Seeing as a) the chilly atmosphere of rural England just lends itself to a ghost tale — we had one of this sort earlier in the year, as a matter of fact — and that b) your opinion of Rebecca Hall directly correlates to how I view you, personally, I’m on board The Awakening from the outset. It doesn’t hurt that a creepy, effective preview came our way in September, and an expanded trailer (in anticipation of the film’s U.S. release) has now opened up the scope without, most importantly, giving too much away.

I can’t say I was all too scared by this footage — blame it on me, in all honesty — but the visuals are absolutely beautiful, what with the old houses, dark corridors, and grainy cinematography on top all helping to create the sort of mood alluded to above; for someone making their feature debut, Nick Murphy is doing impressive stuff. (Hall, Dominic West, and Imelda Staunton look good, too, though I do wonder how much they’ll really get to “act” in this kind of story.) Right now, these previews (and some early reviews) are showing real promise.

Watch the trailer below (via Apple):

Synopsis:

“Set in London in 1921, Florence Cathcart (REBECCA HALL), author of the popular book “Seeing Through Ghosts,” has devoted her career to exposing claims of the supernatural as nothing but hoaxes. Haunted by the recent death of her fiance, she is approached by Robert Mallory (DOMINIC WEST) to investigate the recent death of a student at the all-boys boarding school where he teaches. When students at the school report sightings of the young boy’s ghost, she decides to take on the case. Initially, the mystery surrounding the ghost appears nothing more than a schoolboy prank, but as Florence continues to investigate events at the school, she begins to believe that her reliance on science may not be enough to explain the strange phenomenon going on around her.”

The Awakening opens on August 17th.

Has this trailer made you think The Awakening is more than just another haunted house tale?