Devil's Backbone. In fairness, the acting is good, especially from Imelda Staunton, but that can only get you so far when the material is so uninspired.

Atmospheric, well-acted chiller that relies on substance over shock.

Even though it has a decent atmosphere and the mystery surrounds you with all the hints and leaves you in the blank for a long while, the ending just wasn't fulfilling enough. Creepy, decent, but not amazing. Hall is stunning though, such simple beauty..

West is competent here, there just really isn't much to do when the ending is that much of a letdown.

All this horror thrillers coming down to the ending to tell if its great or bad movie. And once again we have bad ending. Not to many ever have a good ending anymore.

I have incredibly mixed feelings about this.

not sure why i liked it in spite of how hammy and not scary it was. maybe it was cause rebecca is really good looking and cause mcnulty. also he seemed to have an occasional stutter which was interesting. blocking on B-words. most subtle speech impediment in film?

Beautifully shot, this is gothic horror in the same vein as The Others. But unlike that film, this one goes WAY overboard with convoluted plot twists. The first half was an interesting slow burn, but the second half devolves into incoherent nonsense. This is little more than a pretty mess.

-

An impressive atmosphere does nothing if your movie has atrocious plot holes and no scares.