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The Awakening

Play trailer Poster for The Awakening R 1980 1h 42m Horror Play Trailer Watchlist
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0% Tomatometer 6 Reviews 23% Popcornmeter 250+ Ratings
When a British archaeologist (Charlton Heston) violates an Egyptian queen's tomb, her evil spirit enters his daughter (Stephanie Zimbalist).
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The Awakening

Critics Reviews

View All (6) Critics Reviews
David Nusair Reel Film Reviews ...agreeably over-the-top subject matter that’s employed to increasingly underwhelming (and flat-out tedious) effect... Rated: 1.5/4 Oct 11, 2024 Full Review Diego Galán El Pais (Spain) The Awakening doesn't create anything new. Its references to The Exorcist, among others, are obvious. [Full Review in Spanish] Aug 13, 2019 Full Review John Beifuss Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN) Twenty-four years after he freed the Israelites, Charlton Heston returned to Egypt to insult the ancient gods again in 'The Awakening.' Let my people go -- to their Netflix queues, to request the erratic but more enjoyable 'Blood from the Mummy's Tomb.' Rated: 2.5/4 Jun 27, 2012 Full Review Carol Cling Las Vegas Review-Journal Rated: 1/5 Aug 22, 2003 Full Review Ken Hanke Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC) Funnier than most comedies Rated: 1/5 Jul 30, 2002 Full Review Scott Weinberg eFilmCritic.com Dry-as-dust "possession" fare. Rated: 1.5/5 Jul 26, 2002 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Rob C If you love The Omen then you’ll love this. An ancient Egypt archaeology possession movie with amazing cast and memorable score. I honestly think the reviewers weren't horror fans at all if they didn't find something to like in this film. It’s definitely worth a watch. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 06/09/24 Full Review Shadowman4710 I had never heard of this movie until recently so I just watched it. It's absolutely worth the 0 score. Absolutely dreadful film that is a chore to watch. The direction is god-awful, the script is almost non-existent, and Charleton Heston looks so bored it's a wonder he didn't fall asleep halfway through it. Avoid at all costs until you are a glutton for punishment. Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 11/05/23 Full Review Joel H With a cast featuring Charlton Heston, Susannah York, and Ian McDiarmid, you'd expect The Awakening to have some good acting. It does not. Instead, you get a whole lot of overacting. Even Stephanie Zimbalist, who I recognized from Remington Steele, was chewing the scenery. Perhaps they were hamming it up as much as possible because they knew the story was little more than an overlong travelogue. Even the violent deaths did nothing more than temporarily raise the sound levels. It seems every adaptation of Bram Stoker's novel, The Jewel of Seven Stars, is cursed because none of them are very good. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 11/05/23 Full Review Steve D The lead character was really unlikable and the ending unsatisfying. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 08/17/23 Full Review Paul R This re-hashed Mummy tale starts out interestingly enough. We see Charlton Heston's character, an archeologist, working feverishly to make the find of the century- an infamous evil Egyptian queen's tomb. Several deaths occur once the tomb and its contents are disturbed, that remind the viewer of "The Omen", and all in all the first hour or so of the film is entertaining. Then Heston goes back to London and re-unites with his estranged daughter. This is where the film begins to drag to an unbearable crawl that would put any insomniac out like a light. The film's running time is 101 minutes but it feels like days. Too bad, Heston is a great actor, although it felt like he was in this one solely for the paycheck. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 06/17/23 Full Review bill w I'm surprised at the low marks that this movie gets. It is not a masterpiece, but it is beautifully shot and has solid, if not exactly brilliant acting. The pace is slow, but I didn't find it dull. I've read a lot of complaints about Heston's English accent, but he kept it subtle enough that it certainly isn't distracting as it would have been if he had hammed it up. It is head and shoulders above most of the streaming garbage coming out these days. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review Read all reviews
The Awakening

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Cast & Crew

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Movie Info

Synopsis When a British archaeologist (Charlton Heston) violates an Egyptian queen's tomb, her evil spirit enters his daughter (Stephanie Zimbalist).
Director
Mike Newell
Producer
Robert H. Solo, Andrew Scheinman, Martin Shafer
Production Co
EMI Films Ltd.
Rating
R
Genre
Horror
Original Language
English
Release Date (Streaming)
Jan 1, 2008
Runtime
1h 42m
Sound Mix
Surround
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