My interest was sparked in Nick Murphy’s film the second I heard writer Stephen Volk had a new ghost story to tell, and today we finally have the chance to see a trailer for The Awakening.
What this first glimpse does is give a decent indication of the characters and their motives and agendas, as well as set the scene with some beautiful shots of the country-bound school where a ghost has been sighted. More than once I felt the spirit of The Haunting or The Innocents evoked while watching this and Rebecca Hall and Dominic West are two actors doing great work at the moment so hopefully this will draw a wide audience. The recent showing at Toronto enabled StudioCanal to secure a US distribution deal through Cohen Media which is an encouraging sign.
A note of caution though. While I couldn’t help but watch it, as the film plays perfectly to me, it does give a few moments away which are good enough to stick in the mind and which might dull the impact when you see the film – it’s up to you. Typical trailer spoiler warning really.
The Guardian threw back the curtain and revealed this one to the world and if you’re in London next month the film is playing as part of the London Film Festival before its release on the 11th of November.
Spine ready to be chilled? Lights down, eyes front,
