Links to LFF: The Awakening

Here's a conversation (with fellow The Film Experience writer David Upton) on new spooky British horror film The Awakening which is showing at the 55th BFI London Film Festival. It was decided that on the few occasions that we happened to be at the same screenings, we would post up a 'review-chat' instead of a more standard review for the purpose of mixing it up with our LFF reports (and for the readers of the site to find out about films playing at the festival in a different way). These chats have been entertaining and interesting so far.

 Imelda Staunton, Dominic West and Rebecca Hall play with ghosts in The Awakening

Craig: A 1920s lady ghostbuster? Spooky mansions? Antique trip-wire traps and knitted-character dollhouse terror? And a twitchy Imelda Staunton as a housekeeper in period garb, topped with some fusty-dusty wig work?? I was fine and dandy with this one despite its flaws. It follows a somewhat shopworn, well-haunted pattern of housebound horrors quite fashionable in recent years (The Orphanage, The Others etc). Director Nick Murphy makes a few attempts at reminding us that The Haunting and The Innocents were key influences, too...

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The Awakening is showing at the LFF on Tuesday 25th and Wednesday 26th October