Metascore

Mixed or average reviews - based on 24 Critics What's this?

User Score

Generally favorable reviews- based on 13 Ratings

  • Starring: Dominic West, Imelda Staunton, John Shrapnel, Lucy Cohu, Rebecca Hall
  • Summary: Set in London in 1921, Florence Cathcart, author of the popular book "Seeing Through Ghosts," has devoted her career to exposing claims of the supernatural as nothing but hoaxes. Haunted by the recent death of her fiance, she is approached by Robert Mallory to investigate the recent death of a student at the all-boys boarding school where he teaches. When students at the school report sightings of the young boy's ghost, she decides to take on the case. Initially, the mystery surrounding the ghost appears nothing more than a schoolboy prank, but as Florence continues to investigate events at the school, she begins to believe that her reliance on science may not be enough to explain the strange phenomenon going on around her. (Cohen Media Group)
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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 24
  2. Negative: 3 out of 24
  1. Reviewed by: Sara Stewart
    Aug 17, 2012
    75
    The self-possessed Hall is well-suited to this proto-feminist role, smoking and rolling her eyes as the pasty old men around her exclaim, for what is clearly the millionth time, "An educated woman!" as if she were a zoo animal.
  2. Reviewed by: Nick Pinkerton
    Aug 14, 2012
    60
    Hall's committed performance validates even the maddest developments, and she slips into the period well, recalling Virginia Woolf in her lank, swan-necked bearing and tremulous suffering.
  3. Reviewed by: Bill Goodykoontz
    Aug 16, 2012
    60
    There is nothing in the film that will keep you awake at night. Instead, The Awakening works much more subtly, with a profound sense of dread and resignation, a death-obsessed movie given life by Hall's performance.
  4. Reviewed by: Roger Ebert
    Aug 29, 2012
    38
    The Awakening looks great but never develops a plot with enough clarity to engage us, and the solution to the mystery is I am afraid disappointingly standard.

See all 24 Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 5
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 5
  3. Negative: 1 out of 5
  1. This film shows that we can still make original horror films and not just relay the same old trash. The plot was strong and the acting paid off. I definite must watch. Expand
  2. This film is a good example of how modern horror films could be more original, rather than stick to the norm found on today's screens. Delivering itself like an early 1900s adaptation, the film captures the feel of the era through its sets, locations and costume design. Although the scares are sometimes expected, what's fresh here is the addition of tension created through the brilliant sound editing and score. There is certainly a bigger inclusion of drama than a lot of other horro films, to help the audience connect with our heroine through character development. Atmospheric, dark and creep, The Awakening is a tense post-WWI gothic horror which I would consider in the same vein as The Woman In Black. Expand
  3. The Awakening is an atmospheric ghost story that is often creepy but lacks scares, the performances are decent and most of the film is quite enjoyable to watch. The film is also sometimes predictable and even mind-blowing at times, though sometimes the film can feel confusing and leave viewers scratching their heads. The Awakening also descends in goodness as the film goes on; it starts off quite good, but then it ends up being disappointing with a nonsensical and lame conclusion. Expand
  4. The Awakening, although having an excellent setting and brandishing some fine actors, falls short of being a good horror-thriller as it steps from one cliche into another, causing the movie to feel long-winded. Expand

See all 5 User Reviews