Review: Dead Awake

(imdb.com)

When 2015's The Nightmare was released, sleep paralysis became a mainstream and well-talked about topic. So naturally, the horror industry, in a continual effort to provide new and exciting stories, would attempt to capitalize on fans' renewed interest. The most recent of these films, named Dead Awake is an unfortunate elaboration of the disorder. Like sleep paralysis, Dead Awake is a film trapped in its place - never really pushing itself in any direction.  Similar to Nightmare on Elm Street but without any of the campy fun or genuine scares, this movie will surely be forgotten.

Dead Awake stars Jocelin Donahue (The House of the Devil) as twins Beth and, more notably, Kate. Unfortunately for the young horror alumna, Donahue comes across as lackluster. Whether it's the jarringly plain plot or balancing two characters at once that throw her, Donahue's performance is nothing like her stellar turn in The House of the Devil. The cast is filled out with Lori Petty (A League of Their Own) as Dr. Sykes, Jesse Bradford (Flags of our Fathers) as Beth's boyfriend, Brea Grant (Dexter) and Jeffrey Reddick (creator of the Final Destination Franchise) as her friends, and Jesse Borrego (Con Air) as a mysterious outsider. They too are all relatively flat.

From the get go, Dead Awake is flimsily set up; sacrificing its potential for baseline storytelling and predictability. The film falls into place in perfect linearity. When Kate enters her birthday party, the camera pans to each of the potential victims and viewers can quickly figure out what's going to happen, in what order and with what retribution. They'll hope there will be some break away from the norm or even some entertaining death scenes and scares, but this film accepts its mediocrity and embraces it.

The film never really works to become a lovable indie release. It's got glossed over aspects that seem more similar to bigger releases, but even this isn't done well enough, and the mediocrity running through its vein and a host of lackluster jump scares only perpetuate a cycle of contrived storytelling. Dead Awake is far too pragmatic, shooting for complacency rather than excellence in a way that feels lazy, rather than daring.

Dead Awake plays too deeply into typical horror formulas - featuring everything from a kind, but ignorant psychologist to a mysterious foreigner, but it never compliments this plainness with anything joltingly terrifying or fun. It is a truly bland experience and by the time it's wrapped, if viewers haven't fell into a deep slumber, chances are they'll believe their time could have been better spent napping. 4 out 10.

 

Best of Netflix: The Nightmare

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Over the past couple years, documentaries have seen somewhat of a resurgence. From Blackfish to Beware the Slenderman, the diverse possibilities of documentary films have implanted new ideas, opinions and thoughts into our minds. Anything can become a documentary and because of that, it was only a matter of time before audiences got a look at something as superstitious as sleep paralysis. For thousands, sleep paralysis is an ongoing issue that has varied explanations and reasons. Some key features of the disorder include an inability to move and a feeling somewhere between consciousness and sleep.  Sounds pretty bad right? Well, 2015's The Nightmare proves just how scary these moments can be.

Featuring some pretty startling reenacted and dramatized scenes, The Nightmare is the rare, true documentary that is simultaneously able to scare its audiences. From deep red rooms to shadowy figures over bed, the storytelling of this movie could easily translate to a fictional horror movie, and yet, the real life accounts of eight sufferers seem even more terrifying. First premiering at Sundance, The Nightmare is directed by Rodney Ascher (Room 237), a gifted director with a pension for all things scary.

The Nightmare works best when it stays in reality. The cut away dramatizations are at their scariest when they're less obtrusive to the story - think about all of those haunting shows on cable that seem to think a poorly CGI'd face is scarier than a subtly distinctive shadow. The Nightmare definitely knows this distinction and consistently aims for the more grounded scares, even if at times they go over the top. It definitely works for the majority of the movie and viewers can expect to be sufficiently fearful at the omnipresent "Shadow Man" who may eventually creep into their bed.

The Nightmare does have a share of flaws. For instance, as with any documentary - especially those of the near-supernatural kind, there is the opportunity and tendency to take advantage of and over-exaggerate fantastical elements. Then, also due in part to the movie's horror elements,  some of the cast's recounting of sleep paralysis seems more grounded in reality as opposed to some of the more eccentric ones. The Nightmare also offers a few less than stellar visuals (but also makes up for those with nightmarish scenes that are far more subtle).

The Nightmare is a good documentary. It's easy to follow along and while sometimes disproportionately trades nonfiction for fiction, it ultimately remains in a place of realism. It's a film that has a story to tell and doesn't necessarily care if you believe it, instead its goal is more sinister: The Nightmare wants you to believe that sleep paralysis is far more common and in fact, likely to happen to you. That should be enough to keep you up at night, it certainly was for me.