How to Write a Horror Film:The Awakening (2011) and Development Practices in the British Film Industry

This article reveals how screenwriter Stephen Volk’s idea for a sequel to The Innocents (1961, Jack Clayton) became, over the course of fifteen years, the British horror film The Awakening (2011, Nick Murphy). It examines practitioner interviews in order reflect upon creative labour in the British film industry, while also re-orientating the analysis of British horror film to the practices of pre-production. The research reveals that female protagonist Florence Cathcart was a major problem for the project, and the article asks, how does the Florence’s character change throughout the development process? How is her character rewritten, and under whose instruction? What does this tell us about the perception of gender in British horror filmmaking?