For all its pedestrian qualities, there are a couple of big plus points in its favour. They are Rebecca Hall and Dominic West.

Though the story spirals a little out of control in the film's final scenes, "The Awakening" offers the low-key pleasures of an old-fashioned thriller and a lovely central performance.

Set at the peak of spiritualism in the wake of World War I, The Awakening pulls from fertile storytelling material to infuse its scares and shocks with a vibrant undercurrent of charged emotional and historical context.

The core cast and gothic setting makes for a time-honored and entertaining ghost story.