A perfect pre-Halloween watch.
Our TV movie pick for tonight (Friday, 18 October) is The Awakening, a brilliant supernatural drama from 2011 starring Rebecca Hall (The Night House).
Directed by Nick Murphy (who also made the excellent 2012 crime drama Blood), the film is set in post-World War I England and sees the actress play a grieving writer and sometimes ghost-hunter.
This is as she investigates a reported haunting at a boys boarding school.
Also co-starring Dominic West (The Wire) and Imelda Staunton (The Crown), The Awakening was not a massive hit upon its cinema release.
That said, we’d argue it deserves a lot more love thanks to its gorgeous period setting, its elegant ghost story and Hall’s wonderful lead turn – all of which make the movie perfect pre-Halloween viewing.
The Awakening is airing on TV tonight on BBC Two at 11.05pm.
It is also available to stream right now on Prime Video.
Here are the other films airing on TV tonight:
Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation – E4 – 9pm
The fun fifth entry in the Tom Cruise action spy franchise.
The Blues Brothers – ITV4 – 9pm
This cult musical action-comedy centres on a man just released from prison (John Belushi) who puts together his old band to save the Catholic home where he and his brother (Dan Aykroyd) were raised.
Honest Thief – Film4 – 9pm
Liam Neeson is an honest thief.
The Program – RTÉ2 – 9.40pm
This sports drama based on true events depicts Irish journalist David Walsh (Chris O’Dowd) investigation of famed cyclist Lance Armstrong (Ben Foster) for doping.
The Sixth Sense – MTV – 10pm
‘I see dead people.’
The Big Country – TG4 – 10.20pm
Friday nights mean TG4 are showing a Western and this evening’s is a 1950s epic starring Gregory Peck.
Stake Land – Legend Xtra – 11pm
This solid indie horror takes place in a world of vampires and follows an expert vampire hunter and his young protégé as they travel toward sanctuary.
Fight Club – Film4 – 11.05pm
We cannot talk about this.
The Player – RTÉ One – 11.15pm
This terrific Hollywood satire from the ’90s from director Robert Altman (MAS*H, Short Cuts) revolves a Hollywood film studio executive (Tim Robbins) who winds up killing an aspiring screenwriter.
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- Tense new Irish movie puts twist on Fatal Attraction and Single White Female-type stories
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