Nick Murphy's directorial debut is an old-fashioned ghost story set in 1921 England, a time when casualties from the Great War and the influenza epidemic spawned a phony spiritualist movement that preyed on people desperate to make contact with lost loved ones. Rational ghost hunter (or more properly, debunker) Florence Cathcart (Rebecca Hall) is asked by Robert Mallory (Dominic West)—a scarred war veteran now teaching at a boys' boarding school—to investigate reports of a spirit that might have been involved in the recent death of a student. It's amusing to watch Cathcart spar with the headmaster over her atheism, and fiddle with her newfangled gadgets designed to detect spirits, but it turns out that there is indeed a ghost haunting the school, whose secret Florence will uncover even while falling for handsome, wounded Mallory. The Awakening has a bit of a musty air, playing like a well-mannered relic of a bygone filmmaking age that depended more on suggestion than gore to deliver thrills. But while it offers more goosebumps than gasps, this is ultimately a pleasurable reminder of the sort of discreet supernatural thriller that was once a staple but is now a rarity. Recommended. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include deleted scenes with an intro by director Nick Murphy (28 min.), the production featurettes “A Time for Ghosts” (25 min.) and “Anatomy of a Scene: Florence and the Lake” (15 min.), and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release are a behind-the-scenes featurette (36 min.), an extended interview with Murphy (19 min.), and an “Anatomy of a SCREAM” cast and crew featurette (17 min.). Bottom line: a solid extras package for a worthwhile chiller.] (F. Swietek)
[Blu-ray Review—Sept. 29, 2021—Cohen Media Group, 108 min., R, DVD: $19.95—Making its second appearance on Blu-ray, The Awakening (2011) features a fine transfer and extras including deleted scenes (introduced by director Nick Murphy), an extended interview with Murphy, “A Time for Ghosts” featurette on post-WWI Britain, and three behind-the-scenes featurettes. Bottom line: if you own the original Universal Blu-ray release, there’s no need to add this one; if not, then this solid period mystery is worth picking up.]