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Underrated Horror: ‘The Awakening’
The Awakening begins in 1920s London, where accomplished author and paranormal investigator Florence Cathcart spends much of her time outing charlatans and debunking spooky stories. She’s an educated lady with no time for anyone’s malarkey, and she has received plenty of flak for her no-nonsense approach to her profession. She carries on in the face of such vitriol nonetheless, and when she is referred to as a ghost hunter, she replies, “You can’t hunt what doesn’t exist.” Just underneath the surface, however, is a little hope that her assertions are not true.
Soon after she reveals an over-the-top séance as a hoax, handsome war veteran Robert Mallory arrives at her doorstep and requests her presence at a boarding school purported to be haunted by the spirit of a murdered boy. A student has just died shortly after seeing the spirit, and a real danger exists. It is the urgency of the situation that compels Florence into reluctantly accepting the invitation.
When she arrives, she finds the enormous school, which was previously an opulent private residence, teeming with mischievous boys who she believes are likely the cause of the apparent sightings. She meets Maud, the older caretaker of the premises, and Tom, a student who takes a liking to Florence and spends much of his time under Maud’s supervision. Robert, Maud, and Tom help Florence understand the school’s layout, history, and current operation. She also observes a class and hears from a frightened student who explains that he saw the ghost boy, who had an expression of pain on his face, and urged Florence to help them, to “kill it.”
Florence’s investigation begins easily enough; she sets up old fashioned traps and gizmos and other methods of catching any specters—or anyone acting like one. She initially suspects the boys of sneaking around in the middle of the night, but soon Florence begins to experience events with less obvious explanations. In one of the most chilling scenes, she catches glimpses of a boy running up the stairs. She follows and is led to a grimy, abandoned room—abandoned except for an impressive, detailed doll house. When she peers inside, she sees just how real ghosts are after all. As supernatural activity increases over the course of her investigation, memories of Florence’s own troubled past begin to bubble up. She is being haunted inside and out, and she feels the world around her unraveling, her sense of reality spiraling away. Her situation becomes desperate as she tries to uncover the secrets of the menacing halls and of her own consciousness.
The performances by the leads are right on target. As Florence, Rebecca Hall is smart and savvy. She is confident and borderline cocky early on, but as the film progresses and Florence’s cracks begin to show, Hall keeps you right there with her, hoping for her, fearing for her. As Robert, Dominic West plays the perfect tones of melancholy. He’s a man haunted by his wartime past, and his internal pain hangs heavily across his face in every scene. Imelda Staunton and Isaac Hempstead Wright round it out as Maud and Tom, and their performances are filled with compassion and suspicion—you’re never quite sure of their motivations in any given scene.
The Awakening is an engaging slow burn of a film. The time period is a refreshing setting for a ghost story. It’s a pleasure seeing Florence set up her old-timey gadgets, a welcome change from watching someone strap video cameras all over the place or hold up their smartphone to try to catch ghosts. It’s a different era without our modern conveniences, and it’s an era where everyone is inclined to believe in a spiritual world. In addition to its excellent setting, the film splendidly examines what haunts people from the inside and the outside. The external haunting triggers something buried deeply inside of Florence, and she must fight to keep her senses and come to terms with it all. The Awakening is a haunted house story with true soul.
The Awakening is currently streaming on Netflix and Amazon, and is available to purchase on DVD and Blu-ray from Amazon here. Watch the trailer below. [youtube id=”iB8UAuGBJGM” align=”center” mode=”normal” autoplay=”no”]
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‘The Strangers’ Invaded Coachella in Instagramable PR Stunt
Renny Harlin’s reboot of The Strangers isn’t coming out until May 17, but those murderous home invaders are making a pit stop at Coachella first.
In the latest Instagramable PR stunt, the studio behind the film decided to have the trio of masked intruders crash Coachella, a music festival that takes place for two weekends in Southern California.
This type of publicity began when Paramount did the same thing with their horror movie Smile in 2022. Their version had seemingly ordinary people in populated places look directly into a camera with an evil grin.
Harlin’s reboot is actually a trilogy with a more expansive world than that of the original.
“When setting out to remake The Strangers, we felt there was a bigger story to be told, which could be as powerful, chilling, and terrifying as the original and could really expand that world,” said producer Courtney Solomon. “Shooting this story as a trilogy allows us to create a hyperreal and terrifying character study. We’re fortunate to be joining forces with Madelaine Petsch, an amazing talent whose character is the driving force of this story.”
The movie follows a young couple (Madelaine Petsch and Froy Gutierrez) who “after their car breaks down in an eerie small town, are forced to spend the night in a remote cabin. Panic ensues as they are terrorized by three masked strangers who strike with no mercy and seemingly no motive in The Strangers: Chapter 1 the chilling first entry of this upcoming horror feature film series.”
The Strangers: Chapter 1 opens in theaters on May 17.
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Movies
‘Alien’ Returning to Theaters For a Limited Time
It’s been 45 years since Ridley Scott’s Alien hit theaters and in celebration of that milestone, it is headed back to the big screen for a limited time. And what better day to do that than Alien Day on April 26?
It also works as a primer for the upcoming Fede Alvarez sequel Alien: Romulus opening on August 16. A special feature in which both Alvarez and Scott discuss the original sci-fi classic will be shown as a part of your theater admission. Take a look at the preview of that conversation below.
Back in 1979, the original trailer for Alien was kind of terrifying. Imagine sitting in front of a CRT TV (Cathode Ray Tube) at night and suddenly Jerry Goldsmith’s haunting score begins to play as a giant chicken egg starts to crack with beams of light bursting through the shell and the word “Alien” slowly forms in slanted all caps across the screen. To a twelve-year-old, it was a scary pre-bedtime experience, especially Goldsmith’s screaming electronic musical flourishes playing over scenes of the actual movie. Let the “Is it horror or sci-fi?” debate begin.
Alien became a pop culture phenomenon, complete with kid’s toys, a graphic novel, and an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects. It also inspired dioramas in wax museums and even a frightening setpiece at Walt Disney World in the now-defunct Great Movie Ride attraction.
The film stars Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt, and John Hurt. It tells the tale of a futuristic crew of blue-collar workers suddenly awakened out of stasis to investigate an undecipherable distress signal coming from a nearby moon. They investigate the source of the signal and discover it’s a warning and not a cry for help. Unbeknownst to the crew, they have brought a giant space creature back on board which they find out in one of the most iconic scenes in cinema history.
It is said that Alvarez’s sequel will pay homage to the original film’s storytelling and set design.
The Alien theatrical re-release will take place on April 26. Pre-order your tickets and find out where Alien will screen at a theater near you.
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Home Depot’s 12-Foot Skeleton Returns with a New Friend, Plus New Life-Size Prop from Spirit Halloween
Halloween is the greatest holiday of them all. However, every great holiday needs amazing props to go with it. Luckily for you, there are two new amazing props that have been released, which are sure to impress your neighbors and frighten any neighborhood children who are unfortunate enough to wander past your yard.
The first entry is the return of the Home Depot 12-foot skeleton prop. Home Depot has outdone themselves in the past. But this year the company is bringing bigger and better things to their Halloween prop lineup.
This year, the company unveiled its new and improved Skelly. But what is a giant skeleton without a loyal friend? Home Depot has also announced that they will release a five-foot tall skeleton dog prop to eternally keep Skelly company as he haunts your yard this spooky season.
This bony pooch will be five feet tall and seven feet long. The prop will also feature a posable mouth and LCD eyes with eight variable settings. Lance Allen, Home Depot’s merchant of decorative Holliday gear, had the following to say about this year’s lineup.
“This year we increased our realism within the animatronics category, created some impressive, licensed characters and even brought back some fan favorites. Overall, we are most proud of the quality and value we are able to bring to our customers with these pieces so they can continue to grow their collections.”
But what if giant skeletons just aren’t your thing? Well, Spirit Halloween has you covered with their giant life size Terror Dog replica. This massive prop has been ripped out of your nightmares to appear frighteningly on your lawn.
This prop weighs in at almost fifty pounds and features glowing red eyes that are sure to keep your yard safe from any toilet paper throwing hooligans. This iconic Ghostbusters nightmare is a must have for any fan of 80s horror. Or, anyone who loves all things spooky.
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