An elite military unit on a mission in the South American jungle encounters a deadly supernatural force, revealing an ancient presence that continues to claim anyone who dares enter its domain.
“The Awakening,” or “El Despertar” if you go by its original title, has three credited directors: Jaime Osorio Marquez, Federico Durán, and José Luis Rugeles. Most movies are directed by one person, but sometimes that can be two, especially when you think of directing duos such as Joel and Ethan Coen, Lana and Lilly Wachowski, Anthony and Joe Russo, and Josh and Benny Safdie. The only other times I have seen three or more credited directors are when you are dealing with an anthology of short movies combined.
“The Awakening” starts strong, echoing elements of “Predator,” where an elite military unit on an operation deep in the Colombian jungle runs into a primeval, bloodthirsty supernatural force. The narrative weaves between the present-day commando mission and historical events from 500 years prior, when Spanish conquistadors first encountered the ancient, cursed presence.
The trailer intrigued me enough to want to check it out, and its first act largely rewards that interest, but as the commandos move through the jungle, the story cuts back 500 years to Spanish conquistadors confronting the same ancient presence. This constant back-and-forth between the two timelines gradually becomes tiresome.
The risk with having three directors on one film is creative conflict and a fractured authorial vision. When three individuals with different artistic sensibilities lead a project, the film can feel tonally disjointed, as if three different movies were stitched together, and that is very much the feeling here.
When the unit first arrives in the Colombian jungle, they begin to hear whispers, but nobody says anything for fear of being ridiculed. But when they accomplish their mission and kill their mark, the jungle comes to life, and one by one, they are dragged off by unseen assailants, never to be seen again. We learn that over 500 years ago, when the Spanish conquistadors invaded and colonized Colombia, they awoke an ancient evil that has haunted the jungle ever since. When the characters find shelter in a cave, they know they must last four hours before their scheduled airlift, but with the jungle alive with supernatural entities, they may not make it out alive.
The first act delivers the best parts of the movie. As the team completes their mission, they are attacked in the jungle, but we never see what is hunting them. Only towards the end do we see the creatures, and they are a huge disappointment. What had felt like an elusive supernatural force becomes a physical enemy the soldiers can confront. It is a sharp contrast in approach, and one the film never quite makes convincing. It is tempting to attribute this unevenness to the presence of three directors. There is no way to know from the finished film whether creative differences were responsible, but the result often feels as though its strongest ideas are pulling in different directions. It simply doesn’t work, and then the film ends.
Characters are introduced, and we never learn some of their fates, so what’s the point of getting your audience to invest in them if you aren’t going to reveal their outcome? In the end, “The Awakening” tries to imitate “Predator,” and while it delivers some genuinely frightening thrills, especially early on, by the time it reaches its conclusion, it’s a mess of incoherent ideas that deserves better.
Available on Digital November 10th
