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The Awakening

Year:

1980

Running time:

102 mn

Nationality:

UK

Language:

English

Genre:

Horror, Mystery

Director:

Mike Newell

Producer:

Orion Pictures

Screenwriter/s:

Allan Scott, Chris Bryant

Cast:

Charlton Heston, Susannah York, Jill Townsend, Stephanie Zimbalist, Patrick Dury, and others

Other websites:

Trailer:

Summary of the film
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. (Filmaffinity)
Excavations at the tomb of an Egyptian queen (Screenshot by the author)
Archaeologist Matthew Corbeck at the Egyptian museum (Screenshot by the author)
Laboratory study of the mummy of Ka-Ra (Screenshot by the author)
Egyptomania narratives or motifs
The Awakening is a classic horror film, which deploys many of the common tropes seen in Egyptianising media. Based on Bram Stoker’s 1903 novel The Jewel of the Seven Stars, the film provides a new—though unoriginal—take on the theme of the curse of the mummy, with a focus on imperialism, sensuality, and Orientalism.
The film starts in 1962, when archaeologist Matthew Corbeck and his assistant Jane Turner are about to make an astonishing discovery: the tomb of a nameless queen, only mentioned in the diaries of a 17th century Dutch archaeologist. Here we see how Egypt is approached as a land full of secrets waiting to be discovered (in this case, by a white professor and his attractive assistant). When they eventually find the tomb, which inscriptions on the walls reveal to have belonged to a woman named Ka-Ra, they unleash an evil that has been asleep for thousands of years. As her tomb is disturbed, the spirit of Ka-Ra seems to enter into the body of Corbeck’s pregnant wife, thus creating a bond with their unborn baby, who will be named Margaret. Corbeck’s obsession with Ka-Ra makes him neglect his own family, so his wife decides to leave him, taking their daughter with her to the USA. Thus, the film utilizes the well-known trope of the ‘curse of the mummy’ in order to portray Egypt as a place of magic and secrecy.
Corbeck is drawn back to the tomb, where he oversees the removal of all archaeological objects belonging to the queen. His intention is to take the artefacts to London, while local Egyptian authorities vocally resist the plundering of their archaeological heritage. Ka-Ra’s evil spirit forces the removal of the objects from the tomb, causing the dramatic and violent death of those who oppose Corbeck. The objects eventually stay in Cairo, where they are displayed at the Museum. The film challenges preconceived ideas regarding ownership and heritage, highlighting the importance of these artefacts for the communities of origin. Even though the objects will eventually end up in London, the film here raises meaningful questions about Egyptians’ right to their past and the archaeological plundering of the country as a result of both political and intellectual colonialism.
Fast forward 18 years, Corbeck is married to his former assistant Jane, and they both live in London, where he continues to teach. His daughter Margaret suddenly and inexplicably feels compelled to leave the USA to visit her father in London, and, when she does, they forge a very special bond. They travel to Egypt together to visit, among other sites and monuments, the location of the tomb of Ka-Ra, where Margaret demonstrates boundless knowledge about this enigmatic ancient queen. For example, she declares that Ka-Ra was forced to marry her father, and then Margaret goes on to try to seduce Corbeck, kissing him. Here Ka-Ra’s possession of Margaret results in an erotisation of her role, as is often expected in comparable horror stories in which ‘the mummy’ is presented as a sensual femme fatale that would do anything to increase her power.
Meanwhile, researchers at the Cairo Museum have identified what seems to be a rare fungal infection in the mummified body of Ka-Ra, and this provides Corbeck with an argument to take the queen out of Egypt and bring her along to London with him. Once again, those who oppose Corbeck’s plans suffer a terrible and untimely death. As expected of a horror film, a few characters are killed in order to illustrate the extent of the evil and might of Ka-Ra, as well as to show how she compels Corbeck to act for her benefit.
Back in London, Margaret is presented as progressively more controlled by the evil spirit of Ka-Ra, who wants to force Corbeck to perform a ritual to resurrect her. When such a ritual is finally carried out, Corbeck destroys the mummified body of Ka-Ra, believing this would free his daughter from the curse. On the contrary, the destruction of those mummified remains allows Ka-Ra to fully inhabit Margaret’s body and roam the earth again. This ending provides a thoughtful reflection on the role of the body in Egyptian funerary beliefs: whereas other horror films may present the mummified body as a vessel for the soul that would facilitate resurrection, in this case the filmmaker suggests that those ancient bodies could be seen as a cage, and that their destruction would truly unleash the potential of those evil spirits.
Overall, this film presents an Orientalising perspective on ancient Egypt. References to monumental architecture, dark magic, a sensual evil woman, and secrets buried in the sand, all play a role in a recreation of Egypt as an imagined, otherised place filtered through the eyes of a Western gaze.

Author: Leire Olabarría

Other information
Rafaelic, D. 2021. Ancient Egypt in Cinema, in A. Bednarski, A. Dodson, S. Ikram (eds), A History of World Egyptology: 484. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge.
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Project Manager

Abraham I. Fernández Pichel

Researchers

Abraham I. Fernández Pichel - Rogério Sousa - Eleanor Dobson - Filip Taterka - Guillermo Juberías Gracia - José das Candeias Sales
Nuno Simões Rodrigues - Samuel Fernández-Pichel - Sara Woodward - Tara Sewell-Lasater - Thomas Gamelin – Leire Olabarría
Alfonso Álvarez-Ossorio - Jean-Guillaume Olette-Pelletier - Marc Orriols-Llonch


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