The Awakening [DVD]

 

 

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In 1962, an archaeologist (Charlton Heston) discovers the tomb of an evil Queen of ancient Egypt. Her tomb is opened up at the exact moment his wife (Jill Townsend) gives birth to a baby girl. 18 years later, his daughter (Stephanie Zimbalist) shows signs of being possessed by the spirit of the evil Queen. Adapted from the 1903 Bram Stoker novel JEWEL OF THE SEVEN STARS (and previously made in 1971 under the title BLOOD FROM THE MUMMY'S TOMB) which has been influential in just about every Mummy movie ever made, this was the first theatrical feature of director Mike Newell, best known for FOUR WEDDINGS AND A FUNERAL. For a horror film, THE AWAKENING lacks any real sense of horror. The film seems to have used the popular 1976 film THE OMEN as a blueprint even down to some of the gory death scenes as when poor Susannah York inherits Lee Remick's plunging fall. That sanest of American actors, Heston can't quite convey the madness necessary for his final scenes and the uncharismatic Zimbalist is only able to summon up some genuine sense of evil in her very final scene. The cinematography (lensed in Egypt and England) is by the legendary Jack Cardiff and there's an appropriately mysterious score by the jazz composer, Claude Bolling.

The 2007 Optimum Classics release from Great Britain is a nice looking 1.85 widescreen transfer.

Glancing over the credits of The Awakening, you can't help thinking so many talented people, such an ordinary film. Charlton Heston, director Mike Newell (making his debut), legendary cinematographer Jack Cardiff (Black Narcissus, A Matter of Life and Death), editor Terry Rawlings (Alien, Chariots of Fire) and a trio of quality scribes in Ten Rillington Place screenwriter Clive Exton and Don't Look Now co-writers Allan Scott and Chris Bryant. The latter's involvement makes you think that Nic Roeg could have really made something of the material at that time. Certainly this should have been much better than it is. It's not that it's a rehash of Bram Stoker's Jewel of the Seven Stars that served as the basis for Hammer's infinitely superior Blood From the Mummy's Tomb less than a decade earlier - producer Robert H. Solo had remade even better source material with surprising intelligence and success with 1978's Invasion of the Body Snatchers - more that it's a horror film that doesn't chill and which feels like it's only just getting down to business when it ends. It certainly has the kind of budget Hammer could only dream of, but none of the compensating imagination.

It's one of those films which it's obvious the leading man has taken on largely because he turned down a similar film that proved a huge hit and figures that he'd better not miss the boat a second time, in this case Charlton Heston clearly regretting his decision not to make The Omen. Still, at least he has the right cinematic pedigree to convince as an obsessive Egyptologist who unearths a forgotten tomb of a damned queen in the Valley of the Kings only to come to suspect in later years that the evil one's spirit is possessing his daughter, who was stillborn but miraculously came to life at the moment he looked upon the Nameless One's face. Flash forward 18 years, a couple of violent accidental deaths, a failed marriage and one wig later, and Heston's daughter is coming of age and developing some sudden mental health problems while the Nameless One's mummy is suddenly affected by a post-eclipse virus that's starting to eat it away. Reunited with his great discovery, Heston becomes increasingly obsessed with the idea of bringing her back to life as anyone who stands in the way of her reincarnation meets a horrible death... You just know that's not going to end well, but what's surprising is how sloppy it is getting to its drawn out but not especially involving finale. The editing seems surprisingly haphazard in places, with a couple of early deaths very clumsily executed with no proper build up, and only a couple of moments really build up the kind of atmosphere the film desperately needs to work. Other moments, such as one of a sleeping Heston being dragged across a room by unseen hands while Stephanie Zimbalist has what looks like either an asthmatic fit or an attempt to suppress a fit of giggles, are just plain laughable. The attempts to make the stars look younger in the lengthy opening section don't work at all - Susannah York actually looks younger in the '18 years later' section of the film - and Heston is all too obviously giving a performance here, and it's a highly variable one at that, veering from competent to plain bloody awful.

The script suffers from too many cooks and too many half-developed ideas: on the one hand it wants to take its premise seriously, yet it never quite develops ideas that it touches upon, like the possibly incestuous relationship between father and daughter being a repeat of the Nameless One's relationship with her own father or a vaguely alluded to suggestion that it's all in their mind. Instead it relies increasingly heavily on the scraps from bigger and better horror hits. Like The Exorcist it begins at an archaeological dig and has a possibly possessed child, like The Omen it has a neurotic mother and a child who scares zoo animals plus the obligatory would-be horrible death by truck and a woman falling to her death from a window. The end result is a watchable film with some good ideas it doesn't really know what to do with but which becomes increasingly silly and dreary as it goes on. You're much better off sticking with Blood from the Mummy's Tomb.

Although marked on the packaging as fullframe, Optimum's DVD is a 1.85:1 widescreen transfer with no extras.

As an earlier reviewer pointed out this movie boasts a far higher budget and production value than Hammers adaption of the same Bram Stoker novel. This movie looks and sounds beautiful but the complete film is much less than the sum of its parts. Apart from Charlton Heston (who is miscast and wears a succession of distracting wigs) the acting is good and there are some decent set pieces. The film makers have obviously taken their cue from "The Omen" rather than Hammer and while they manage to capture some of the tone and mood of that film, they fail to achieve any of its unnerving qualities.

I suspect than the unevenness of the film is due in part to the large budget. I don't know anything about the production history but suspect that the final cut may suffer from studio interference. The last half hour features some bizarre editing choices.

The DVD features no extras and the film is presented full screen. The picture quality is watchable; better than VHS but not great.

Having watched both "The Awakening" and "Blood From The Mummy's Tomb" in the last two weeks I would have to say that the Hammer version, while far from perfect in itself, is the most satisfying of the two adaptations.

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3.0 out of 5 stars Pretty and pretty dry
This film version of Bram Stoker's horror novel, The Jewel of the Seven Stars, is a worthy enough effort with a strong cast and impressive locations but it's all a bit too... Read more

Published 5 months ago by Shrewlord

3.0 out of 5 stars great betamax memories
another early 1980`s friday late night six pack viewing on good old betamax tape,film is low grade junk,but did give us a few thills in our younger days,like sphinx with lesley... Read more

Published 6 months ago by Mrgvase

4.0 out of 5 stars Very good service!
The DVD was despatched immediately and received within a few days. The quality of picture was very good, but it didn't contain any subtitles (this wasn't mentioned on the webpage)... Read more

Published 9 months ago by Thanos

3.0 out of 5 stars Run of the mill
An OK watch, but not one to shock or scare in any way. Just an harmless romp amongst the mummies and artifacts. Read more

Published 11 months ago by Mr. W. G. Eatock

1.0 out of 5 stars The Awakening on Dvd
I thought I finally found the movie I wanted. But much to my surprise the dvd did not work, My tv read on the screen ( please remove dvd not responding), So I thought that... Read more

Published 17 months ago by Marilee

3.0 out of 5 stars Incorrect DVD specs
No, this film isn't as good as the Hammer version of the Bram Stoker story, but it still has much to recommend it: decent performances, excellent location photography, and a... Read more

Published 22 months ago by Gary A. Smith

3.0 out of 5 stars Mummy Dearest
Archaeologilist Matthew Corbeck(Charlton Heston) is on the verge of discovering the fabled tomb of Queen Kara. Read more

Published on 6 Dec 2009 by Mr. Jonathon T. Beckett

4.0 out of 5 stars Pure 80s
Now, that's a film that manages to deliver a genuine Egyptian atmosphere. Probably because most of it was actually filmed in Egypt. Read more

Published on 24 Nov 2008 by Karastratis Apostolos

5.0 out of 5 stars In complete agreement with David Shipley's review.
The review of David Shipley says everything about the film. This is an enjoyable version of Jewel of the Seven Stars. Read more

Published on 9 Jan 2008 by Kate R

2.0 out of 5 stars avoid
Some people compare late hammer films and cant get passed dodgy sets etc etc, but if ever if a case of less is more needs to be proved, watch this back to back with blood from the... Read more

Published on 24 Nov 2007 by Jason Marsden

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