The Awakening (1980)

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

Director:

Mike Newell

Writers:

Chris Bryant, Clive Exton,

Stars:

Charlton Heston, Susannah York, Jill Townsend

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

An American archaeologist is in Egypt with his pregnant wife, searching for the tomb of a long-lost Egyptian queen. At the same moment he discovers the tomb and opens it's accursed seal, his wife gives birth to his daughter. Years later it transpires that the malevolent spirit of the Egyptian queen left the tomb just as he was entering, and possessed his baby girl. As the truth becomes clear, the archaeologist realizes that he must destroy his daughter in a ceremonial ritual, before she uses her awesome powers to threaten the safety of mankind.

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Plot Keywords:

tomb | egypt | curse | orchestral music score | exorcism | 

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Taglines:

They thought they had buried her forever!

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Genres:

Horror | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

October 1980 (USA)

Also Known As:

El despertar

Filming Locations:

Cairo, Egypt

Company Credits

Production Co:

EMI Films, Orion Pictures Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Mike Newell's feature film debut.

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Goofs

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.

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Connections

Version of Legend of the Mummy (1998)

User Reviews

Where all good horror tales of Egypt should go.

A beautifully atmospheric movie in the genre of Mummy movies and a cut above most of the others. This one is a personal favorite of mine, and Heston once again shows why he has been consistently popular with the movie going public for a half century now. As a driven archaeologist he manages to bring ruin down upon himself by once again failing to heed warnings to not disturb the resting place of a particular burial. As he is opening the tomb, miles away his daughter is being born at the same moment. The two events will come together in the future to cause a catastrophe. The pace here is somewhat slower than most horror films but allows you to get more deeply into the characters. Just a good movie for those who like such things.