The Awakening (1980)

Director:

Mike Newell

Writers:

Chris Bryant (writer)
Clive Exton (writer)

Release Date:

October 1980 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

They thought they had buried her forever!

Plot:

An archeologist discovers his daughter is possessed by the spirit of an Egyptian queen. To save mankind he must destroy her.

Plot Keywords:

Tomb | Egypt | Fall From Window | Fragments Of Glass | Curse

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Charlton Heston	...	Matthew Corbeck
Susannah York	...	Jane Turner
Jill Townsend	...	Anne Corbeck
Stephanie Zimbalist	...	Margaret Corbeck
Patrick Drury	...	Paul Whittier
Bruce Myers	...	Dr. Khalid
Nadim Sawalha	...	Dr. El Sadek
Ian McDiarmid	...	Dr. Richter
Ahmed Osman	...	Yussef
Miriam Margolyes	...	Dr. Kadira
Michael Mellinger	...	Hamid
Leonard Maguire	...	John Matthews
Ishia Bennison	...	Nurse
Madhav Sharma	...	Doctor
Michael Halphie	...	Doctor

Also Known As:

The Wakening (UK) (alternative title)

Runtime:

105 min | Australia:101 min | USA:101 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:R (certificate #25893) | Iceland:16

Filming Locations:

Cairo, Egypt

Company:

EMI Films

Goofs:

Continuity: The shard of glass that stabs Jane in the neck. Before the shard falls from the panel, the pointy end is facing downwards. However, when it stabs Jane, the pointy end is facing upwards.

Movie Connections:

Version of "Mystery and Imagination: The Curse of the Mummy (#5.3)" (1970)

An Egyptologist's daughter's life becomes entwined with in her father's obsession to revive the mummy of an evil queen.

If you are any kind of Egypt enthusiast, you will love this! The university lecture, the tomb scenes, the obsession with research, the special organ jars (spelling of which "c a n o p i c" is denied by IMDb!) -- it is all well done and fun. Having taught ancient Egyptian history for many years, I find that this movie is filled with great realia and references to the rich mythology of Egypt. I routinely showed it to my 6th grade ancient history class! The plot moves well and there is a great sense of rising action and suspense. The acting is solid, and the music and the filming are well done. I really have no idea why this film has been rated so low by the viewers. Please see yourself and boost the rating on this fine piece of suspenseful work!