Review of The Awakening (2011) by Hm F — 21 Sep 2012

I can't resist a good haunted house movie, and this effective chiller delivers thanks to a strong lead performance by Rebecca Hall. The movie offers a compelling story that keeps the audience on its toes as to whether the ghost is real, hallucination, or hoax throughout, and doesn't let you know for sure until it ultimately wants you to.

Although it lacks the atmosphere of recent cousin, The Woman in Black, the film offers some fine locales and an ongoing effective visual involving a doll house that is creepy indeed. Seeing her in a number of supporting parts in The Town and The Prestige, I never would have guessed that she could have had the presence to lead a film so strongly, but indeed she does.

Hall's performance is feisty, vulnerable and always engaging; a big plus considering the ending that admittedly asks allot of the audience. Dominic West lends able support and showcases his versatility in a role that is quite different from his familiar one in The Wire.

Some have complained that the movie is lifeless but I found it to be a gothic chiller well worth a watch if you're a fan of The Others or Woman in Black.