Nick Murphy’s supernatural thriller is set in post-World War I England. The movie follows a skeptical woman who travels to a countryside boarding school to investigate rumours of an apparent haunting. Just when she thinks she has debunked the ghost theory, she has a chilling spectral encounter which defies all her rational beliefs. Daniel Pemberton's score has dark orchestral sonorities, haunting vocals and elements of operatic choir...

While on balance the music to The Awakening is technically very good it's pretty much what you'd expect from the genre; lots of creepy, atmospheric music that sounds better when accompanying the movie than when listened to in isolation.

Every now and then, however, we get a brief glimpse of Daniel Pemberton's talent for writing beautiful themes. 'Arrival At Rookford'; 'Don't Go Away' and 'Be Still My Soul' (before the vocals kick in) very briefly show the the artist has an ear for emotive themes, it's just a shame that there are also a few too many cliched atmospheric set pieces.

'Chorus de Susticatio (Chorus from The Awakening)' is another beautiful track, while 'The Awakening (Credits from The Awakening)' has a Danny Elfman vibe to it.

Just under half of this album show's real flair and originality. It's certainly an album that's worth checking out.

7

Darren Rea