The Awakening: A Flawed Ghost Story

I love a good, well-produced ghost story. Movies like The Haunting (1963), The Legend of Hell House (1973), The Sixth Sense (1999), The Others (2001),) and Guillermo Del Toro’s The Devil’s Backbone (2001) and Crimson Peak (2015) are some fine examples of what can be achieved in this sometimes overdone genre. The Awakening (2011) tries to evoke the feeling of those films, but only partially succeeds. Rebecca Hall (The Town) stars as Florence Cathcart, a woman in 1920s London who debunks fake spiritualists. It’s clear from the outset that she’s suffered a loss of her own, and that loss is what drives her on her quest to expose these charlatans. She believes in rationality and science, and not ghosts or the spirit world.

One day, a history teacher at a boy’s school asks for her help. The recent death of a student has been attributed to the sightings of a ghost; the staff wants her to investigate. Florence travels to the school, and rather quickly solves the mystery…or does she? Most of the students and staff depart for a holiday break, but Florence stays behind, feeling there’s more to the story. Strange events that can’t be explained start to occur. It appears that there may actually be a haunting at the school. Aided by the teacher, the school’s matron, and a boy who stays behind because his parents are away, Florence begins to unravel the mystery.  But the answers she find just may change her beliefs forever.

Directed by Nick Murphy and co-written by Murphy and Stephen Volk, the movie is handsomely filmed and has some eerie moments, courtesy of the cinematography by Eduard Grau. But we’ve seen this all before, and sharp viewers are likely to figure out the plot twists before the story’s conclusion. The metaphors (World War I’s horrors haunting the history teacher, for example) in the story don’t quite work; they aren’t fully explored. There are also a couple of characters that aren’t as well developed as they could be; the creepy groundskeeper is pretty much a stock villain. The movie is well acted (especially by Hall and Imelda Staunton, as the matron) but it can’t make up for the faults in the storytelling, or an inconclusive ending that wants to have it both ways.

The Awakening is an admirable, albeit flawed try at an old-fashioned ghost story. We’ve seen more successful attempts at this type of tale in films like the ones I mentioned above. It’s not a bad film, but it could have been so much better. If you’re looking for a more recent spooky tale to view on movie night, try The Woman in Black (2012), starring Daniel Radcliffe. It’s an effective chiller that has some good scares, and a solid, well-turned story. As for The Awakening, the film is currently available on DVD and Blu-ray and for digital download. Here’s a link to the trailer for the film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYtj9lpzC1Q.

"The Witch" is a Dark, Terrifying Tale

It’s a difficult task in today’s cinema to create a truly unique horror film, but that’s just what writer-director Robert Eggers  accomplished with the 2015 thriller The Witch: A New England Folktale. This eerie tale concerns a Puritan family who is banished from their colony because of their too strict religious beliefs. The family sets up a farm, which is located not far from a wooded area. William, the father, works hard to make their crops bear fruit, but they are failing. Strange things begin to occur. The family’s youngest child disappears while being watched by the oldest daughter, Thomasin. Was it a wolf that spirited the infant away, or something more sinister? The mother, Katherine, is inconsolable at the loss of her infant child, believing supernatural forces may be responsible. Her sanity begins to fray at the edges, and she focuses her ire (and the blame) on Thomasin, who claims she's innocent.

Caleb, the oldest son, goes hunting with his father, and confides that he is struggling with his faith. Young twins Mercy & Jonas claim the family’s goat, which they call Black Philip, speaks to them, and they sing songs to him. Caleb disappears one night, only to return feverish & in a coma, after a terrifying ordeal. Paranoia begins to set in, and everyone starts to distrust one another. A witch appears to be the cause of all their woes, but is this evil being among them? Katherine believes it to be Thomasin, since most of the strange events seem to center upon her. Things go from bad to worse, and ultimately the true face of the evil that haunts the family is revealed.  I don’t want to spoil the film, so I won’t say more about the plot. This is a story where the terror builds at a slow burn, and reaches a crescendo by the film’s climax.

The family’s religious beliefs are very real to them, and this threat tears those beliefs, and their bonds, asunder. The Witch: A New England Folktale is as much a story about the unraveling of the family unit & a challenge to its core values, as it is a supernatural thriller. Anya Taylor-Joy gives an assured & layered performance as Thomasin, whose gentleness, curiosity & humor seems at odds with the more stern, restrictive nature of her parents. The excellent cast also includes Ralph (Game of Thrones) Ineson who is solid & effective as William, Kate Dickie, who delicately portrays Katherine’s spiraling descent into madness, and Harvey Scrimshaw as the loyal Caleb, who powerfully conveys the boy’s questions & conflicted emotions regarding the severity of their spiritual beliefs, and the nature of sin.

Writer-director Eggers and his crew have done an excellent job with this carefully crafted, exquisitely produced film. The accurate period details, costumes and sets really make you feel as if you’re living with this family in the 17^th century. The kind of terror this family faces wasn’t just the stuff of bedtime stories; the demons of their religion & folklore were very real to them. The Witch: A New England Folktale is a creepy, unsettling film that does not go for “jump scares” or cheap shocks, but uses atmosphere, sound effects & lighting to convey a sense of unease & dread. If you like intelligent, well-crafted tales of spine-chilling terror, The Witch: A New England Folktale is truly one of the best recent films in the genre. The movie is now available for streaming & on Blu-ray and DVD. The disc versions include some fascinating interviews and a Q&A with the filmmakers. Here’s a link to the trailer for the movie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQXmlf3Sefg.

A Trio of Horror Icons on "Route 66"

The stars of Route 66 meet the monsters

The television drama Route 66 aired for four seasons from 1960-1964. The show concerned the adventures of two young men who roamed the United States in a Corvette convertible, showing up in different locations every week.  Like Richard Kimble on The Fugitive, our heroes interacted with various people, helping them out of trouble, and often getting into some difficulties themselves. The initial co-stars were George Maharis and Martin Milner. Maharis later left the show, and was replaced by Glenn Corbett. The series was very popular with fans, and featured a host of stars to be in various roles, including Lee Marvin, Julie Newmar, and Walter Matthau. But on the night of October 26, 1962, longtime horror fans were given a very special Halloween treat, with the premiere of an episode entitled "Lizard’s Leg and Owlet’s Wing."

In this entry, our heroes Todd (Milner) and Buz (Maharis) are temporarily working as staff liaisons at a Chicago hotel, which is hosting a secretarial convention. Meanwhile, Peter Lorre, Boris Karloff and Lon Chaney, Jr. (playing themselves) arrive at the hotel to discuss a new project. They register with their first names reversed (Peter Lorre is Mr. Retep, for example) and once they’re together, Lorre and Chaney try to convince Karloff that old style scares can still be successful, even in a world where there is a more graphic "new" type of horror film. This leads to the trio causing all kinds of havoc at the hotel, including Chaney wandering the halls in his Wolf Man makeup, hoping to frighten the convention attendees! As Todd helps the titanic terror triumvirate with their shenanigans, Buz falls for one of the secretaries, and the two stories end up intertwining in more ways than one. Karloff even ends up helping fix the broken relationship of the object of Buz’s affections!

The best part of this enjoyable show is seeing Chaney and Karloff suit up as some of their most famous horror characters. Chaney gets to play the Wolf Man, The Mummy and The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and Karloff dons the makeup of the Frankenstein Monster one last time. Lorre, as always, has some great moments, including a funny scene at the hotel desk when he checks in under his “assumed” name. Karloff, Chaney and Lorre play off each other to great effect, and are clearly having a grand time. Martin Milner seems to be enjoying himself interacting with these iconic actors, and the story wisely focuses on their antics. The only truly outdated aspect of the episode is that (for modern audiences) there are some decidedly un-politically correct moments in the depiction of the secretaries, but that is a sign of the era in which the show was produced.

"Lizard’s Leg and Owlet’s Wing" was penned by Stirling Silliphant (who co-created the series) and directed by Robert Gist. Even if you’re not a familiar with Route 66, this episode is worth seeking out if you are a fan of Karloff, Lorre and Chaney, and their classic films. You may even find yourself opting to check out more episodes of the series; it's a well-written and handsomely-produced show, almost like an anthology series. As I mentioned earlier the show features a number of familiar faces in guest star roles, including William Shatner, Suzanne Pleshette and Edward Asner. The series is available for purchase on DVD, for viewing on Amazon Prime and also on the free streaming website TubiTv.  Here’s a link to a trailer for the DVD release of the series: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VaT4pQDSWZw.