Nick Murphy

Nick Murphy is a director primarily of British television programs, but in 2011 he made the leap to the big screen with the old-school ghost story "The Awakening," which saw an American release the following year. Co-written by Stephen Volk, who also penned the groundbreaking 1992 television horror movie "Ghostwatch," the film deals with a woman who is skeptical of ghosts and goes around to suspected haunted houses debunking them as hoaxes. Things, of course, take a turn for the ghastly when she investigates a boarding school that challenges her rationality. The movie, starring Rebecca Hall and Dominic West, is a throwback to more subtle, atmospheric, and character-driven supernatural horror stories. Murphy's previous television jobs focused mainly on documentaries and historical programming, including the widely praised "Manor House," a modern-day recreation of Edwardian England. He also helmed "How Art Made the World," a series examining the role of artistic creativity throughout human civilization. In 2006, Murphy directed the docudrama "Ancient Rome: The Rise and Fall of an Empire." He made the transition to fictional storylines in 2008, when he directed two episodes of the science-fiction show "Primeval," and he also worked on the Iraq War drama "Occupation."